Posted by Josh L on Jul 13, 2011; 4:16pm
URL: https://forum.idpguru.com/A-newbie-to-the-IDP-world-tp3013951p3166561.html

To me it looks like your scoring is set up to give IDP players a similar number of points to offensive players, which is great (I've never understood leagues that have IDP and then give them half the points).

Line backers are the running backs of IDP.  You for sure want a top 10 LB as your lead man and a second guy in the top 20 LB (although if you can snag two top 10 that's better).  The WHEN to choose them depends almost entirely on your draft.  Personally I would wait until I see someone grab a LB and then make sure to get one right after.  That being said I snagged the first LB in the 5th round last year (a lot of new players) because Patrick Willis was just too tempting to pass up at that point.  There are also LBs that emerge throughout the year to be solid options, so I wouldn't reach too far after your first two.

Defensive line is like TE.  The top few guys are valued highly, but after that you can wait.  I usually just wait until near the end to pick DL and then pick up guys off the waiver as they bust out or more importantly if they play a team that gives up a lot of sacks.  Match ups are very important for DL.  Again, if it gets to the 5th or 6th round and Justin Tuck (DE) or Suh (DT) are sitting there it might be too good to pass up.

Defensive backs are like kickers.  There's not a huge difference between a top guy and a decent guy and because they rely on interceptions for their big points it can be next to impossible to tell who the top guys will be from year to year.  Ya there are the usual guys near the top, but they're just not worth reaching for.  Grab one or two good guys in the second half of the draft and you'll be fine.  If you see a guy on waivers lighting it up, grab him.  Every year there are previously unheard of guys who rack up the points.  Sometimes it's because they're the weak spot in the secondary and the QB is targetting them.  Also don't be fooled into taking a big name DB too soon.  Guys like Troy Polamalu and Darrelle Revis are great real life players, but only average for fantasy football.