The Over-the-Hill Gang: Aging IDPs Who Will Be Value Picks This Year

In some cultures, the elderly are revered. In places like Japan and Norway, those who have gained wisdom through a lifetime of experience. They are treated with the utmost respect. With filial piety, even.

Score another one for Word of the Day Toilet Paper.

However, while some cultures treat the aged with all the feels, IDP drafters are most assuredly not one of them.

Once a defensive player reaches a certain age, for many fantasy managers that's that. The risk of a player careening off the age cliff sends those managers barreling in the opposite direction at Warp 3.

Fun fact—Warp 3 is 27 times as fast as Warp 1. You're welcome.

At any rate, once defensive players have a "3" at the front of their ages, many IDP enthusiasts are out. Thanks but no thanks. It's off to the home for you, Grandma Gilmore.

Sometimes, that apprehension is justified. No player, no matter his talent or prowess, can resist the ravages of age forever. At some point, we all mess around and get old. Father Time is undefeated.

You had to know I was going to that well again.

However, with some aging players, fantasy managers start digging the hole before that player has even gotten cold. The funeral is held before the Grim Reaper has paid that veteran player a visit.

And when that's the case, it can present an opportunity for value.

2026 Aging IDP Value Picks

EDGE T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh

Yep. This is where we are now.

It has been a minute since T.J. Watt was, you know, T.J. Watt—after leading the NFL with 19 sacks in 2023, Watt has just 18.5 over the last two seasons combined—including a 2025 campaign where he missed multiple games and posted the second-fewest tackles and sacks of his career. There's a new defense in Pittsburgh in 2026, though, and Watt told reporters that he's looking forward to moving around more in Patrick Graham's scheme.

"I'm just trying to be open-minded, just trying to do anything to affect [the opposing offense], whether it's how they are doing protection schemes, how they're running the ball," he said. "Wherever I can move around or just knock down inside, be able to allow Herbig to come outside, whatever it takes to win football games, whatever it takes to mess up the offensive scheme, I'm willing to do."

It wasn't that long ago that the idea of Watt being drafted outside the top-five edge-rushers would have been regarded as madness—as recently as that 2023 campaign he led the position in fantasy points. Watt may not be the consistently dominant force he once was, but he's not going out with a whimper—bet on a rebound season in 2026.

EDGE Bradley Chubb, Buffalo

After 3.5 years in Miami, Chubb was part of the Dolphins' veteran purge this year, but the 30-year-old didn't wait long to find a new gig—the Bills signed Chubb the following day. While addressing the media, Chubb allowed that it's not terrible to go from one of the league's worst teams to a Super Bowl contender.

"When you kind of go season in, season out, not having the results you want, like, you know, in the win column," Chubb said, "it is reenergizing to get to a city and a team and organization who has expectations of not just the first round, not just the second round, being in the long haul and the playoff run playing far into January."

Chubb was quietly solid for IDP managers, logging 47 tackles and 8.5 sacks for the Dolphins. That came after an ACL tear wiped out 2024, though—the last time Chubb was "fully" healthy, he topped 70 tackles, logged 11 sacks, and was a top-10 fantasy option at his position.

Chubb's a DL3 with a DL1 ceiling and a real chance to be a solid DL2,

Just keep it on, you know, the DL.

LB Foyesade Oluokun, Jacksonville