2025 NFL Draft: IDP Strategy for Combined Offense and Defense Rookie Drafts
Rookie drafts are coming thick and fast to the dynasty world. There’s a really clear hierarchy of offensive players emerging, and DLF has expert analysis on how to game that system. But the everlasting IDP question is “when should I take defenders among the offensive guys?” This article is here to help you make those decisions.
It’s worth noting though, that league settings are the most important thing here. Starting requirements, positional scoring, roster size, and the tendencies of your league all have a huge impact. IDP leagues are way more diverse than offensive ones. This article is based on a platonic ideal league.
Early first round
Unless your league is seriously unusual, you can stick to offense-only rankings here. With one blatant exception: Travis Hunter.
Obviously, there has been reams written about whether he’s a receiver or a corner, or both. It’s worth asking for clarity with your league commissioner on how he will treated in your league.
If he will be a valid starter for both positions, then you’ll basically get a special rule that lets you start one more WR and one fewer CB. That is potentially league-breaking and makes Hunter worth and pick in this draft. There are enough permutations to make this worth a full article, but know that someone in your league will be taking him in the first five spots.
Late first round
For the most part, given this is such a strong draft, no IDP will be worth these picks. But it’s very dependent on your league, and certainly in leagues with more teams, bigger rosters and inflated IDP scoring, Abdul Carter is going to sneak into the first round.
Edge remains the IDP position where scoring is most closely correlated to player quality, and the scoring gradient at edge is much steeper than at other IDP positions. This means that good edges are worth much more than middling ones, which is far less true at most positions.
Carter is an elite prospect and is likely to be a strong performer. Don’t be worried about the presence of other edge options on the Giants, a rotation is totally normal for the position.
Second round
If Carter has not gone already, then expect him to go early in the second. Two other IDPs are likely to come off the board around here too: Jihaad Campbell and Jalon Walker.
Campbell is the clear number one LB in the class, but a somewhat risky pick for you. He’s joining an obviously strong roster, and the Eagles have no need to push a rookie too fast. LB is such a hard transition from college that you shouldn’t be surprised if he’s brought on slowly. However, given typical IDP league starting requirements (12 teams, 3 LBs each) outstrip full-time LB supply (around 30 each week), LB is a premium position and high-level prospects are valuable – even if you have to wait a bit.
Carter is clearly the top edge in the class, but Walker has all the opportunity, given the Falcons’ dire need for help at the position. Ideally, you’d be able to get him slightly later than this, but someone is likely a believer. Leonard Floyd should lead this position group but expect Walker to play 500-600 snaps.
Third round
It’s possible that James Pearce Jr slips into the second round. Plenty of people liked him more as a prospect than his team-mate Walker. But where teams draft players is a good guide for how they feel about them, and it’s likely Pearce is the third edge on the Falcons as a rookie. That doesn’t mean he can’t also hit 500+ snaps, but a second-rounder is a gamble.
You can expect two other edges to come off the board this round: Shemar Stewart and Mykel Williams.
Stewart walks onto a Bengals team that was 22nd in pressure and 26th in sacks last season. Outside of Trey Hendrickson, they are in dire need of help. So Stewart has a great opportunity. The problem is that he is very much a potential impact pass-rusher. He’s not there yet. Famously he never recorded more than two sacks in a season as a college player. Sacks are a poor metric, but his pressure numbers were not outstanding either. He’s well worth a pick at this sort of range, but you can’t rely on him to be a consistent starter.
Williams is another edge that walks into great opportunity, but with question marks as a player. The 49ers have Nick Bosa and not much else at the position, but Williams is a work-in-progress and needs to step up.
Given how important having enough LBs is in today’s IDP landscape, Carson Schwesinger and Demetrius Knight are in contention to be picked here (unless someone reaches for them earlier).
Schwesinger was taken at 33rd overall but finds himself on an LB corps that is deep if not great. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah was used as a full-time player before he got hurt last year, and Jerome Baker and Jordan Hicks are both solid vets with experience. Not to mention Devin Bush and Mohamoud Diabate. Clearly the Browns like Schwesinger, but he has an uphill battle to be a useful IDP as a rookie.
Similarly, Demetrius Knight was selected in the second round of the NFL draft by the Bengals. There’s a road to him starting games and seeing snaps, but Germaine Pratt, Logan Wilson and Oren Burks can all hang in the NFL.
The last player worth a shot at in this sort of range is Mason Graham. As a top-five selection, expectations are high, and he could well go much earlier than this. Elite interior pass rushers tend to perform at that level for a long time, which is enormously valuable in IDP. But the chances that Graham gets to that level are low. Given that good-enough interior linemen are plentiful IDP assets, the opportunity cost makes a gamble.
Fourth round
This is just about the point where rookie drafts turn into the wild west. But there’s a handful of IDPs who you should secure before everyone just goes crazy.
Donovan Ezeiruaku and JT Tuimoloau both join deep edge rotations. They’ve got some talent and second-round capital, but are likely to be spike-week IDPs rather than reliable options.
Walter Nolen and Derrick Harmon both have some juice on the interior and will likely have isolated strong weeks. But they’re both on teams with plenty of options at the position and are not likely to see heavy snaps.
Nick Martin was only a third-round selection, but he could see some playing time when injuries kick in.
Later rounds
After four rounds, IDP rookie drafts tend to devolve into chaos as everyone goes after the guys they decided they liked and are convinced will drastically outperform their IRL draft stock. Some of them will, but treat that as a pleasant surprise rather than something your acumen saw coming.
Here are some players you should be looking at as priority late-round grabs by position:
Defensive interior
Both were NFL first-round picks and are going to be big parts of their team’s rotations.
Edge
Second-round capital is important, and both could step into prominent roles, but they’ll likely find it tough going early in their pro careers.
Linebacker
Jack Kiser
Cody Simon
Some of these guys will end up starting games at some point, but which ones and when are reliant on injuries occurring, so these are taxi-squad gambles.
Cornerback
Don’t waste rookie picks on corners, because you can get get solid starters from waivers at any time. But if you’re set on it, at least get a guy who’s going to be on the field. But you’re better off drafting a player at a premium position (RB in particular) with a 5% chance of huge return than a corner with a 50% chance of moderate usefulness.
Safety
It’s funny that the IDP world seems to know that cornerback scoring is a lottery but is still convinced that the same is not true for safety.
Just like cornerback, it’s not worth spending a rookie draft pick on these guys over the safeties with starting jobs on waivers at this time of year.
In summary
This year is a really strong fantasy draft with lots of great options for premium positions at the top. In other years, some of this year’s IDPs would look more attractive, but in 2025, they get pushed down by the opportunity for finding useful roster options at more important positions.
Travis Hunter is a huge question mark – or the whole fantasy world as well as your league. And Abdul Carter is the next biggest prize. Beyond that, you’re gambling to some extent. There will be some big successes in the rest of the class, just as there always are. So if you’ve got space on the roster, feel free to stock up at edge and linebacker, but resist being tempted into over-drafting them.
Good luck!
- 2025 NFL Draft: IDP Strategy for Combined Offense and Defense Rookie Drafts - May 9, 2025
- Six Unrepeatable IDP Fantasy Football Stats from the 2024 Season - January 11, 2025
- Ten IDP Stats You Need to Know After Week 15 - December 21, 2024
