2012 IDP Rankings — Top 50 Overall

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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.

 

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

 

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