2010 IDP Defensive Lineman Rankings


Can Derrick Morgan be a viable fantasy lineman in 2010?

UPDATED: August 24, 2010

The Defensive Lineman position is the shallowest Individual Defensive Player (IDP) spot to draft for. While there is a fair amount of consistency at this position year to year (this year’s Top 5 is basically the same as last year’s), the position depth is quite limited. That fact alone may be a solid argument for passing over top Linebackers and grabbing a Jared Allen or Justin Tuck with your initial IDP draft picks.

With linemen their weekly production is less consistent than with linebackers. Where tackles are fairly reliable week to week, sacks, which is what lineman are noted for, are significantly rare, and hard to predict. While getting a player with consistent yearly sack totals is a solid goal, I tend to look for those with consistent solo tackles.

One important bit of advice in drafting linemen is to aim for defensive ends over defensive tackles. Tackles tend to get less fantasy production opportunities. The majority of Linemen on this list, especially the top 25 are defensive ends. These are the playmakers.

Two rookies who could make an impact this year; Derrick Morgan for the Tennessee Titans and Brandon Graham for the Philadelphia Eagles. They barely sneaks into my top 50, but it would be wise to keep an eye on both, and perhaps stash them in dynasty leagues.

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Player Team Player Team
1. Jared Allen MIN 26. Shaun Ellis NYJ
2. Justin Tuck NYG 27. Derrick Harvey JAX
3. Mario Williams HOU 28. William Hayes TEN
4. Julius Peppers CHI 29. Haloti Ngata BAL
5. Trent Cole PHI 30. Derrick Morgan KC
6. Terrell Suggs BAL 31. Kelly Gregg BAL
7. Robert Mathis IND 32. Conner Barwin HOU
8. Will Smith NOS 33. Charles Johnson CAR
9. Aaron Kampman JAX 34. Darryl Tapp PHI
10. Ray Edwards MIN 35. Kevin Williams MIN
11. Mathias Kiwanuka NYG 36. Derrick Morgan TEN
12. Darnell Dockett ARI 37. Kroy Beirmann ATL
13. Justin Smith SFO 38. Sedrick Ellis NOS
14. Chris Long STL 39. Jonathan Babineaux ATL
15. Kyle Vandenbosch DET 40. Kyle Williams BUF
16. Cliff Avril DET 41. Matt Shaughnessy OAK
17. Greg ‘Stylez’ White TB 42. Richard Seymour OAK
18. Osi Umenyiora NYG 43. Gerald McCoy TB
19. Dwight Freeney IND 44. Randy Starks MIA
20. Alex Brown NOS 45. Tyler Brayton CAR
21. Calais Campbell ARI 46. Tony Brown TEN
22. Antwan Odom CIN 47. Albert Haynesworth WAS
23. Trevor Scott* OAK 48. Michael Johnson CIN
24. Jay Ratliff DAL 49. Mark Anderson CHI
25. Jon Abraham ATL 50. Brandon Graham PHI

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*Scott will likely play OLB position in 2010, so IF he retains his DL eligibility (as he does in Yahoo and ESPN leagues) he is a solid DL pick. If your league lists him only as a LB, then he does not rank in the Top 50.

Top 50 IDP Linebacker Rankings

Top 50 IDP Defensive Back Rankings

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