These are 10 Players we can’t stop drafting in IDP Fantasy Football!
Note: ADP provided by The IDP Show. Scoring totals used are based on Big 3 Scoring.
In an IDP Fantasy Football Draft, I’m typically aiming to scoop up as much value as possible. And given how many drafts I’ve been in this offseason, I can say with confidence that the value is going to fall. So, if I had to offer one piece of advice to IDP drafters, that’d be it: don’t reach!
With that said, I still want to go into drafts with conviction about players I think are set to vastly outperform their ADP. We still need difference-makers to win fantasy leagues and the 10 players on this list fit the bill for me in 2024. If you were to check my exposure rate across all my leagues and best ball drafts, these guys are near the top of the list.
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Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
The linebacker choices in this article reflect the way I like to play IDP Fantasy Football. All three guys are on teams with “safer” options: Jordan Hicks for the Browns, Bobby Wagner for the Commanders, and Azeez Al-Shaair for the Texans (all picks I love, as well). But Owusu-Koramoah, Luvu, and Harris have that “boom” potential their teammates lack.
From Weeks 10-18, Owusu-Koramoah averaged 19.13 PPG, trailing only Ernest Jones amongst LBs over that span. He scored 20+ points in five games in 2023, including four times after Week 10, and added another 20+ point performance in the Wild Card game against Houston. In other words, no LB finished the season hotter than Owusu-Koramoah.
Yes, it’s fair to worry about Owusu-Koramoah’s snap share given that he was a 50-percent snap player his first two seasons before jumping up to 71-percent last season. But dig a little deeper and you’ll see that from Week 10 onward (when his play really took off), Owusu-Koramoah averaged 86-percent of snaps. I expect Hicks to pace the team in snaps, but there’s no putting the genie back in the bottle with his running mate. Owusu-Koramoah should play north of 80-percent of snaps in 2024. When you combine that with his playmaking ability, he’s an ideal LB3 in deeper leagues or a high-upside LB2 in shallower leagues who could single-handedly win you weeks.
Alex Singleton
Year after year, Singleton continues to prove that he is one of the most efficient tacklers in the NFL. He’s among 54 LBs with 700+ snaps in 2023, and Singleton ranked No. 1 in tackle opportunity rate. There is only one other player in the same galaxy as him (Zaire Franklin). In terms of finding tackles on a play-to-play basis, he is the undisputed champion, warranting the nickname “Kingleton.” He also finally saw a full-time role in 2023 for the first time in his career, as one of just 17 LBs to play 1,000+ snaps. Combine elite efficiency with elite volume and you get an elite IDP asset.
Given all of this, Singleton’s ADP of LB17 is utterly confounding. He has the highest floor of nearly any LB in the league, with top-tier upside to boot. The reasoning behind this ADP is likely that Singleton has lacked big play upside in the past, with just five sacks and two interceptions in his four-year career. However, big plays are very difficult to predict at LB, as chance plays a large role in these outcomes. While we haven’t seen it yet, I believe that finishing LB1 overall is within his range of outcomes. Draft Singleton in your IDP leagues and laugh on your way to the bank.
Frankie Luvu
Luvu was a cheat code in 2022, averaging 18.07 PPG across 15 games. Even last year, which was a down year comparatively, he averaged 14.05 PPG on a Panthers team that sleepwalked through the regular season and lost three of its big-name defenders this offseason (Luvu, Brian Burns, and Jeremy Chinn). Luvu was handpicked by new Commanders’ coach Dan Quinn who has familiarity with dual-threat LBs that can also rush the passer (hello, Micah Parsons).
Luvu has Wagner beside him to soak up tackles and given the lack of edge-rushing talent in Washington, I expect Luvu to spend a lot of time heat-seeking the QB. Go back to 2022 and look at his log for a sneak peek at what we could see in 2024. In seven of his 15 games, he scored 20+ points (and had another week where he just missed). Best of all, because he’s playing a traditional LB role, his snap share over the past two seasons is above 90-percent (when you remove the two games he missed in 2022). Very few true EDGEs offer that.
Ivan Pace Jr.
As the NFL’s evaluation of LB has evolved, it’s become rare for a rookie LB to make a splash in Year 1. Yet somehow, Pace, an undrafted free agent, racked up 70 solo tackles on 704 snaps in 2023. It was a truly remarkable season that we probably won’t see again for decades.
Pace is more than a great story though. He’s also an incredible player. As a rookie, he posted an above-average year in terms of tackle efficiency, despite rushing the passer more often than almost any LB. A high number of pass rush snaps generally leads to more big plays but comes at the cost of tackle efficiency. Pace was able to excel in both areas, proving that he is a very talented player with a diverse skill set. He also posted a PFF coverage grade of 77.7, an exceptional mark for a rookie, showing that he can play on all three downs.
Pace’s usage in Brian Flores’s defense is a key reason I’m targeting him in drafts. Flores blitzes more than anyone and loves using Pace in that role. Veteran LB Blake Cashman is a good player in his own right and may limit Pace’s snap share, but Pace undoubtedly has a higher ceiling. Because of this weekly upside, I believe that he can still be a very good IDP asset on a reduced snap share. However, if Pace could land a full-time role, the sky is the limit.
Christian Harris
Things started out rough for Harris in his NFL career. His 28.3 overall grade from PFF in his rookie season was tied for third worst in the entire NFL (that’s 182 total LBs). When the Texans brought in Denzel Perryman via free agency and drafted fellow Alabama product Henry To’oTo’o in 2023, I figured the team was moving on from Harris. But then something happened that we too often dismiss as a possibility in fantasy football: Harris got better.
In fact, by the end of the season, he was the Texans’ leading LB, averaging 91-percent of snaps from Week 10 onward and 14.2 PPG (almost double his average to start the year). In the Texans’ win over the Browns, Harris went beserk, racking up eight tackles, one sack, two TFLs, one PD, one QB hit, and one defensive TD. (Sickos who play IDP playoff fantasy football remember this performance!)
I believe both Harris and Al-Shaair are going to feast in the middle of Demeco Ryans’ defense. Therefore, in this instance, I’ll take the one who’s going later in drafts (LB15 for Al-Shaair, LB27 for Harris). If you’d rather pay the premium for Al-Shaair, I don’t blame you a bit.
Laiatu Latu
While the 2024 NFL Draft was dominated by offense, there were still three very good EDGE prospects. Dallas Turner, Jared Verse, and Laiatu Latu are all fantastic players with a chance to become truly elite. With that being said, Latu is the one with the most potential to contribute in 2024. He is clearly the most polished of the three, possessing a diverse array of pass rush moves. He also led this trio in 2023 in terms of pass rush grade, pressure rate, and tackle rate.
There is no question about it: Latu is ready to play at the NFL level immediately.
And the Colts will need him to play immediately after veteran Samson Ebukam was lost for the season to an Achilles injury. As a rookie, Latu could realistically see a snap share of 60-70-percent on an underrated defensive line. Next to DeForest Buckner, Grover Stewart, Kwity Paye, and Dayo Odeyingbo, Latu should have plenty of ideal matchups to attack. He possesses a unique blend of upside and floor that is uncommon for rookie edge rushers. While his ADP of DL46 is fair given his lack of experience, he should be drafted ahead of Turner and Verse in 2024.
Harold Landry
Like many of the players on, Harold Landry‘s 2023 season was a tale of two halves. He started out slow, averaging just 9.29 PPG and playing 70-percent of snaps. Then, down the stretch, he was a force of nature, averaging 15.96 PPG on 75-percent of snaps. His boom potential also returned, as he had three games of 20+ in the back half of the season compared to just one in the first half.
Keep in mind: Landry did all of this just one year removed from his ACL injury. Now two years removed, I’d expect the snaps to more closely resemble his 2021 average of 89.5-percent, especially when you consider the edge-rushing talent is still absent for Tennessee. I also like the addition of T’Vondre Sweat in the NFL Draft, who should gobble up space alongside Jeffery Simmons.
Landry is nothing special as a pass rusher, averaging a 9.3-percent pressure rate over the last four seasons. (For comparison, T.J. Watt’s average is 15.5-percent.) This is more of a volume play and one that I feel confident making given the lack of talent opposite Landry and his price (EDGE18).
Za’Darius Smith
In 2023, Za’Darius Smith had his worst healthy season since 2017, finishing with just 5.5 sacks and 27 tackles. However, there is reason to believe the veteran can bounce back. Among 48 edge rushers with 400+ pass rush snaps, Smith ranked 10th in pressure rate, 9th in PFF pass rush grade, and 8th in pass rush win rate. So why didn’t he produce? Because under 10-percent of his pressures resulted in sacks, an abysmal figure that’s far below average. This makes him a prime regression candidate, as pressure-to-sack figures are very volatile from year to year.
Heading into 2024, Smith’s workload of snaps should remain similar. While he’s not quite a full-time player, he gets enough work to be a very good IDP asset. Playing next to Myles Garrett is an ideal situation too, as he will draw double teams on nearly every snap, creating easier matchups for Smith. The one flaw in Smith’s IDP outlook is his lack of a tackle floor at this point in his career. This is due to him primarily playing on passing downs. However, at his current ADP of DL61, floor is not a concern. Use him as part of a DL rotation, playing him against optimal matchups, and he will bring a lot of value to your IDP roster.
DeMarcus Lawrence
My teammate at The IDP Show, Adam Marcum, said on a recent episode of our podcast that if he had to pick 2024’s version of Khalil Mack – an older, established edge rusher who explodes and vastly outperforms their ADP – he’d pick DeMarcus Lawrence. Overshadowed by Parsons along that Dallas defensive line, Lawrence still has it. His 91.0 overall PFF grade in 2023 was No. 8 best among edge rushers. His pressure rate (a leading indicator for sacks) was 11.9-percent, still very much in line with his career rate of 12.3-percent, and his 14.3-percent pass rush win rate (the percentage of pass rush snaps that Lawrence “won” against the offensive linemen, another leading indicator for sacks) was No. 22 best among 54 qualifying edge rushers.
Dorance Armstong and Dante Fowler are out of town, following Dan Quinn to Washington, and with Sam Williams lost for the year with a torn ACL, the pressure (pun intended) is going to be on Lawrence and rookie Marshawn Kneeland to perform opposite Parsons. Going into his 11th season, Lawrence has played every game in all but three seasons and was good for 11+ PPG as recently as two seasons ago. Coming off a down year, I say buy the dip (EDGE51).
Odafe Oweh
Through Oweh’s first three seasons in the NFL, he has not lived up to the expectations of a first-round edge rusher, with a career high of just six sacks in a single season. While his production remained mediocre in 2023, he made significant strides when you look under the hood. His pressure rate increased from 10.4-percent to 15.3-percent. His pass rush grade increased from 67.8 to 77.4, and his pass rush win rate increased from 15.8-percent to 23.7-percent. All of these marks ranked in the top 12 of edge rushers. Similar to Za’Darius Smith, Oweh converted pressures into sacks at a pitifully low rate, which makes him a prime candidate for a breakout season.
With a healthy offseason and the departure of veteran Jadeveon Clowney, Oweh is in a position to see a career high in snap share. With this in mind, Odafe should have the necessary volume and efficiency to excel in 2024 as long as some luck breaks his way. Going as DL71 in ADP, Oweh is one of the best values in IDP drafts this year.
