We're into the middle of July, according to those calendar things that people swear tell you what day it is or something. Never trusted them personally—just one more tool the calendar cabal uses in an effort to control humanity.
Cute kittens, indeed.
At any rate, we have (allegedly) reached the point in the summer where IDP draft season will soon be getting underway in earnest. And for those fantasy managers who aspire to have success in the season to come, that means it's time for Preparation IDP.
It's like Preparation H—only less, um, yeah.
There are values to identify as draft-day targets. Potential busts to put on the old stay-away list. And of course, late-round "sleeper" types to file away.
In theory, "sleepers" are late-round picks who are flying under the radar with the potential to smash expectations and become viable starters—IDP mysteries that rank up there with the heads on Easter Island and why February got the short end of the stick from the cabal.
Come for the IDP advice, stay for the Gregorian humor.
And the chanting.
But in this age of countless sources of fantasy information, for a player to fly under the radar, he'd have to be tunneling through the earth. For all intents, "sleeper" now simply means a late-round dart throw with a real chance to exceed their modest asking price in a big way.
Now, Average Draft Position data for IDP leagues is a bit like Bigfoot sightings—people swear they are real, but there's no real factual data to support it. So for the purpose of this exercise, we're going to use the consensus IDP rankings here at Footballguys to identify some late targets with a real shot to be league-winning values in 2026.
After all, value is king in IDP. Nothing else matters.
See what I did there?
Defensive Lineman Deep Sleepers
EDGE Boye Mafe, Cincinnati (FBG CR: DL51)
Mafe didn't have a great year statistically in Seattle last year—the 27-year-old logged the fewest tackles (31) and sacks (2.0) while playing 561 snaps, the fewest since his rookie year. But the Bengals must have seen something they liked from the fifth-year veteran—Cincinnati gave Mafe $60 million over three years to anchor the edge of their new-look defensive line.
Advanced stats paint a rosier picture for Mafe—his 19 percent pass rush win rate per ESPN a year ago was higher than Brian Burns and Maxx Crosby. He also topped 50 tackles with nine sacks for Seattle in 2023.
Mafe will lead the Cincinnati edge-rushers in snaps this season. And if the team's investments up and down the Bengals front pay off, that could mean a career year for Mafe.
EDGE Will McDonald IV, NY Jets (FBG CR: DL62)
The good news with McDonald is that he has been an effective pass-rusher the past two years, logging 18.5 sacks—including 10.5 two years ago on the way to a top-25 fantasy finish among edge-rushers in The Godfather's Default IDP Scoring. The bad news is that McDonald's tackle numbers have never been great—last year's 30 stops in 649 snaps represented a career-high.
He will return to DE2 status in 2026.
The Jets drafted David Bailey second overall, but with Jermaine Johnson II gone, McDonald's snaps should be back over 750 this season after two missed games in 2025. Bailey's the best batterymate McDonald has had. The low-tackle numbers make him high-variance, but McDonald could easily become a solid matchup play for managers who stream their second starter on the edge.
EDGE Nolan Smith Jr., Philadelphia (FBG CR: DL71)
After a promising second season, Smith's numbers took a major drop in 2026—the 30th pick in the 2023 draft missed five games and saw his sacks fall from 6.5 to just three last season.
There are reasons to believe that a rebound could be in the offing—if not a breakout.
The Eagles have already exercised the fifth-year option on Smith, guaranteeing him just under $14 million in 2027. The torn triceps Smith suffered in Super Bowl LIX should be fully healed. And Smith was a force in the run-up to that Super Bowl win, logging four sacks and 16 total tackles in the playoffs.
The Eagles are going to rotate Smith, Jonathan Greenard and Jalyx Hunt on the edge, as they often do. Greenard will pace the team in sacks, but Smith will be the best IDP value of the lot.
