IDP Draft Blueprint: The Godfather's Step-By-Step Guide

Individual defensive player (IDP) leagues are the only way to fly in fantasy football. The format gives the defense its due and offers a whole new level of strategy and excitement to our favorite hobby/obsession.

But many fantasy managers are apprehensive about playing in IDP leagues. They fear that their unfamiliarity with the format will result in them either jumping the gun on IDPs and winding up with a hole on offense or waiting too long and building a defense that looks like the 1981 Colts, who allowed 533 points. Or the 2012 Saints, who allowed 7,042 yards in 2012.

No one wants to endure a 3-11 season and have to make the walk of shame. It's no fun.

Just as in "standard" fantasy leagues, balance and value are the keys to a successful IDP draft. Knowing the optimal time to target each position. Getting players in spots where they have a solid shot at outperforming their asking price. Build a team with values on both sides of the ball, and instead of the walk of shame, you'll be the one ringing the bell—and holding your league's trophy.

Of course, if it was that simple, every drafter would hit the jackpot every time out. Just as on offense, no two IDP drafts are the same. They're pretty little snowflakes of frustration and rage. Unique.

Generally speaking, the elite defensive players in a standard IDP setup with tackle-heavy scoring featuring two starters on the defensive line, at linebacker, and defensive back (with maybe a flex spot or two thrown in) will come off the board somewhere between Round 4 and Round 6.

Scoring and roster requirements can change that significantly, though, and it only takes a manager or two to break the IDP seal early and spur the first big run on defenders (more on that in a bit). As important as balance and value are in IDP drafts, flexibility is equally vital.

With that said, there is a blueprint that can often be helpful in IDP drafts. By breaking up the draft into "sections" and approaching each one with a plan for which positions to attack, fantasy managers can assemble a group of formidable defense more than capable of contending for a playoff spot—without slighting the offense even slightly.

Can draft flow necessitate adjustments to this blueprint? Of course. As was already mentioned, no two drafts are identical. As known IDP enthusiast Helmuth von Moltke the Elder wrote in 1880, "No plan survives contact with the enemy."

Scoring and lineup requirements matter, too. The more IDPs a league starts, and the higher those defensive players score, the more managers will likely accelerate addressing defensive players. That changes the dynamic. The plan. The plynamic.

Still, in one of the more "standard" IDP leagues, following this blueprint should result in a balanced team capable of keeping managers in the mix whether this is their first IDP draft or their 50th.

If this idiot can have success with it, you can too.

IDP Draft Blueprint Step 1: Take the Offensive (Rounds 1-6)

It can be tempting to target one of the truly elite defensive players like Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell or Los Angeles Rams edge-rusher Myles Garrett—to set the pace on defense. Provided that they stay healthy, those stars possess both a high floor and the potential to lead all players at the position in fantasy points.

However, you don't need to draft the first IDP. Or the second. Or the third. You don't have to be a trend-setter on defense to put together a solid defense. However, there is one important thing to keep an eye on as IDPs start to come off the board.

A round or two after a handful of elite IDPs have been drafted, the first big run on linebackers will take place. Unless your league starts a large number of defensive players or the scoring favors defense (almost) as much as offense, it likely won't happen this early. In the Huddle IDP Expert League (a long-standing industry league with a fairly vanilla IDP setup), the first linebacker (Indianapolis Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin) Didn't get taken until early in Round 7 a year ago. Fast-forward to the end of Round 9, and 11 linebackers had been taken—including four in a row at one point.

Don't get Frozen out of that run.

I apologize for nothing.

Linebackers are the kings of most IDP leagues, and with more teams playing three-safety looks or running more dime sets, the number of true three-down linebackers has decreased. In most leagues, IDP managers will go as far defensively as their linebackers take them. If you are picking at the front of Round 5 and other drafters have targeted the position early, it's a good idea to consider taking one.

Like seriously consider it.

In most cases, though, the early rounds of standard IDP drafts should be focused on the offensive side of the ball. Whether you plan to go "Zero RB," "Hero RB," "Robust RB," Value-Based Drafting, or just pull names out of a hat, spend the first half-dozen or so rounds on offensive players. Get quality running backs. Load up on wide receivers. Draft a high-end tight end or quarterback. And then get ready…

Winter is Coming.

IDP Target: LB Jordyn Brooks, Miami (Rounds 5-6)

Campbell isn't my highest-ranked linebacker in 2026—that title belongs to Brooks, who led the league with 183 total tackles and paced the position in The Godfather's Default IDP Scoring. Brooks has failed to hit 140 total tackles just once in the past five years and has surpassed 160 total tackles three times over that span.

IDP Draft Blueprint Step 2: Time to Get After It (Rounds 7-12)