2026 IDP Position Primer: Linebackers

The fantasy landscape has shifted on offense in recent years—running backs are no longer the unquestioned top dogs on draft day. However, on IDP, the more things change, the more they stay the same—in most formats, the linebacker position reigns supreme.

Sure, having a solid defensive line is a big part of IDP success. But far more often than not, fantasy squads will make it as far in IDP leagues as their linebackers take them. Thanks to their consistent tackle production, they are both the highest-scoring and most consistent defensive position.

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Unfortunately, it is also the shallowest position in IDP nowadays—with the nickel now the de facto base defense in the NFL, the number of linebackers who play a full-time role decreases by the year.

Full-time roles mean snaps. Snaps equal opportunity. Opportunity leads to tackles.

Given both the importance of linebackers in fantasy and positional scarcity, linebacker has become the trickiest position in IDP. Play your cards right, and you can build a sizable edge over your competition. Botch the linebacker position on draft day, though, and any chance of winning a championship in 2026 can vanish in a puff of smoke.

Linebacker Draft Strategy

The optimal draft strategy at linebacker in most IDP leagues (especially tackle-heavy ones) isn’t especially complicated. As a matter of fact, it can be summed up in just a single word, which makes it easier to remember when you’re an elderly dimwit like this analyst.

Aggression.

You should attack the linebacker position like a van full of stoners going at a 55-gallon drum filled with Chicken McNuggets--with sauce. As was already mentioned (By me, just now—told you I was old. Now get off my lawn.), linebackers are both the most consistent and highest-scoring defensive position. And since most IDP scoring systems lean toward being tackle-heavy, linebackers rule the roost.

The Huddle IDP Expert League is one John Norton and I have been competing in since the days when people hung out on MySpace. The scoring was recently updated to increase the value of big plays. Even after that adjustment, 85 percent of the top-20 defensive players in 2025 were linebackers. Even in the King's Classic's Dick Butkus Division, where the scoring is more balanced across defensive positions, four of the top six defensive players last year were linebackers.

The first defensive player selected is usually a linebacker. You don't have to be that manager. But when the first big IDP run hits a round or two after that, linebackers are going to start flying off the board. You do not want to be frozen out of that run. You can’t just let them go.

Good luck getting that song out of your head.

Assuming a fairly standard IDP league where you can start three or four linebackers (any "flex" spot in your league should be filled with a linebacker where possible) and scoring that isn't big-play-heavy, at least two of your first three defensive picks should be linebackers. Three of your first four. Maybe even four of the first five.

Seriously. McNuggets, man. McNuggets.

League scoring and lineup requirements matter. Draft flow matters. So does building that solid defensive line. It goes without saying (or should) that the offense can't just be ignored, or it won’t matter how good your IDPs are. However, if there is one IDP position you absolutely cannot be passive about, it's linebacker. And fantasy managers should target every-down linebackers who don't leave the field often--especially if that linebacker wears the "Green Dot."

Every NFL team has one defensive player who relays the defensive signals. Teams occasionally use safeties in that role, but the vast majority of NFL franchises use a linebacker. Those linebackers don’t leave the field--essentially ever. And that gives them immense IDP value.

This geezer targets at least one of my top five or six linebackers entering a draft. A pair of linebackers from the top 15 or so. And a third linebacker from my top 25. At least. Of course, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth, and sometimes you have to change things up on the fly.

That's where tiers come in.

No Ozzy! We like Tiers!

IDP rankings are great, but they can also be misleading. The drop from one player to the next isn't linear. There could be no real difference between No. 12 and No. 13, but a chasm between No. 20 and No. 21.

That's where tiers come in--grouping similarly ranked players together. Instead of targeting an individual, IDP managers target a group. Have your LB1 by the end of Tier X. Your LB2 by the end of Tier Y. And so it goes.

Tier 1: The Three Amigos

This trio is the cream of the crop at linebacker. Provided they stay healthy, all three of these linebackers should be close to the top of the rankings at season’s end. Miami’s Jordy Brooks led the league with 183 total tackles last year. Detroit’s Jack Campbell was the fantasy runner-up and may not yet have hit his IDP ceiling. Zack Baun of the Eagles was the highest-scoring linebacker in the NFC in 2024. They won’t come cheaply, but these linebackers should get it done this year.

Tier 2: LB1 Targets

The good news is that there are 10 linebackers this season that can be considered legitimate IDP LB1—so long as fantasy managers have one linebacker rostered by the time Tier 2 is exhausted, they should be fine.

All of the Tier 2 linebackers have shown the potential to be elite fantasy options. All have favorable fantasy situations this year. Most have shown a high IDP floor in the past. Keep an eye on a pair of veterans who have finished as the No. 1 linebacker overall in the past in Green Bay’s Zaire Franklin and Jacksonville’s Foyesade Oluokun—both have the potential to be available in positions of value.

Tier 3: The LB2

It’s not impossible to wait until Tier 3 to take a linebacker and still OK—there will be players who jump into the top-12 this season who come from this tier, just as three Tier 3 linebackers did last year. But ideally, this is the range where IDP managers should be targeting a second starter. Maybe even a third if one drops and you want to be ultra-aggressive at the position.

This is also the tier that features the first two rookie linebackers—both Sonny Styles in Washington and CJ Allen in Indianapolis landed in situations where they should be “green dot” linebackers from Day 1. Their ceilings are sky-high, but as with all rookies, the risk goes up too.

Tier 4: The Over the Hill Gang