This article is part of our IDP Analysis series.
This is the second of a three-article series running before August that will help IDP owners find outstanding values on draft day. Obviously, IDP drafts come in all shapes and sizes, so players ranked in the Rotowire season-long positional preseason rankings with standard scoring are featured. Then, the players who we have ranked well above their preseason ADP are listed as the best players to target in drafts. Obviously, if there are specific players whom you must have, like an Aaron Donald or Khalil Mack, you'll be using a premium pick to acquire them, but the purpose of this article will be to help you determine when you can focus on other positions, such as offense, before adding productive IDPs to your roster.
Top-12 Linebackers
The great news is that if you don't want to pay up for the most-expensive linebackers on the board, you can wait to see when the top-end players are selected and still get an elite talent. Coming in at second in our rankings is Leighton Vander Esch, who is usually drafted after five linebackers have been selected. If you really want to have a dominant pair of linebackers, our third-ranked player is Lavonte David, who has an ADP after the top-12 LBs. Based on the value of these two players, you should be able to come away with one of them, but if you still need a top-end starter, Jaylon Smith is the eighth backer on our board, and he's typically selected
This is the second of a three-article series running before August that will help IDP owners find outstanding values on draft day. Obviously, IDP drafts come in all shapes and sizes, so players ranked in the Rotowire season-long positional preseason rankings with standard scoring are featured. Then, the players who we have ranked well above their preseason ADP are listed as the best players to target in drafts. Obviously, if there are specific players whom you must have, like an Aaron Donald or Khalil Mack, you'll be using a premium pick to acquire them, but the purpose of this article will be to help you determine when you can focus on other positions, such as offense, before adding productive IDPs to your roster.
Top-12 Linebackers
The great news is that if you don't want to pay up for the most-expensive linebackers on the board, you can wait to see when the top-end players are selected and still get an elite talent. Coming in at second in our rankings is Leighton Vander Esch, who is usually drafted after five linebackers have been selected. If you really want to have a dominant pair of linebackers, our third-ranked player is Lavonte David, who has an ADP after the top-12 LBs. Based on the value of these two players, you should be able to come away with one of them, but if you still need a top-end starter, Jaylon Smith is the eighth backer on our board, and he's typically selected as LB14.
The Next Tier
If you either need depth or if you choose to wait later to address this position, it is recommended to draft any of our 17th through 22nd linebackers, all of whom should have significant value. Patrick Onwuasor is the best value of this group, coming in as our 17th LB, but who is typically going outside the top-50 at his position. With the rest of this tightly ranked group, Shaq Thompson and Benardrick McKinney usually don't get drafted until at least 40 backers are off the board, while Jayon Brown, Anthony Hitchens and Demario Davis have positional ADPs in the 27 to 36 range.
Deep-League Options
In many leagues where not much depth is drafted, owners should be in good shape with the players listed above, but if you still need more roster spots filled, we have identified five LBs who are in our top-36, but each is typically drafted after the top-50 at their position. The players to target in this range are Jatavis Brown, Preston Brown, Kyle Van Noy, Brandon Marshall and Mark Barron.
For those who need to go even deeper at this position, Jamie Collins, Anthony Walker, Thomas Davis, Rashaan Evans and Sean Lee typically go undrafted in most leagues, but each is ranked in our top-50 LBs.
With plenty of values at linebacker, there are a number of strategies that can be effective in your IDP draft that will allow you to roster undervalued players who could end up competing with the majority of top players at their position. Next week, we'll use the same formula to identify values at the defensive back position.
