“Some critical battles will be played out in the 2026 NFL Training Camps. These battles will have a direct impact on your IDP rosters and draft position. Multiple teams will watch for key moments in camp and preseason games. This will be the key to setting their depth charts accordingly in all IDP positions.”
Check out these articles for other breakdowns of training camp battles!
2026 IDP Training Camp Battles to Watch for Fantasy Football – Cardinals Linebackers – IDP+
2026 IDP Training Camp Battles to Watch for Fantasy Football – Buffalo Bills Linebackers – IDP+
2026 IDP Training Camp Battles to Watch for Fantasy Football – Chicago Bears Linebackers – IDP+
Our fourth key training camp battle – Starting LB for the Saints
Pete Werner vs Danny Stutsman
Werner is part of the IDP Training Camp Battles for the Saints
Werner was selected in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft out of Ohio State. He signed a three-year extension in 2024 and then had his contract extended by a year this spring by converting some of his salary into a signing bonus. Werner is tied to the Saints through 2027. He has never been a 100-tackle linebacker, but he has produced 80-93 tackles in each of the last four seasons. Werner has played 17 games just once in his career, which was last season. In the first four years, Werner missed a total of 10 games due to ankle and hamstring issues.
Last year brought Werner a decreasing defensive snap count from week six onward. He basically played 59% or fewer of the defensive snaps from week six through the end of the season. This was the least amount of defensive snaps that Werner had played in a season since his rookie season. This was also the only season he played in every game.
Werner is a solid run defender according to Pro Football Focus, with a 66.8 grade from them. He did not grade very well in pass coverage during 2025, though. PFF gave him a 48.1 grade in pass coverage, which was 56th out of 88 linebackers that qualified in this category.
Stutsman is part of the IDP Training Camp Battles for the Saints
Stutsman was a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft out of Oklahoma. At Oklahoma, Stutsman produced a consistent tackle total of 104-125 in each of his final three seasons at Oklahoma. He also produced tackles for a loss, sacks, forced fumbles, and interceptions. Following his four-year career with Oklahoma, Stutsman was invited to the 2025 NFL Combine. He produced an outstanding 9.61 RAS (Relative Athletic Score), which included a 4.52 40-yard dash. Stutsman posted an outstanding 90.9 run defense grade according to PFF, but did struggle a bit in one-on-one pass coverage.
As a rookie last year behind Werner, he didn’t get any meaningful defensive snaps until week 7, when he hit 23%. The defensive snaps stayed in that area until the final three weeks of the season, when he hit 39%, 46%, and then 49%. He ended up playing a total of 204 defensive snaps during his rookie season. Stutsman produced 53 tackles in those limited defensive snaps. His rookie season statistics were good enough to have PFF rank him third among all rookie linebackers with an overall grade of 71.5.
Recap of similarities and differences between Werner and Stutsman
Both Werner and Stutsman have struggled in the pass game, although Stutsman seems to be just in one-on-one coverage. Werner and Stutsman have high grades in run defense. Stutsman is definitely more athletic than Werner, which is an advantage in sideline-to-sideline defense. Stutsman will have the disadvantage in NFL snaps, as Werner has been a starting linebacker for the Saints for the last four years. Werner may have plateaued, though, which would give Stutsman a chance to earn the starting job from 2026 forward.
This NFL IDP training camp battle will be worth paying attention to. One of these players will get close to 100% of the defensive snaps, while the other will probably get a lot of the special teams snaps. It will benefit your IDP squad substantially if you have the right Saints linebacker.
Thank you for checking out my NFL IDP Training Camp Battles article! You can read all of my articles on my IDP+ author page. Be sure to follow me on X at @OldMan_FF and @IDP_Plus (we have offense, too), and please consider becoming a subscriber.
