“What is a Sleeper? He is a player who showed a quality that is in the snap dominators of years past. A player who might be getting a better opportunity this year due to specific situations. Those could be injuries, new competition, new coaches, and a new team.”
Defensive Line Sleepers for the 2026 NFL Preseason
DE – Alex Wright – Cleveland Browns
If Wright gets 50% or more of the defensive snaps in a game, there is a decent chance he will score substantial points for your IDP squad. He had nine games of 51% or higher defensive snaps last year, and in eight of those games, he produced multiple tackles. Those 9 games combined had Wright deliver 32 tackles (18 solo), 11 tackles for a loss, 8 QB hits, 4.5 sacks, and 1 pass defensed. He was 41st in scoring for defensive ends in 2025, but was 33rd in points per game among defensive ends who played at least 8 games.
There is a new coaching staff in Cleveland this year, with Todd Monken as Head Coach and Mike Rutenberg as the new Defensive Coordinator. Rutenberg wants to instill an aggressive 4-man pass rush from the defensive line that will be as relentless as any in the NFL. Another positive factor is that Myles Garrett was traded to the Los Angeles Rams for Jared Verse and future rookie picks. This will open up many defensive snaps for the current IDP roster. Verse will no doubt get some of those, but odds are Wright will get a nice percentage of those also. Wright is not ranked in the top 53 DL according to FantasyPros.com. He is not ranked in the top 63 DL according to idpplus.com
DE – Donovan Ezeiruaku – Dallas Cowboys
Ezeiruaku was a 2nd round pick in the NFL draft last year out of Boston College. He hit the 50% defensive snap count in Week 5 and did not go lower again until Week 18. Ezeiruaku was a starter for the final nine weeks of the 2025 season. He had 11 games with multiple tackles produced. There was only one game where he did not produce at least one tackle. His impressive rookie stat line included 40 tackles (20 solo), 9 tackles for a loss, 12 QB hits, 2 sacks, and 1 safety. He was 4th in IDP scoring out of all rookie DEs behind only Abdul Carter, Nic Scourton, and James Pearce.
His competition is different this year for those defensive snaps. Gone are Dante Fowler and Jadaveon Clowney. In are Rashan Gary and 2026 1st-round draft pick Malachi Lawrence. Gary has never had a double-digit sack year or posted more than 47 tackles in one year. The Cowboys also have a new Defensive Coordinator in Christian Parker. Parker will have a disciplined defense that will require his defensive line to produce without the many blitz packages that some coaches use. Ezeiruaku is not ranked in the top 53 DL according to FantasyPros.com. He is ranked the #25 DL according to idpplus.com
DE – Austin Booker – Chicago Bears
Booker was a 5th-round draft pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Kansas. As a rookie, Booker broke the 20% of defensive snaps mark just five times. He never had 34% or more of those snaps as a rookie. The 2025 season had Booker experience a right knee injury in the second preseason game. This injury would put him on IR and have him miss the first seven games of the 2025 regular season. Starting with Week 10 and going through the Playoffs, Booker played 82% or more of the defensive snaps in 9 of those 11 games. Those 12 games he played combined, Booker posted 44 tackles (22 solo), 6 tackles for a loss, 14 QB hits, 5.5 sacks, and 3 passes defensed.
Dayo Odeyingbo is the main competition for defensive snaps in the battle to start opposite Montez Sweat. Odeyingbo is a five-year veteran who has never posted more than 22 tackles in a season and has also never posted a single sack in his career. The Bears should be in plenty of high-scoring games, which will give plenty of IDP scoring opportunities to the Bears’ defensive line. Booker is ranked the #48 defensive lineman according to FantasyPros.com. He is ranked the #20 defensive lineman on idpplus.com
Thank you for checking out my NFL IDP 2026 Preseason Sleepers 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.
