- A full offense and IDP draft strategy walkthrough: Find the best method for mixing in IDPs amongst the offensive players we’re drafting this fantasy season.
- Ideal roster breakdowns: Helping IDP managers curate how the ideal roster should look through various points in the draft.
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Estimated Reading Time: 16 minutes
A common barrier preventing fantasy football gamers from playing in IDP leagues is being unsure of where to value defensive players among the offensive players they already know. Consider this a strategy guide for the optimal draft approach for IDP leagues, with summarized reasoning and walkthroughs throughout a typical 30-round draft.
Also included are preferred scoring and lineup requirements to provide a balanced starting point for fantasy gamers to dive in.
Offensive scoring (standard PPR):
| Event | Points |
| Passing touchdown | 4 |
| Passing yards | 1 point for every 25 |
| Rushing/receiving touchdown | 6 |
| Receptions | 1 |
PFF-Preferred IDP Scoring:
| Position | Solo TKLs | Assists | Sacks | TFLs | QB Hits |
| DL | 2.5 | 1.25 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| LB | 1.5 | 0.75 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| DB | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
Starting lineup requirements (30 rounds):
| Position | Minimum starters | Maximum starters |
| Quarterback | 1 | 1 |
| Running Back | 2 | 4 |
| Wide Receiver | 3 | 5 |
| Tight End | 1 | 3 |
| Total offensive starters | 10 | |
| Edge defender | 2 | 2 |
| Defensive tackle | 1 | 2 |
| Linebacker | 3 | 4 |
| Cornerback | 1 | 2 |
| Safety | 1 | 2 |
| Total defensive starters | 10 | |
Referenced scoring uses the settings below, with a link to all point leaders for 2022 through 2024 (min. 100 defensive snaps) here.
Rounds 1 – 4
Having three or four offensive skill position players at this point is ideal through the first four rounds. In almost every combined offense and IDP fantasy league, the elite offensive players will come off the board early and often. You want to have a handful of true difference-makers on the offensive side of the ball, so loading up on wide receivers or running backs is always going to be the optimal approach in this format.
Fantasy managers should always be aware of how many more legitimate targets are left on the board that they’d like to target at each position to help make decisions along the way. Early in these types of drafts, there are still plenty of quarterbacks, tight ends, and IDPs left, which should keep us focused on running back and wide receiver.
For those IDP managers who want/need the elite edge defenders for their rosters – and based on this scoring system, which isn’t one-sided in favor of linebackers – the end of the fourth round would be the absolute earliest to look to add those elite edge options. Keep in mind that it’s still early and there will be other strong edge/IDP candidates later on if there is still good offensive value on the board.
Ideal starting lineup through the first four rounds:
- QB: 0-1
- RB: 1-3
- WR: 1-3
- TE: 0-1
- ED: 0-1
Rounds 5-8:
For the fantasy managers that didn’t address tight end, quarterback or edge defender in the first four rounds, it’s a good time to target at least two of those positions as the reliable starters pool begins to dry up. Doubling up on top-15 edge options is also a viable strategy to protect against a potential injury, as that player’s replacement will rarely produce similar production numbers, making the waiver-wire and/or depth options less than ideal once the season begins.
Within these four rounds, fantasy managers may find that the upside for some of the skill position players isn’t quite as high as these top IDP options (depending on scoring), so spending more capital on quarterback, tight end and IDPs for this range makes more sense.
There’s likely to be a run on linebackers during these rounds, especially for a lot of the top-12 options, but it’s important not to panic, as there are plenty of other full-time options who can provide similar production. The focus will be on targeting second- and third-tier offensive players at quarterback and/or tight end, as well as potentially some fringe first- and second-tier defensive linemen.
Ideal starting lineup through eight rounds:
- QB: 0-1
- RB: 2-4
- WR: 2-4
- TE: 0-1
- ED: 1-2
- LB: 0-1
Rounds 9-12:
These four rounds should be used to build talented depth at skill positions while making sure the IDP positions that rely on talent are starting to get filled out. Attempt to grab two top-15 edge defenders along with a high-end defensive tackle (more important for DT-required formats), so you don’t have to worry about those positions in-season, barring injury. As highlighted here, it’s important to recognize how unreliable past sack production is for defensive linemen, and specifically, past fantasy points for edge defenders can be, so banking on talent and the reliable and predictive underlying pass-rush metrics is all the more important for consistency throughout a season.
Fantasy managers can also start attacking the linebacker position in this range, but there are still several full-time options likely to be available beyond this point, so for those who know their linebackers or utilize the rankings/tiers, targeting more offensive value can be very useful for in-season depth.
Ideal starting lineup through 12 rounds:
- QB: 1-2
- RB: 2-5
- WR: 3-6
- TE: 1-2
- ED: 2-3
- DT: 1
- LB: 0-1
- S: 0-1
Rounds 13-18:
This is a great range to start grabbing safe linebackers who should play a full-time role and accrue plenty of tackles. Grabbing one or two coming out of these four rounds should give fantasy managers a solid start at the position if they didn’t already grab one earlier. Almost every linebacker within this range (LB19-32) projects for a full-time role, and for a position where snaps matter above all else to create production, this helps you save on the cost of those higher-ranked linebackers from previous rounds.
This is also a good range to finish drafting the quarterback position while potentially the last chance to get a starting tight end. Outside of this range, things get significantly thinner in terms of reliable options.
Ideal starting lineup through 18 rounds:
- QB: 1-2
- RB: 2-5
- WR: 4-6
- TE: 1-2
- ED: 2-3
- DT: 1-2
- LB: 1-3
- S: 0-1
Rounds 19-24:
Fantasy managers who waited to attack the linebacker position can target the position heavily here with several names still left on the board who can be solid producers. As we get later into the draft, the players with full-time roles start to diminish, so for those that don’t want to rely on the waiver-wire in-season, this could be the last range to get those final pieces at the position.
You don’t have to be the fantasy manager to grab safety earlier than this and instead, focus on rounding out other key positions while someone else starts the run. There are plenty of safeties in this range, so it’s best to not grab more than one in the first 24 rounds.
Ideal starting lineup through 24 rounds:
- QB: 2
- RB: 4-6
- WR: 5-6
- TE: 2-3
- ED: 2-3
- DT: 1-2
- LB: 3-5
- S: 1
Rounds 25-30:
The final rounds are all about depth and addressing the cornerback position for the first time while rounding out the starting lineup requirements for their safeties. Defensive back is the deepest position in this format and plenty of names not listed here can score similarly on any given week.
The last rounds are also a good spot to take your favorite dart throws at more valuable positions like wide receiver, tight end or running back, while quarterback, edge defender and defensive tackle should all have been addressed by this point with a set starter and reliable backup locked in for DT-required leagues.
Ideal starting lineup through 30 rounds:
- QB: 2
- RB: 4-6
- WR: 5-7
- TE: 2-3
- ED: 3-4
- DT: 2
- LB: 3-5
- S: 2-3
- CB: 1-2
Depending on how many rounds you go, or how deep your league is, there are still plenty of options at all positions to consider and can be found in all the updated rankings and tiers by position to help you fill out the rest.
Be sure to check out the full tiers, rankings, and player-specific thoughts for each positional group:
Quarterbacks | Running backs | Wide receivers | Tight ends | Defensive linemen | Linebackers | Defensive backs
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