There are plenty of reasons players tumble from the top of the mountain. Age, injuries, scheme shifts, or a new coaching staff can all impact a player's development. It happens, and as IDP managers, it's our job to spot it before the rest of the pack does. This may come as a shock given how I've viewed the safety position, but I believe we need to slow our roll on Kyle Hamilton as the end-all, be-all at the spot this season. This isn't a knock on the player himself. It's more of an uneasy feeling, the same one a lot of managers felt week to week last year staring at him in their lineup. Call it my hottest take of the offseason if you want, but I'm prioritizing other defensive backs over Hamilton in IDP.
An Elite Resume
If you play IDP, you already know Kyle Hamilton. He's the exact type of versatile defensive back you want on your roster, big, physical, and capable of wrecking a game from multiple spots. The Ravens selected him 14th overall in the 2022 draft and expected early production. Hamilton delivered. In his first two seasons, including a rookie year where he ranked third among Ravens safeties in snaps, he piled up four interceptions, 18 passes defended, five sacks, and more than 140 tackles. 2024 marked the first time he finished as a top-ten safety in IDP, and the expectation heading into 2025 was clear: this would be the season he separated himself as the undisputed No. 1 at the position. Instead, Hamilton finished outside the top ten. In fairness, he did miss one game with an injury, but his production never quite matched the hype surrounding him entering the year. Hamilton remains a talented, high-upside player. The question for 2026 is whether that upside is still worth the premium price tags managers have been paying.
Following The Trend
We are starting to see an ugly trend develop in Kyle Hamilton's career arc. In IDP, tackles remain the most important statistic, and this is not an area where Hamilton is falling short. His tackle totals have generally climbed year over year (with last season as an exception). The problem is everything else. Big-play production has dried up. Hamilton has not recorded an interception since Week 17 of the 2024 season and has managed just one sack over that same stretch. Stable tackle numbers without the splash plays leave you with a solid but unspectacular floor, exactly the profile that makes it hard to justify elite draft capital at the defensive back position. What concerns me most is the unstable situation in Baltimore. For the first time since 2007, the Ravens will take the field without John Harbaugh.
We all subscribe to the "next man up" theory, but I find it difficult to believe this defense takes a step forward rather than a step back when it comes to consistent IDP production. A new regime has no built-in loyalty to any player or position group. With Hamilton's versatile skill set, I would not be shocked to see the coaching staff experiment with moving him around the field. That kind of role fluidity rarely helps fantasy scoring. The defensive back rankings are razor-thin. The difference between the top ten is not decided by reliable tackle floors; it is decided by who can still generate the big plays often enough to warrant premium investment. Hamilton's recent trends combined with the uncertainty in Baltimore are major red flags for me. I am bowing out of the Hamilton sweepstakes for the 2026 season.