- Nick Bosa and Micah Parsons lead the way for 2025: The top two IDP players this season offer elite pass-rush upside with a high likelihood of delivering in 2025.
- Jared Verse is primed for a breakout season in the sack column: The potential of Verse’s positive sack regression, combined with his elite tackle production, makes him one of the best bets for a top-12 finish this season.
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Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
Breaking fantasy football rankings down into tiers helps fantasy managers better understand what separates each group and how to value each player at the position for this coming season.
You can view all past top IDP scorers, scoring settings, and production versus expected numbers from 2022 through 2024 for free here.
Tier 1: The Magnificent Seven
| RANK | POS. RANK | PLAYER | TEAM |
| 1 | ED1 | Nick Bosa | 49ers |
| 2 | ED2 | Micah Parsons | Cowboys |
| 3 | ED3 | T.J. Watt | Steelers |
| 4 | ED4 | Aidan Hutchinson | Lions |
| 5 | ED5 | Jared Verse | Rams |
| 6 | ED6 | Maxx Crosby | Raiders |
| 7 | ED7 | Myles Garrett | Browns |
The top-tiered defensive linemen truly have the potential to be ordered however drafters prefer, as each of these players is a high-end pass rusher primed for an ideal workload that has and will lead to top-12 production.
Nick Bosa leads the way heading into 2025 as an elite pass-rusher with high-end tackling ability, which has bolstered his production floor and led him to four-straight top-12 finishes at his position since 2021. Bosa has been surprisingly quiet in the sack column over the last two seasons despite ranking among the very top of the position in expected sacks in each of the past two seasons based on his playing time and elite pass-rush metrics, putting him in positive regression territory for 2025. Even with “only” 9.5 sacks last season, Bosa still ranked as the ED3 in points per game, and with a potentially larger sack total, Bosa as the overall ED1 is well within his range of outcomes.
Micah Parsons comes the closest in these rankings to ED1 consideration due to elite pass-rush ability, the potential to hit a new high in sack totals and enough volume to get as many kicks at that can as possible. The slightest of tie-breakers went in the way of Bosa due to tackling potential, where Parsons wasn’t as strong in 2024, ranking just 28th percentile in tackles versus expected (-2.8) compared to Bosa’s 87th percentile mark (+7.4). However, the difference might ultimately prove to be negligible, as these two are easily interchangeable within that top spot.
Aidan Hutchinson would likely have been on an easy path to being the overall ED1 last year and in the rankings this year if not for a season-ending knee injury. While Hutchinson is expected to play at a high level heading into 2025, he misses out on being the ED1 overall due to a potentially slower start to the year as he gets back up to game speed. That being said, even a nerfed version of Hutchinson is arguably still one of the league’s elite after he ranked first in the entire league in pass-rush grade (95.0), win rate (38.3%), IDP points per game (22.5) and expected sacks per game (0.89). Once back to full speed and health, Hutchinson should re-establish himself in the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year conversation.
Jared Verse is coming off a Defensive Rookie of the Year performance in 2024, immediately placing his name among the league’s best. While Verse managed just 4.5 sacks on the year, he is arguably the position’s greatest positive regression candidate when it comes to sacks. If that were to come to fruition as the data suggests, his ED13 finish for IDP last season all of a sudden becomes easily beatable to the point where there’s no question about his top-five IDP ranking here in 2025. Verse ranked 96th percentile in expected sacks and 97th percentile in tackles versus expected, and heading into Year 2, he is primed to build on that elite production.
Tier 2: Contenders to the DL1 throne
| RANK | POS. RANK | PLAYER | TEAM |
| 8 | ED8 | Will Anderson Jr. | Texans |
| 9 | ED9 | Danielle Hunter | Texans |
| 10 | ED10 | Josh Hines-Allen | Jaguars |
| 11 | ED11 | Greg Rousseau | Bills |
| 12 | ED12 | Brian Burns | Giants |
| 13 | ED13 | Alex Highsmith | Steelers |
| 14 | ED14 | Jonathan Greenard | Vikings |
| 15 | ED15 | Trey Hendrickson | Bengals |
| 16 | DT1 | Zach Allen | Broncos |
| 17 | DT2 | Jeffery Simmons | Titans |
| 18 | DT3 | Dexter Lawrence | Giants |
| 19 | DT4 | DeForest Buckner | Colts |
| 20 | ED16 | Andrew Van Ginkel | Vikings |
The second tier of defensive linemen is chock-full of high-end weekly starters for the position – all capable of finishing as the top overall player at their positions either due to high-end playing time or pass-rush metrics.
Hines-Allen doesn’t get nearly enough credit as he deserves for being one of the league’s best and most consistent pass-rushers. For the second-straight season, Hines-Allen finished with both a top-10 pass-rush grade for his position and among the top 90th percentile at his position in expected sacks. While he was unable to replicate his 17.5-sack season from 2023 due to natural sack variance, Hines-Allen has the playing time and pass-rush ability to come close to that mark on any given season, which isn’t necessarily the case for those ranked a tier lower than him.
Zach Allen and Jeffery Simmons are the top two defensive tackles to target for IDP heading into this season, as both players boast workhorse roles, strong tackle floors and high-end pass-rush upside. Allen is coming off a career year in terms of playing time, pass-rush grade (72.0), expected sacks (99th percentile), pressures (75) and sacks (8.5), leading to him finishing as the overall DT1 with little reason to expect much less than similar numbers in 2025. Meanwhile, Simmons is also coming off a career year in terms of pass rush grade (81.6), landing among the 92nd percentile in expected sacks while ranking 99th percentile in tackles versus expected (+17.9). Simmons stands out as one of the best bets to have a career year in sacks this season as well, as he's never surpassed 8.5 in a season (2021), and based on all his underlying metrics, he should push to beat that mark in 2025, making him an ideal IDP target.
Andrew Van Ginkel delivered an incredible IDP performance in 2024, finishing as the overall ED1 on the year thanks to the second-most defensive snaps (920), 11.5 sacks and two defensive touchdowns. Unfortunately, the reason that Van Ginkel is ranked at the bottom of Tier 2 and just outside the top-15 players at his position is that all of those numbers are likely to regress in 2025. While the defensive touchdowns are, of course, obviously not repeatable, it’s the sacks, specifically, that stand out as a concern. Van Ginkel ranked just 66th at his position in pass-rush grade (64.2) and 66th percentile in expected sacks, which means he delivered well over expectations in that regard, ranking behind only Nik Bonitto in sacks versus expected. IDP managers must temper expectations for Van Ginkel in 2025, despite him still being in a good position to be productive; top-12 at the position again is unlikely.
Tier 3: Reliable starters
| RANK | POS. RANK | PLAYER | TEAM |
| 21 | ED17 | Laiatu Latu | Colts |
| 22 | ED18 | Carl Granderson | Saints |
| 23 | ED19 | Travon Walker | Jaguars |
| 24 | ED20 | Josh Sweat | Cardinals |
| 25 | ED21 | Khalil Mack | Chargers |
| 26 | ED22 | Yaya Diaby | Buccaneers |
| 27 | DT5 | Leonard Williams | Seahawks |
| 28 | ED23 | George Karlaftis | Chiefs |
| 29 | DT6 | Quinnen Williams | Jets |
| 30 | DT7 | Chris Jones | Chiefs |
| 31 | ED24 | Harold Landry III | Patriots |
| 32 | ED25 | Nik Bonitto | Broncos |
| 33 | DT8 | Kobie Turner | Rams |
| 34 | DT9 | Derrick Brown | Panthers |
| 35 | ED26 | Tuli Tuipulotu | Chargers |
| 36 | ED27 | Jonathon Cooper | Broncos |
| 37 | ED28 | Will McDonald IV | Jets |
| 38 | ED29 | Nolan Smith | Eagles |
Tier 3 is where the next batch of defensive linemen to consider for starting lineups can be found, between high-end interior defenders and high-volume EDGEs. Each of these players should be in starting consideration in non-shallow formats in 2025.
Carl Granderson leads the way for this tier as one of the top positive regression candidates as far as sacks go for the position heading into 2025. Granderson finished 90th percentile in expected sacks, though he came in well below that total, accumulating just 5.5 on the year. As one of the more high-volume opportunists at the position in terms of snaps and tackles, a positive regression in the sack column should have Granderson pushing for a top-15 finish after doing so in 2023 but falling short in 2024.
Laiatu Latu heads into Year 2 primed for a breakout after a solid rookie season that saw him rank among the top 74th percentile at his position in expected sacks despite averaging just 54% of his team’s defensive snaps on a weekly basis. This is a testament to how well Latu played on that lower snap share, earning a 72.1 pass-rush grade that represents a solid start to his career. In fact, it was even better than several first-round edge defenders of the past decade in their rookie years, including T.J. Watt (70.2), Brian Burns (68.7), Greg Rousseau (68.7), Josh Hines-Allen (70.2), Aidan Hutchinson (70.2) and teammate Kwity Paye (71.3). Considering Latu’s elite pass-rush metrics coming out of college, he is well on track to establish himself as a top-24 edge defender for IDP with an expected uptick in playing time, pass-rush metrics and production in 2025.
Tier 4: The best depth options
| RANK | POS. RANK | PLAYER | TEAM |
| 39 | ED30 | Kayvon Thibodeaux | Giants |
| 40 | ED31 | Abdul Carter | Giants |
| 41 | ED32 | Odafe Oweh | Ravens |
| 42 | ED33 | Rashan Gary | Packers |
| 43 | ED34 | Bradley Chubb | Dolphins |
| 44 | ED35 | Joey Bosa | Bills |
| 45 | ED36 | Haason Reddick | Buccaneers |
| 46 | DT10 | Jalen Carter | Eagles |
| 47 | DT11 | Zach Sieler | Dolphins |
| 48 | DT12 | Milton Williams | Patriots |
| 49 | DT13 | A'Shawn Robinson | Panthers |
| 50 | ED37 | Malcolm Koonce | Raiders |
| 51 | ED38 | Chop Robinson | Dolphins |
| 52 | ED39 | Montez Sweat | Bears |
| 53 | ED40 | Boye Mafe | Seahawks |
| 54 | ED41 | Jermaine Johnson | Jets |
| 55 | ED42 | D.J. Wonnum | Panthers |
| 56 | DT14 | Nnamdi Madubuike | Ravens |
| 57 | DT15 | Cameron Heyward | Steelers |
| 58 | ED43 | Byron Young | Rams |
| 59 | ED44 | Jalon Walker | Falcons |
| 60 | ED45 | Chase Young | Saints |
| 61 | ED46 | Kwity Paye | Colts |
| 62 | ED47 | Dre'Mont Jones | Titans |
As we venture into Tier 4, our defensive linemen here typically offer one of either high-end pass-rush metrics, ideal playing time, or just not coming off a major injury, but not all three. It doesn’t mean that they can’t get there in 2025; it just means there are a lot of similar options to sort through, which all offer similar upside. Some of the defensive tackles vying for top-12 at their position also exist within this tier as solid DL options and even better DT-required picks.
Amongst those options are the defensive linemen coming off injury, including Bradley Chubb, Malcolm Koone, and Jermaine Johnson. All three players were coming off career years prior to their injuries and have had a longer time to recover, as their injuries happened early enough in 2024 to allow them to get a leg up on others coming off injuries from last season. Assuming healthier seasons, each player is in a position to play significant snaps along their respective defensive lines with a shot to deliver a solid production floor mixed with enough pass-rush upside that, if healthy, can be much better than their current ranking.
There is likely to be a lot of excitement around Chop Robinson heading into Year 2 after delivering excellent pass-rush metrics as a rookie, including a very strong 78.7 pass-rush grade and an 78th percentile mark in expected sacks. Where expectations are tempered for Robinson within these rankings is his path to playing time, as both Chubb and Jaelan Phillips are expected back healthy in 2025 and have often been workhorse players at the position. With both players back, and considering Robinson’s profile, he may play a more designated pass-rush role in 2025 as both Chubb and Phillips dominate more of the early downs. If that projection comes true, then Robinson may be more sack-dependent this season and create a little more volatility in his IDP production, which is less than ideal for being a weekly starter.
Tier 5: Deep league options
| RANK | POS. RANK | PLAYER | TEAM |
| 63 | ED48 | Jaelan Phillips | Dolphins |
| 64 | DT16 | Calijah Kancey | Buccaneers |
| 65 | DT17 | Osa Odighizuwa | Cowboys |
| 66 | DT18 | Keion White | Patriots |
| 67 | DT19 | Ed Oliver | Bills |
| 68 | ED49 | Kyle Van Noy | Ravens |
| 69 | ED50 | Dorance Armstrong | Commanders |
| 70 | ED51 | Uchenna Nwosu | Seahawks |
| 71 | ED52 | Pat Jones II | Panthers |
| 72 | ED53 | Joseph Ossai | Bengals |
| 73 | ED54 | Marcus Davenport | Lions |
| 74 | ED55 | DeMarcus Lawrence | Seahawks |
| 75 | DT20 | Christian Barmore | Patriots |
| 76 | DT21 | Braden Fiske | Rams |
| 77 | DT22 | Gervon Dexter Sr. | Bears |
| 78 | ED56 | Anfernee Jennings | Patriots |
| 79 | ED57 | Shemar Stewart | Bengals |
| 80 | ED58 | Azeez Ojulari | Eagles |
| 81 | DT23 | Christian Wilkins | FA |
| 82 | ED59 | Denico Autry | Texans |
| 83 | ED60 | Leonard Floyd | Falcons |
| 84 | ED61 | Arden Key | Titans |
| 85 | DT24 | Grover Stewart | Colts |
| 86 | DT25 | Vita Vea | Buccaneers |
| 87 | DT26 | Jonathan Allen | Vikings |
| 88 | DT27 | Javon Hargrave | Vikings |
| 89 | DT28 | Daron Payne | Commanders |
| 90 | ED62 | Dante Fowler Jr. | Cowboys |
| 91 | ED63 | Mykel Williams | 49ers |
| 92 | ED64 | Nick Herbig | Steelers |
Tier 5 still offers starting potential for non-shallow IDP formats, just with lower expected ceilings on a weekly basis, as they also don’t necessarily have the ideal combination of pass-rush metrics and playing time to put them in the higher tiers. The lone exception in this tier is Nick Herbig, who is the top edge handcuff in the league while backing up both Alex Highsmith and T.J. Watt. If one of those two misses time, Herbig would take on a significant workload along the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ defensive line. Herbig separates himself from others who may move up the depth chart due to an injured starter by having some of the best pass-rush marks in the league over the past two seasons. This includes last season when Herbig posted a 91.8 pass-rush grade, which ranked behind only Aidan Hutchinson and Myles Garrett at the position. While it was on a lower sample size, Herbig stepping into a large role at least offers high-end potential for IDP.
Tier 6: Deep league depth
The final tier consists of NFL backups and hopefuls for better 2025 seasons, but aren’t likely starting the year in a good enough position to be worthy of actual 2025 draft capital outside of the deepest leagues. This includes players like Jalyx Hunt who flashed potential for the Philadelphia Eagles last season, and should be in for a decent-sized role this year, however, he’s likely to be part of a rotation with Nolan Smith, Azeez Ojulari, and Josh Uche, who all offer similar skillsets and upside where the Eagles won’t have to rely on just one or two of these players, but a combination of the bunch, likely leading to inconsistent IDP production.
There are other high-upside rookies in this range, including both the Baltimore Ravens‘ Mike Green and Atlanta Falcons‘ James Pearce Jr. Both players come with high draft capital and very encouraging pass-rush metrics coming out of college, but it isn’t a guarantee that they’ll see a large enough workload in Year 1 to become relevant for IDP in 2025. On the chance that they do get a strong workload, they offer more pass-rush upside than almost all names in this tier, making them top targets near the end of those deeper drafts.
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