“You are coming up on your first IDP draft and want to know when you should start thinking about drafting that first IDP player. Questions need to be asked and answered first. Is this a startup IDP fantasy football league draft? Possible draft styles would include a Dynasty Startup, Redraft, Dispersal, or Rookie draft? Is this a 10/12/14/16 team or larger league? Are your league mates knowledgeable in IDP?”
Let’s get some answers for your IDP drafts!
For Redraft, Dynasty Startup, and Dispersal drafts:
In redraft leagues, let’s look at the size of the league first. Is this league a 10-team, 12-team, 14-team, 16-team, or 32-team league with two copies of each player. Typically, the smaller the league, the later the IDP players start going. This would be because of the rounds having fewer players selected in your IDP Format. The overall pick, #60 overall, would be round 6-7 in 10 team leagues but would be round 3-4 in 16 team leagues. Look at the overall ranking and not the round.
Look at and know the scoring in your league. Is it PPR, 1/2 PPR, or zero PPR? This will push WRs down the rankings with zero PPR. Is it Superflex? If so, QBs will fill the first couple of rounds. Is it TE Premium? This will push TEs up the rankings if it is. How many players do you start? Are there multiple flex options? If you have to start three WRs, they will be pushed up the rankings. If you only start one QB or RB, they will not be as important and will be down in the rankings.
Offensive scoring and defensive scoring matter in rankings.
Now that you know the scoring and lineup requirements for the offense, let’s look at the IDP scoring and lineup requirements. Are you starting four IDPs, or are you starting eleven IDPs? The higher the starters, the higher in drafts they will be selected. Is your scoring system Balanced Offense/Defense, Tackle Premium, or Big Play Premium? Any of these scoring systems will push IDP players up the IDP rankings. Does your league start DT, DE, LB, CB, and Safety, or do they start DL, LB, and DB? Is the scoring based on position, or is it the same scoring regardless of position? Are there multiple flex options? LBs usually rule the scoring like QBs do for offense. If you can start 3-4 LBs, then they will be picked earlier, like QBs in Superflex.
More Fantasy Football And Draft Advice
The answers provide your drafting strategy.
With a 10-Team League with .5 PPR, Superflex, and TE Premium with a full 9-11 IDP lineup required, the first IDP player should be selected in the 7th or 8th round. In a 16-team league with the same settings, the first IDP player would go in the 4th or 5th round. When you add in BOD, Tackle Premium, or Big Play Premium scoring, you might see IDPs go 2-3 rounds earlier. You can get a good idea of when to look at drafting your IDP options by looking at the previous year’s scoring overall. In the Top 100, how many IDP players are listed? How many IDP players are in the Top 25?
Look at positions too, such as whether are they all LBs or DEs? Is there one safety at #48 and no more safeties in the top 100? Get that Safety on your roster. One more thing to look at when looking at last year’s scores is how many points the players scored per game. Are there 10 LBs all within 1-2 points per game? You can wait until the next round, as some of the players will fall to your next pick.
Value-Based Drafting helps in deciding the IDP
When drafting, and there is not much difference in the WRs left, go to your DE or LB rankings and see if there is separation in scoring of a certain IDP position. This is when you will want to draft your first IDP player. For example, the league is a big play scoring system with sacks, tackles for a loss, and turnovers counting in the 6-8 point range. Target the DEs/Edge players around pick numbers 40-50. Try to be the start of a run, not the end. If you start the run, your WR options will still be there in the next round, as the other teams will then start selecting their IDP players. If they don’t follow your lead, take another IDP. You can win your league with the best IDP roster and a subpar offensive roster.
How to Prepare for the IDP Players in a Rookie Draft
Rookie drafts will have IDPs selected in the 1st or 2nd round, as there is usually a big falloff somewhere in the first round of can’t-miss prospects. This year in rookie drafts, the falloff happens around pick 1.08 or 1.10, depending on what you read. With this info, IDP players will start to be selected in the early rounds. Look at the landing spot, depth chart, and draft capital of players for clarity of playing time in their rookie season. Read articles and look at rankings from multiple sites to get a general consensus.
In conclusion, when to pick the first IDP Player in an IDP Draft depends on a lot of different factors.
In smaller 10-12 team leagues, you should wait until the 8th or 9th round for basic scoring and fewer IDP starters. Accordingly, for the larger leagues, wait until the 5th or 6th round before diving in to your IDP picks. If you have a BOD, Tackle Premium, or Big Play Premium scoring system, the first IDP player should be drafted about 2-3 rounds earlier in smaller leagues and 2 rounds earlier in larger leagues. Also, for the league with a Big Play Premium system and 11 IDP starters, DE/Flex will probably start going at around pick 40-50. But, the Tackle Premium leagues will have the LBs going with picks 40-50. Do a few mock drafts to see where players are going and when players are getting picked.
All in all, find a league that rewards IDP with more than just basic scoring and limited starters, then have your players ready to get drafted at the beginning of a run in rounds 4-5 in smaller leagues and round 3 in larger leagues. Scoring and starter rules will determine when to draft and be the draft winner.
Thank you for checking out my When do I select my first IDP player in drafts article! You can read all of my articles on my IDP Guys author page. Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @OldMan_FF and @IDPGuys (we have offense, too), and please consider becoming a subscriber!
