2007 Individual Defensive Player (IDP) Rankings

IDP (Individual Defensive Player) Leagues are gaining steam and getting quite popular among fantasy football players to give their leagues more depth, instead of just drafting a team defense. Does your league use IDP’s? Thinking of joining an IDP league? Here are our rankings for this season.

These 2007 Individual Defensive Player (IDP) Rankings were compiled using the following format:

- Five IDP veterans (and one first-timer) submitted their lists of the Top 30 defensive linemen (DL), linebackers (LB), and defensive backs (DB) in fantasy football for the 2007 season.

- For players included by five or more rankers the high and low scores were excluded and the other rankings averaged.

- For players included by three or four rankers the scores were averaged.

- Players ranked by less than three individuals were not included.

- Players were ranked using the following scoring system: 1 pt. per solo tackle, .5 pts. per assisted tackle, 2 pts. per sack, 2 pts. per INT, 2 pts. per forced fumble, 2 pts. per fumble recovery, 6 pts. per TD, 5 pts. per safety, and 5 pts. per blocked kick.

 

DL	Avg Rank	K r o y	C d o g	d r e m	L B C	m a t t	t e r p
Jason Taylor – MIA	1.0	1	1	1	1	1	1
Julius Peppers – CAR	2.5	2	3	3	2	6	2
Aaron Kampman – GB	2.75	4	2	2	3	2	4
Aaron Schobel – BUF	4.0	5	4	7	4	3	3
Terrell Suggs – BAL	4.5	3	5	4	5	4	5
Will Smith – NO	6.25	7	6	5	6	17	6
Osi Umenyiora – NYG	7.0	6	7	8	8	5	7
Robert Mathis – IND	8.0	8	8	6	7	11	9
Derrick Burgess – OAK	9.25	10	11	9	10	7	8
Tamba Hali – KC	10.5	12	10	10	9	14	10
Leonard Little – STL	10.75	9	15	11	11	8	12
Charles Grant – NO	11.75	11	9	12	13	13	11
Justin Smith – CIN	13.25	14	13	14	12	9	18
Kyle Vanden Bosch – TEN	14.5	15	12	13	15	16	15
John Abraham – ATL	16.0	17	19	NR	17	12	14
Trent Cole – PHI	16.0	16	16	21	14	15	17
Mark Anderson – CHI	16.3	13	17	24	19	NR	13
Mario Williams – HOU	18.5	19	18	15	20	18	19
Bertrand Berry – ARZ	20.0	23	23	16	18	23	16
Patrick Kearney – SEA	20.75	18	20	19	22	22	22
Chike Okeafor – ARZ	20.75	20	22	20	21	25	20
Matthias Kiwanuka – NYG	21.5	27	14	18	NR	NR	27
Ty Warren – NE	22.0	25	25	22	16	10	29
Michael Strahan – NYG	22.6	21	NR	NR	23	NR	24
James Hall – DET	24.5	22	28	NR	NR	20	28
Andre Carter – WSH	24.6	NR	24	17	24	24	26
Dwight Freeney – IND	25.25	24	NR	25	29	NR	23
Jamaal Anderson – ATL	25.3	28	21	NR	27	NR	NR
Trevor Pryce – BAL	27.75	29	29	23	26	27	25
Ebenezer Ekuban – DEN	29.3	30	26	28	30	30	NR

 
Sleepers

Osi Umenyiora, New York Giants – Umenyiora is coming off a down year when he was riddled with injuries, but he has been a very good fantasy DL in the past, and he’s certainly talented enough to do it again this year.

Luis Castillo, San Diego Chargers – Castillo missed nearly half the season due to injuries but was a solid DL when healthy, logging 7 sacks in just 9 starts in 2006. He could be a decent producer if he can stay on the field this year.
 
John Abraham, Atlanta Falcons – Missed half the 2006 season and his numbers suffered because of it, but he was a good fantasy lineman in the 3 previous years and could very well end up turning it back around in ’07.

Busts

Jared Allen, Kansas City Chiefs – There are some disputes with his contract, and Allen faces a four game suspension when the season starts. He could potentially be drafted highly because of his good ’06 numbers, but Allen is a very risky guy to have right now.

Michael Strahan, New York Giants – Strahan will likely be drafted early based on name recognition, but he’s getting up there in age, and it’s somewhat unlikely he’ll produce at a high level for much longer.

LB	Avg Rank	K r o y	C d o g	d r e m	L B C	m a t t	t e r p
Keith Bulluck – TEN	1.5	2	2	1	1	2	1
DeMeco Ryans – HOU	1.75	1	1	2	2	3	2
Zach Thomas – MIA	3.5	4	3	3	4	1	4
London Fletcher – WAS	4.75	5	4	4	5	5	6
Brian Urlacher – CHI	4.75	3	6	7	3	7	3
Will Witherspoon – STL	5.5	7	5	5	6	6	5
Antonio Pierce – NYG	8.0	8	9	6	9	8	7
Mike Peterson – JAX	8.5	11	7	9	8	4	10
A.J. Hawk – GB	9.25	6	8	11	7	11	11
Ray Lewis – BAL	10.0	9	10	10	11	17	9
Kirk Morrison – OAK	10.0	12	12	8	10	10	8
Lofa Tatupu – SEA	11.0	10	11	13	NR	9	12
Ernie Sims – DET	13.5	13	14	18	12	14	13
Shawne Merriman – SD	14.5	14	18	17	13	13	14
Keith Brooking – ATL	15.0	15	17	15	14	15	15
Donnie Edwards – KC	15.5	20	16	14	15	12	17
D.J. Williams – DEN	18.0	17	13	20	17	NR	22
Bart Scott – BAL	19.0	18	15	NR	16	24	23
Gary Brackett – IND	19.5	21	24	19	19	16	19
Andra Davis – CLE	20.25	16	21	21	21	21	18
Lance Briggs – CHI	20.75	22	19	12	20	22	25
Derrick Brooks – TB	20.75	19	23	16	18	23	26
E.J. Henderson – MIN	21.3	NR	NR	23	NR	20	21
Paul Posluszny – BUF	21.75	23	20	NR	24	NR	20
Jonathan Vilma – NYJ	23.3	24	22	24	22	NR	24
James Farrior – PIT	23.5	27	NR	25	NR	26	16
DeMarcus Ware – DAL	24.6	25	30	NR	NR	19	NR
Julian Peterson – SEA	26.0	26	NR	22	28	NR	28
Patrick Willis – SF	26.3	28	25	27	23	NR	27
Nick Barnett – GB	27.0	29	27	26	26	18	25

 
Sleepers

Mike Peterson, Jacksonville Jaguars – Peterson was injured most of last year, but expect him to bounce back big this season. He finished 5th among LBs in this scoring system in ‘05 and 7th in ’04, and while he’s been slipping in drafts he remains a top LB on my lists.

Barrett Ruud, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Backed up Shelton Quarles the past couple years, but with Quarles now out of Tampa, Ruud takes over as the starting MLB for the Buccaneers in 2007.

Freddy Keiaho, Indianapolis Colts – Keiho moves in to replace the departed Cato June this year, and Dungy linebackers are always productive, so Freddy could be a steal in some drafts.

Busts

Donnie Edwards, Kansas City Chiefs – Moving to a new team, and Edwards will now be an OLB for the Chiefs after playing in the middle for years in San Diego. It’s not yet known how much this will affect his numbers, but he could be a bust next season.

Cato June, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – June was a huge success in Indy the past couple of years but now moves to a new team with a less defensive-minded coach. Linebackers in the Dungy system always produce, but it remains to be seen how he’ll do in Tampa.

DB	Avg Rank	K r o y	C d o g	d r e m	L B C	m a t t	t e r p
Adrian Wilson – ARZ	1.0	1	1	1	1	1	1
Chris Hope – TEN	2.5	4	3	2	3	2	2
Kerry Rhodes – NYJ	2.5	2	2	3	2	4	3
Gibril Wilson – NYG	3.75	3	6	4	4	3	4
Sean Jones – CLE	5.25	5	4	5	5	10	6
Brian Dawkins – PHI	7.0	9	11	8	6	5	5
Ronde Barber – TB	7.25	8	7	6	7	8	7
Roy Williams – DAL	8.75	7	5	11	8	18	9
Antoine Winfield – MIN	10.25	11	10	9	12	9	11
Bob Sanders – IND	10.75	15	8	10	10	6	15
Troy Polamalu – PIT	11.0	6	9	13	14	17	8
Charles Tillman – CHI	11.5	10	12	7	11	24	13
Champ Bailey – DEN	13.0	12	16	14	9	21	10
Sean Taylor – WAS	13.0	13	17	12	13	11	14
Madieu Williams – CIN	13.5	14	13	15	16	7	12
Michael Lewis – SF	16.5	16	15	19	17	12	18
Stuart Schweigert – OAK	17.0	25	NR	17	18	14	16
Donte Whitner – BUF	18.25	17	14	22	15	23	19
Richard Marshall – CAR	19.75	NR	19	20	24	16	NR
Ed Reed – BAL	20.5	21	22	16	23	13	24
Antoine Bethea – IND	21.0	22	18	25	20	NR	21
LaRon Landry – WAS	22.25	20	23	27	19	28	17
Adam Archuleta – CHI	22.3	19	20	NR	29	20	27
Antrel Rolle – ARZ	22.5	30	21	18	21	22	26
Nick Collins – GB	23.75	29	27	21	27	19	20
Roman Harper – NO	24.0	23	24	28	25	NR	22
Dunta Robinson – HOU	24.75	24	25	23	26	25	25
Jermaine Phillips – TB	25.0	NR	NR	24	22	29	NR
Kenoy Kennedy – DET	27.25	26	28	NR	NR	26	29
Will Demps – NYG	27.3	27	29	26	30	15	NR

 
Sleepers

Madieu Williams, Cincinnati Bengals – Was injured 2 seasons ago and while he recovered somewhat last season, he still didn’t quite match the great numbers from his rookie season in 2004 (when he finished 5th among DBs). I think we could see top-10 (or even top-5) production again from him this year.

Bob Sanders, Indianapolis Colts – Sanders was hurt most of last year, but when he was able to play he was one of the absolute best fantasy-wise, having the 6th highest points per game average. If he can stay healthy he could be in for a great year.

Adam Archuleta, Chicago Bears – Adam was never really used properly in Washington, and he now goes to Chicago where he will play under Lovie Smith again. Archuleta could be a very productive fantasy DB in 2007.

Busts

Champ Bailey, Denver Broncos – Cornerbacks are always more risky fantasy-wise, and very few are consistently good from year to year. He was 6th among DBs last year but 19th the year before and 46th the year before that. Don’t expect a 2007 like 2006.

Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh Steelers – This guy is almost always one of the first defensive backs off the board, but he’s never been a top 5 DB in fantasy. You can probably expect him to be in the teens somewhere, but if you’re drafting this guy top 10, you’re probably taking him too high.

 

Legend Kroy = Kilroy1872 Cdog = Crimedogg32 drem = Dream_017 LBC = LoveBoatCaptain matt = Mattb47 terp = terpfan

Thanks to Crimedogg32, dream_017, LoveBoatCaptain, and terpfan for submitting rankings, and to mattb47 for contributing rankings and sleeper/bust commentary.

 
Gary Davenport is one of a growing number of fantasy experts who write for the Cafe. You can catch up with Gary in the Cafe's forums where he posts under the name of Kilroy1872.
 

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