Categories: Fantasy Football

2012 IDP Rankings — Top 50 Overall

Fanatics. That’s what I like to refer to Fantasy Football owners that choose to play in leagues that use Individual Defensive Players (IDP). They are fanatics. So these 2012 IDP Rankings are really for them.

But regular Fantasy Football owners can glean some things from these rankings too. It’s easy to see that running backs in the NFC West are going to have a tough time, once again, going up against the Niners linebackers twice a year. And DE Mario Williams, the top free agent this past offseason not named Peyton Manning, should remain a pass-rushing force in the AFC East.

I used to play in an auction dynasty IDP league from 2002-10 called the Absolute Gridiron Association. It was awesome, plain and simple. But with player salaries and four-year contracts and franchise tags, it just became too much of a bear for me. Oh, and I suck at IDP leagues.

Giants DE Jason Pierre-Paul had 16.5 sacks last season, in just his second year in the pros. Photo Credit: Tommy Gilligan

 

2012 IDP Rankings from @OlingerIDPGuru

Since I know my limitations, I’ve asked Eric Olinger of DynastyLeagueFootball.com to provide us with his top 50 rankings. Initially, he was reluctant because scoring systems vary greatly from league to league. Many leagues give points for passes defended, and some reward sacks two or three times more than another league. Some leagues start one defensive lineman, two linebackers and two defensive backs, whereas some leagues (like the AGA), start three DL, four LBs and four DBs.

One thing I did learn in my years as an IDP-er, is that cornerbacks are a little tricky.  Good ones are often not thrown to, so their chances at interceptions, tackles and passes defended are usually pretty low. This works the other way, also. A rookie defensive back will get picked on by  an opposing QB, and he’ll get plenty of tackles and passes defended.

Also, linebackers that play on teams with bad offenses are also usually good Fantasy picks.  This is because their offense is unable to stay on the field for very long, giving the linebacker more playmaking opportunities and tackles. (See D’Qwell Jackson.) And that also works the other way, with linebackers being on bad defenses racking up lots of Fantasy points because they can’t get off the field. (See James Laurinaitis.)

I hope you enjoy these rankings and you check out Olinger’s rankings for each position over at DynastyLeagueFootball.com.

 

RANKINGS: Top 60 | QB | RB | WR | TE | K | DST | Top 50 IDP

 

2012 IDP Rankings: Top 50 Overall

 

Rank Individual Def. Players Pos. Team Age
1 Jason Pierre-Paul DE NYG 23
2 Jared Allen DE MIN 30
3 Patrick Willis LB SF 27
4 Desmond Bishop LB GB 27
5 Navorro Bowman LB SF 24
6 James Laurinaitis LB STL 25
7 D’Qwell Jackson LB CLE 28
8 Mario Williams DE BUF 27
9 Colin McCarthy LB TEN 24
10 Daryl Washington LB ARI 25
11 Derrick Johnson LB KC 29
12 Sean Lee LB DAL 25
13 Curtis Lofton LB NO 26
14 Brian Cushing LB HOU 25
15 Jon Beason LB CAR 27
16 Jabaal Sheard DE CLE 23
17 Cliff Avril DE DET 26
18 Charles Johnson DE CAR 26
19 Trent Cole DE PHI 29
20 London Fletcher LB WAS 37
21 Karlos Dansby LB MIA 30
22 Kam Chancellor S SEA 24
23 Eric Berry S KC 23
24 Morgan Burnett S GB 23
25 Tyvon Branch S OAK 25
26 Terrell Suggs DE BAL 29
27 Julius Peppers DE CHI 32
28 Jason Babin DE PHI 32
29 Justin Tuck DE NYG 29
30 Cameron Wake DE MIA 30
31 J.J. Watt DE HOU 23
32 Donald Butler LB SD 23
33 Chad Greenway LB MIN 29
34 Paul Posluszny LB JAX 27
35 Pat Angerer LB IND 25
36 Stephen Tulloch LB DET 27
37 Lawrence Timmons LB PIT 26
38 Jerod Mayo LB NE 26
39 Sean Weatherspoon LB ATL 24
40 Perry Riley LB WAS 24
41 Luke Kuechly LB CAR 21
42 DeMeco Ryans LB PHI 27
43 J.J. Watt DE HOU 23
44 Calais Campbell DE ARI 25
45 Elvis Dumervil DE DEN 28
46 Chris Long DE STL 27
47 Justin Smith DE SF 32
48 Robert Quinn DE STL 22
49 Osi Umenyiora DE NYG 30
50 Bernard Pollard S BAL 27

 

Follow @OlingerIDPGuru and @DavidGonos on Twitter!

Rams LB James Laurinaitis is on the field an awful lot — which is a good thing for his IDP Fantasy owners. Photo Credit: RamsHerd.com

 

David Gonos

David Gonos spent 5 years as a CBSSports.com Senior Fantasy Writer and three more years writing with SI.com. Over the past 17 years, his work has been published on NFL.com, MLB.com, FanDuel, FoxSports.com and USA Today. Since 2001, he has been tracking down the Top 50-plus Free Fantasy Football Draft Tools online. You can contact David Gonos here.

View Comments

  • In a league w/ a 20-round draft where only 1 LB, 1 DL, and 1 DB start, how early would you recommend going for an IDP, and how many roster positions would you dedicate them (e.g. starters and backups)? Thanks!

    • Hmmm, well, with just one def player at each position, I'd say you should wait until Round 6 or 7 before taking any defensive players. As far as roster positions dedicated to them -- I'd hold onto one DB, two DL and two LBs. I'd still only draft one TE, K and DST, but I'd get two QBs, five RBs and five WRs.

  • Donald Butler......top 10 LB this year? Moving into 3 down work this season....expecting big things. Thoughts?

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