We are into the month of July. America's birthday is in the rearview mirror. The summer heat is air-frying us all like Crispy Crowns. And that can only mean one thing.
IDP Draft Season is just around the corner.
More than a few drafts have already begun. But soon enough the floodgates will open, and IDP drafts will rain from the heavens like, well, rain. So, for those managers who aren't already drafting teams, now is the time to prepare for the big day. To do research. Identify values to target and busts to avoid. To sign the most ironclad NDA ever and wear the most expensive suit you have ever bought.
Wait, that's Taylor Swift's wedding—getting my big occasions mixed up.
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Well, what if there was, say, a list of those players to target in IDP leagues in 2026. One handy-dandy list that tells you exactly which defensive players need to be on your fantasy rosters this year. An effort-saving tool to afford you plenty of time to get your hair done ahead of that thing you can never tell anyone you went to.
I'd buy that for a dollar.
Well folks, this is that list. It has been painstakingly compiled by my research staff of highly trained ring-tailed lemurs (they poop—so much). This group of 10 IDPs is absolutely guaranteed to be 100 percent spot-on. To help lead your league to fantasy glory.
Unless the lemurs are wrong.
What? Have you seen Madagascar?
Must Have IDP League-Winners
EDGE Byron Young, LA Rams
Last year, there wasn't an analyst in the industry who beat the drum harder for Young as a value pick last year than this guy. And Young paid off in a big way in his third professional season, racking up career highs in tackles (82) and sacks (12) while adding an impressive 29 tackles for loss on the way to a fourth-place finish in fantasy points.
But this isn't a victory lap, even if I once again demonstrated how ridiculously awesome I am.
With Myles Garrett now in Los Angeles, Young has seemingly been relegated to second-fiddle status on the edge in La-La Land. But Garrett's arrival isn't necessarily a bad thing for Young, who will now see double teams on approximately never percent of his snaps.
Add in that Young is an excellent edge-setter who has never had less than 60 stops in a season, and you have a high-floor DL1 who is an excellent target for IDP managers who hit linebacker hard early.
EDGE Tuli Tuipulotu, LA Chargers
Tuipulotu had himself a breakout season in 2025—the fourth-year veteran posted 49 total tackles, added a career-high 13 sacks, made his first Pro Bowl and finished the season ninth in fantasy points among defensive linemen in The Godfather's Default IDP Scoring.
Yes, the Chargers brought back veteran Khalil Mack and used a first-round draft pick on Miami's Akheem Mesidor. But Mesidor was brought in to eventually replace the 35-year-old Mack. It's a safe bet to assume that Tuipulotu will surpass 750 snaps this year for the first time since his rookie year.
Despite three years in the league, Tuipulotu is still just 23 years old. He hasn't come close to hitting his ceiling as a pass-rusher. He offers legitimate DL1 upside for fantasy managers available well into DL2 territory.
EDGE Abdul Carter, NYY Giants
Carter's first year in the NFL was a humbling one. The third overall pick in the 2025 draft was supposed to be a game-wrecker. Instead, over the first 12 weeks of the season, Carter had all of half a sack (that came in Week 1) and was benched for disciplinary reasons on multiple occasions.
However, over the last five weeks of the year, the lightbulb appeared to come on—Carter made four starts and logged 3.5 sacks. Over the final month of the fantasy season, Carter was eighth among edge-rushers in fantasy points.
The advanced stats were kinder to Carter last year than the stat sheet. Per ESPN, Carter's 21 percent pass rush win rate matched Myles Garrett. Carter also had 48 "quick" pressures (under 2.5 seconds) last year per NFL Next Gen Stats—tops in the NFL.
The conditions are ripe for a breakout. Perhaps a rampage. And it wouldn't be a huge upset to see Carter out-point Brian Burns this season.
