John Norton ("The Guru") and Gary Davenport ("The Godfather of IDP") are two of the most experienced and knowledgeable IDP analysts in the fantasy football industry. Each week during the regular season, they gather to answer the most looming questions facing IDP managers.
However, the Guru and the Godfather like to get together every once in a while in the offseason, including face-to-face recently for the King's Classic draft at the Pro Football Hall of Fame during the 2026 Fantasy Football Expo.
Now, the boys (they're young at heart) are back from Canton, training camps have fired up across the NFL, and there's no shortage of IDP-relevant stuff to discuss.
So. Let's get to discussing stuff.
New Guys on the Line
There was a ton of personnel movement and big contracts handed out this offseason to defensive linemen, and more than a few fronts have undergone a major overhaul. Which face in a new place has you most excited with training camps underway in earnest?
Guru: The low-hanging fruit is Myles Garrett going to the Rams. Since the Godfather is his biggest fan, I'll leave that one open and go deeper into the pile. Jermaine Johnson II entered the league with grand expectations in 2022. Like the Jets, who drafted him in the first round, the expectations have never been realized.
It looked like he was heading there when he recorded 55 tackles, 7 sacks, and 3 turnovers in 2023, but everything went sideways with a week one knee injury in 2024. Two years removed from the injury and fully recovered, Johnson gets a fresh start in Tennessee, where he should be a great fit and is likely to see upwards of 80% of the snaps.
Godfather: Breaking news—Myles Garrett is good. It's not just his impact in Los Angeles, either—Byron Young has seen the last double-team he's going to see for a while.
I would have pivoted to another defensive lineman who was traded this offseason in Jonathan Greenard of the Philadelphia Eagles, but while I think Greenard will be fine, the pectoral strain he suffered this offseason has robbed his debut season in Philly of some of its luster.
Instead of Greenard, I'll go with another veteran edge-rusher in Bradley Chubb of the Buffalo Bills. Chubb isn't the most talked-about edge-rusher who changed teams in the offseason, but he has the chance to be a sneaky value in drafts this summer. Yes, Chubb is 30 years old. Yes, he missed the entire 2024 season. But Chubb rebounded last year with 47 total tackles and eight sacks, and in 2023 with the Miami Dolphins, Chubb topped 70 tackles, logged 11.5 sacks and finished sixth among edge-rushers in The Godfather's Default IDP Scoring.
Fighting Through the Fog
There was no shortage of movement at linebacker this offseason at linebacker as well, whether it was trades, free agency or via the draft. Many linebacker situations are already relatively settled, but several are not. Of those cloudy depth charts, who is your favorite pick to emerge from the smoke as a viable fantasy starter?
Guru: This year's draft class could end up giving us several great fantasy options at linebacker. None are closer to a sure thing than Washington's Sonny Styles. It's been a long time since I was so high on a rookie linebacker. I even selected him as the tenth linebacker off the board in the recent Kings Classic Dick Butkus Division experts draft at the Hall of Fame.
When it comes to rookies, fantasy managers are forever searching for the perfect marriage of skill set, talent, and situation. It doesn't get any better than Styles landing with the Commanders. If AI were to create the perfect middle linebacker for that scheme, it would be him. Despite being 100 in football years, Bobby Wagner was highly productive at the position in 2025. Styles is a bigger, maybe a little faster, and a much younger version of the future Hall of Famer.
Godfather: Styles is going to be a star—no doubt. He's an athletic freak who landed in a situation as favorable as any of this year's rookie linebackers. It's not a matter of "if" Styles will be a top-10 linebacker. It's a matter of "when." And "when" could easily be 2026.
The linebacker situation in Tampa Bay is so muddy that it's wise to just steer clear of the whole mess. But we're starting to get a bit more clarity in Dallas, where DeMarvion Overshown will reportedly wear the "green dot" helmet communicator while fourth-year pro Dee Winters will serve as the team's WILL linebacker.
If ceiling is your thing, then Overshown should be a draft-day target—he's a joy to watch (plays like his hair is on fire) who could genuinely have elite fantasy upside this year. The problem with Overshown is an injury history that includes 32 missed games in three years. For IDP drafters willing to sacrifice a little fantasy ceiling for floor, Winters has a real chance to lead the Cowboys in tackles and could go from later-round flier to IDP LB2.
It Is What It Is
Defensive backs are what they are—that's not going to change. But a change of scenery or a rookie in the right spot can create a fantasy star PDQ. Which player in the secondary do you expect to emerge from training camp as one of those stars in 2026?
Guru: Picking defensive backs who are set to break out is like taking a bucket full of spitballs and throwing them at a wall, then randomly picking from the ones that stick. For that reason, I tend to pay even closer attention to where they land. Nick Cross was third among safeties with 72 solo tackles and second in fantasy points in many formats last year. With Cross now in Washington, rookie A.J. Haulcy is set to take over the Colts' strong safety role.
At 215 pounds, Haulcy is a big physical safety with more to his game than making tackles. With 347 of those, his college career tells us there will be no shortage in those columns. The 10 interceptions, 4 forced fumbles, and a recovery on his resume are a good sign that Haulcy will be a complete contributor right out of the gate.
Godfather: It's hard not to like Haulcy this season. But there's growing hype around "Mr. Give Me That" (No, really, that's his nickname)—hype that could drive up his asking price in fantasy drafts.
For The Godfather's call, we'll head back to a Dallas defense that will have as many new starters in 2026 as any team in the league. Safety Jalen Thompson is one of those new starters after seven seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. In four of those seasons, Thompson amassed at least 95 tackles, and Thompson has topped 100 stops twice.
Thompson appears headed for the box safety role in Big D, and given the questions facing both the Cowboys defense as a whole and the linebackers in front of him, Thompson could be headed toward a career year.
