As the 2024 IDP fantasy football season approaches, savvy managers are honing their strategies to dominate their leagues. Linebackers, the linchpins of defensive squads, are crucial to IDP success, offering a blend of tackle-heavy consistency and big-play potential.
Our comprehensive IDP fantasy football rankings tiers for linebackers break down the top performers, sleeper picks, and potential busts, ensuring you’re armed with the insights needed to craft a championship-caliber roster. Dive into our analysis to gain a competitive edge and make informed decisions throughout the season.
This list is your traditional, off-ball “middle” linebackers who stalk the middle of the field and should all have 100 solo tackle ceilings this year. They are the top 32 ranked LBs from the IDP+ consensus 2024 IDP fantasy football redraft rankings. I have arranged them into tiers and highlighted players I like and am personally targeting, along with those I think provide incredible ADP value. Of course, this includes linebackers I am fading as “busts” as well.
Foyesade Oluokun | Jacksonville Jaguars |
Foyesade Oluokun, Jacksonville Jaguars
Yes, folks, Foyesade Oluokun has earned himself a spot in a tier all to himself. Oluokun stands alone in the very first tier. We have not seen an IDP fantasy football run like this, from an off-ball linebacker, since the days of the Atlanta Falcons LB Jessie Tuggle and more recently, Bobby Wagner. Oluokun has made an incredible transition from playing safety in college to the tackle-machine he is today.
Now, I don’t generally recommend reaching for any one player, or even taking IDPs first or ahead of the pack. But, if you find yourself in that camp, about the only player even remotely worth breaking these guidelines for is Oluokun.
I had dropped him a smidge in dynasty rankings after the conclusion of last season. The thought process was that Jacksonville had invested major first-round draft capital into Devin Lloyd to be the heir apparent to Oluokun. However, the Jaguars instead extended Oluokun’s contract to keep him there through 2027 with an out in 2026. So, not only for dynasty IDP league purposes but also IDP fantasy football 2024 redraft leagues, Oluokun should remain the undisputed LB1 in all scoring formats and a top-5 overall IDP pick.
Ernest Jones | Los Angeles Rams |
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Bobby Okereke | New York Giants |
Roquan Smith | Baltimore Ravens |
Fred Warner | San Francisco 49ers |
This tier I had to cut a little bit short due to Zaire Franklin‘s ranking as a part of our consensus (more on that next tier). But this group is filled with not only elite NFL talents but elite IDP fantasy football scoring options for 2024 redraft leagues.
Ernest Jones, Los Angeles Rams
I absolutely love Ernest Jones and am bullish as heck on him this year (and was last year too, you’re welcome). With the loss of Aaron Donald plugging up the middle and rushing opposing quarterbacks, Jones could be set up for a historic IDP fantasy season. He is going off of draft boards as the LB5 so if you can wait and pounce on that value, he will return enormously on that investment for IDP fantasy football managers.
The Rams did a bunch of nothing to add to the linebacker position through the draft or free agency. Christian Rozeboom returns as the Rams’ LB2 who only plays 60-70% of the snaps. Jones is a green dot LB, close-to-100%-of-snaps-played IDP which is the gold standard. He is locked in as the IDP fantasy football 2024 LB2 for me. And if anyone can sniff Oluokun’s production, it is Ernest Jones.
Bobby Okereke, New York Giants
Another player who I have to victory lap from last year is the New York Giants linebacker, Bobby Okereke. Now, admittedly, Okereke may not be the most talented or highest PFF-graded linebacker, but playing close to 100% of the snaps in a defense devoid of much talent or more importantly, cohesion, was a formula for a massive amount of IDP fantasy points last year.
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