Summer may not “officially” start until June 21, but make no mistake—it has been here for some time. The temperatures are rising. The kids are out of school and wreaking havoc. The air smells of burgers and hot dogs.
And that means that IDP draft season will soon be here in earnest.
Now, some fantasy degenerates have already started drafting—like, say, this one. But for most IDP managers, there’s still some time before that most important of dates on the IDP calendar. When managers who had success the year before try to begin a march toward repeating as champions. Where the managers who didn’t try to shake off the funk of a disappointing 2025. To do so, though, IDP managers have to do their research—determine who will exceed expectations and fail to meet them in the season to come.
Or at least peruse the musings of a wise and charming writer who has spent countless hours attempting to discern which IDPs are about to explode and become fantasy superstars.
This analyst has crunched countless numbers on his Little Professor calculator. Read the tea leaves and the chicken bones. Consulted the Sacred Scrolls of Sakthatdood, who was the first-ever edge-rusher in Ancient Egypt in 826 B.C.. Spent two hours on the phone with the Psychic Friends Network—and let me tell you, that wasn’t cheap.
So, with all that knowledge and research in my proverbial back pocket, here’s a look at half a dozen IDPs who are absolutely guaranteed to detonate in 2026.
Unless they don’t, which will completely be that Egyptian jerk’s fault.
Defensive Lineman Breakouts
EDGE Abdul Carter, NY Giants
Carter had a rocky rookie season in 2025—after half a sack in the opener, Carter didn’t have another one until Week 13. He was benched on multiple occasions for violating team rules. However, the third overall pick in 2025 picked things up down the stretch, and ESPN’s Seth Walder recently predicted that Carter will record at least 12 sacks in 2026.
“On the surface, Carter's rookie season might have looked like a disappointment, with the No. 3 pick delivering just 4.0 sacks,” he said. “But his pass rush win rate at edge rusher was 20.7% -- fifth best among qualifiers and sandwiched between Liam Anderson Jr. and Myles Garrett. That suggests the Giants edge rusher was winning on a down-to-down basis. Given that, I think the sacks will come.”
In addition to that impressive pass rush win rate, Carter also led the league in quick pressures (2.5 seconds or less) last year with 48 per NFL Next Gen Stats. Carter logged at least half a sack in four straight games late last season—from Week 13 on Carter ranked sixth among all defensive linemen in fantasy points per game in The Godfather’s Default IDP Scoring.
EDGE Jared Verse, Cleveland
It feels a little weird to say that a former Defensive Rookie of the Year and two-time Pro Bowler hasn’t broken out yet, but Verse has yet to have a truly huge season. Last year, his 58 tackles and 7.5 sacks landed him just inside the top-25 in fantasy points. Now in Cleveland as part of the Myles Garrett deal, defensive line coach Jacques Cesaire told reporters the team’s goal this summer is to add some new moves to Verse’s pass-rush repertoire.
“Jared, he does have a nice repertoire right now,” Cesaire said. “We’re going to add a couple of little different wrinkles to it, but I love what he does best, which is just smash people, and that guy loves violence and he has a lot of speed and I know that when he comes out here, when we get the pads on, it’s going to be a show.”
That should be music to the ears of IDP managers—as talented as Verse is, he has been mostly a pure bull-rusher over the first two seasons of his professional career. Verse is going to be a focal point of opposing offenses, but the Browns will counter that by scheming Verse into advantageous situations.
60-plus tackles and double-digit sacks in his first year in orange and brown. Book it.
