RELATED: See 8 shockers on the offensive side of the ball here
If there's one thing that you can expect in fantasy football, it's the unexpected—and it's doubly so in the sideshow of shocks and surprises that is IDP leagues.
Very few IDP analysts predicted that Los Angeles Rams edge rusher Byron Young would surpass 80 total tackles, log 12 sacks, and finish as a top-five defensive lineman in The Godfather's Default IDP Scoring. This analyst actually did (Victory Lap No. 26), but he also expected more from Travon Walker of the Jacksonville Jaguars than 38 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
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At linebacker, Devin White went from complete afterthought to the third-highest scoring linebacker in fantasy football. That he doesn't even have a team now is—something. Meanwhile, Fred Warner of the San Francisco 49ers went from high draft pick to outside the top-70 after breaking his ankle.
Defensive backs are nothing but chaos on an annual basis. We could list the players in the secondary who either smashed expectations or came nowhere near them, but this article would turn into the White Pages—an unending list of names.
Plus, maybe 30 percent of the people reading this have any idea what the White Pages even are.
The shocks that reverberate through IDP leagues each year can have a seismic impact. They can make a season for managers on the right side of them and send teams on the wrong end of them into a bottomless pit of despair.
White Pages? No idea. Gravity Falls? That they know.
But do not fear the abyss, Dear Reader. Do not fear the unknown. For as it happens, there is a clairvoyant who can foresee these shocking events before they occur. A kind, intelligent, handsome soul willing to share his visions with the masses.
He also makes a mean balloon poodle.
And occasionally refers to himself in the third person.
SHOCKER: New York Giants Edge Rusher Abdul Carter Will Finish His Second Season With More Sacks than Batterymate Brian Burns and Crack the Top-10 in Fantasy Points at his Position
Apparently, Abdul Carter is either my Byron Young this year or my Travon Walker. Let's go with Young. Yeah, it's Young.
Carter's first season in the NFL was admittedly something of a disappointment—after logging half a sack in the season-opener, the third overall pick in the 2025 draft didn't log another one until Week 13. In between he was benched multiple times for disciplinary reasons. Meanwhile, Brian Burns was pacing the NFC with 16.5 sacks and finished second in fantasy points among defensive linemen.
But Carter turned it on down the stretch—over the last month of the season, Carter was a top-10 fantasy option and actually out-pointed Burns. He logged 3.5 sacks in five games down the stretch. Carter was fifth in the league in pass rush win rate last year, per ESPN, and led the league in quick pressures (less than 2.5 seconds), according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
Burns was amazing last year, but he has only two 10-plus-sack seasons in seven years. He's going to regress in 2026. Carter is going to take the next step. And there will be a changing of the guard on the edge in the Big Apple.
SHOCKER: T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers Will Have Fewer Sacks Than Both Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig and Finish Outside the Top-15 Defensive Linemen
To be fair, T.J. Watt's 2025 season wasn't terrible—despite missing multiple games after a trainer punctured his lung with a needle (not kidding), Watt was still a top-15 fantasy option. As recently as 2023, Watt logged 19 sacks and finished as the No. 1 defensive lineman.
But that's also the only time over the past four years that Watt has had even 12 sacks in a campaign, and the 31-year-old has missed 10 games over that same stretch. Last year, Watt finished with fewer sacks than both Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig.
It's going to happen again in 2026.
The Steelers have made significant financial investments in all three edge rushers, including the four-year, $100 million contract Herbig just got. From all indications, the Steelers have no intention of trading any of them. Given Watt's age and injury concerns, the team is going to rotate him out more often than in the past.
There's also the matter of Watt just not looking like that 19-sack dominant force the past two years. Father Time is undefeated. And Watt is a trap early in IDP drafts.
SHOCKER: For the First Time Since Shaquille Leonard in 2018, a Rookie will Lead the NFL in Tackles. It Will Once Again be a Member of the Indianapolis Colts—CJ Allen
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