When processing dynasty rookie individual defensive player (IDP) rankings, landing spots are important to me. Moreso than offensive positions, defensive player values can fluctuate dramatically. Even between now and Week 1, a guy who is currently ranked 15th at his position could fly up the board simply because he’s given a starting job when it wasn’t seen that way in late spring or early summer.
Navigating a rookie IDP’s path to playing time is an inexact science, so you must accumulate assets. In IDP leagues, I always like to have at least one rookie at every position every year. That doesn’t mean I draft every position, but maybe that means stashing someone off the waiver wire after the draft.
If your league breaks up defensive positions (DT and DE instead of DL or CB and S instead of DB), that can be challenging to do without huge rosters, but why then not have huge rosters? A good league is a deep league. A better league is an even deeper league.
If you’re in need of post-draft dynasty fantasy football rankings, we’ve got you covered. But here are my top rookies at each IDP position group. The rankings will be divided into tiers.
Dynasty Rookie IDP Rankings
Dynasty Rookie Defensive Line Rankings
1a. Jared Verse, EDGE, Los Angeles Rams
1b. Dallas Turner, EDGE, Minnesota Vikings
1c. Laiatu Latu, EDGE, Indianapolis Colts
It’ll be interesting to see how this main group of pass rushers pans out in the short term. Since before the draft, I have believed most in Verse’s upside because of his motor, instincts, pass-rush moves, and excellent handwork. Turner is typically viewed as having the highest athletic upside, while Latu looks most pro-ready.
I believe all three can be successful and I don’t know that there’s a wrong answer among them if you have a preference.
4. Chop Robinson, EDGE, Miami Dolphins
Robinson should be a starter immediately, given that Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb are recovering from injuries. That doesn’t mean he’s as good as the Tier 1 pass rushers, though. I ranked him as a mid-second-round prospect who was drafted in Round 1 based on team need.
5. Byron Murphy II, DT, Seattle Seahawks
6. Jer’Zhan Newton, DT, Washington Commanders
I give the top defensive tackles their own tier because, in IDP leagues, tackles are typically less productive than pass-rushers.
Murphy should immediately get 75% of snaps because of how Seattle rotates their defensive front, which isn’t as common as you might expect for young interior linemen.
Newton reads as a player who will need to take a redshirt year, as do the players in Tier 4. He has the toughest path to playing time, being behind Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen, but teams will find creative ways to get their best defenders on the field. Newton projects as an early-down player, so he may be limited to a rotation only in his first season.
7. Marshawn Kneeland, EDGE, Dallas Cowboys
8. Chris Braswell, EDGE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
9. Braden Fiske, DT, Los Angeles Rams
10. Darius Robinson, EDGE, Arizona Cardinals
11. Adisa Isaac, EDGE, Baltimore Ravens
12. Bralen Trice, EDGE, Atlanta Falcons
13. T’Vondre Sweat, DT, Tennessee Titans
14. Jonah Elliss, EDGE, Denver Broncos
15. Austin Booker, EDGE, Chicago Bears
2024 Dynasty Rookie Linebacker Rankings
1. Junior Colson, LB, Los Angeles Chargers
2. Edgerrin Cooper, LB, Green Bay Packers
This wasn’t a particularly great draft for linebackers, but Cooper and Colson are the best of the bunch. Most analysts have Cooper at the top, but I believe Colson lands in the most desirable spot for instant impact. Colson was drafted by Jim Harbaugh, his college coach, and on paper, is already the Week 1 starter at ILB.
Cooper has a less direct path to starting and will likely play second fiddle to Quay Walker in Green Bay. I also don’t think it’s out of the question that my No. 6 player, Ty’Ron Hopper, will challenge for snaps in their rookie seasons.
3. Cedric Gray, LB, Tennessee Titans
4. Payton Wilson, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers
The position group gets murkier quite quickly. Gray should challenge Jack Gibbens for a starting job, but I don’t believe the Titans will use their full complement of linebackers very often. Wilson has Patrick Queen, Elandon Roberts, and Cole Holcomb ahead of him on the depth chart.
5. Trevin Wallace, LB, Carolina Panthers
6. Ty’Ron Hopper, LB, Green Bay Packers
Wallace isn’t likely to start in Year 1 behind Shaq Thompson and Josey Jewell. And Hopper is hoping, at best, to push Cooper for playing time.
If you end up with a linebacker other than Colson or Cooper this year, you have to exercise a lot of patience. This isn’t the year for linebacker breakouts—not that it won’t happen; it probably will. There are just no obvious solutions at this time.
7. Jeremiah Trotter, LB, Philadelphia Eagles
8. Marist Liufau, LB, Dallas Cowboys
9. Tommy Eichenberg, LB, Las Vegas Raiders
10. Jaylan Ford, LB, New Orleans Saints
11. JD Bertland, LB, Atlanta Falcons
12. Tyrice Knight, LB, Seattle Seahawks
13. Jamal Hill, LB, Houston Texans
14. Edefuan Ulofoshio, LB, Buffalo Bills
15. Jordan Magee, LB, Washington Commanders
2024 Dynasty Rookie Defensive Back Rankings
1. Tyler Nubin, S, New York Giants
Nubin should be a box safety with an immediate path to a starting role despite being an under-the-radar player drafted outside the Top 40. He is playing on a defense that lacks big-time tackler producers except for Bobby Okereke, so he could be a Week 1 IDP starter.
2. Cole Bishop, S, Buffalo Bills
3. Javon Bullard, S, Green Bay Packers
Bishop and Bullard are free safeties, while Nubin is listed at strong safety. I give them their tier because the Bills and Packers can deliver productive defensive backs, but neither is likely to line up close to the ball, making it difficult for either to provide consistent IDP stats.
4. Cooper DeJean, CB, Philadelphia Eagles
I view DeJean more as a downhill safety or a fourth linebacker than I do a nickel corner. I want to see how the Eagles use him because he isn’t a prototypical cover corner. He also has early bust potential because his play is a bit one-dimensional, and I don’t know if he will be dependable enough in coverage to stay on the field in his first year.
5. Kamren Kinchens, S, Los Angeles Rams
6. Terrion Arnold, CB, Detroit Lions
7. Jaden Hicks, S, Kansas City Chiefs
8. Mike Sainristil, CB, Washington Commanders
This is where we’re getting more into players who must be stashed. Kinchens gets a slight edge over the rest, but no one here or below looks like a player who will have much of a rookie-year impact. Kinchens is behind Kam Curl, and I don’t know if he’s developed enough to really challenge Russ Yeast at free safety.
Arnold will start in Detroit, but corners don’t usually provide enough tackles. Sainristil is a nickel corner, so there’s some upside to him.