In this article, I am trying to identify some IDP players at each position I think might exceed expectations this season, are being drafted too low for their potential fantasy return, or players I just think are due for a breakout fantasy season. I approached this article with the idea that a league uses 1-2-3 scoring, the standard on Sleeper, and is starting two to three players each at DL, LB, and DB.
I used the database over at FantasyPros to determine overall scoring finishes from year to year and the current spots that players are ranked or projected to be selected. As always, make sure to check your league’s current scoring structure before you draft, as it could change positional values and player values.
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IDP Sleepers for 2026 Fantasy Football
Defensive Line
Tuli Tuipulotu, DE, Chargers
Tuipulotu finally got a chance to start full-time in 2025 and didn’t disappoint. He has increased his sack totals each year in the league, going from 4.5 as a rookie to 8.5 his second year and then 13 last season. The Chargers finally moved on from the often-injured Joey Bosa, allowing Tuipulotu to step in and be a consistent contributor. He has played in 50 of a possible 51 regular-season games in his three seasons and is still only 23 years old. Tuipulotu is seen as a mid- to low-end DL2, but I think he should be considered on the edge of DL1 territory. He is the right price with huge upside. He is my favorite IDP sleeper in redraft this season.
Jaelen Phillips, DE, Panthers
Phillips showed some real flashes of greatness during his time in Miami. He dealt with significant injuries in back-to-back seasons that threatened to derail his career, but Phillips came back and played in all 17 games in 2025. He now has a new home in Carolina. The Panthers have dealt with a multitude of injuries in training camp already, with fellow edge rusher Nic Scourton already being ruled out for the season with an ACL tear in his knee. Phillips gets a fresh start with the Panthers and is being overlooked by fantasy managers. I think he is a top 20 play at the position this season.
Chop Robinson, DE, Dolphins
This could be considered a bit of a reach from me, but I think Robinson is ready to put it all together and produce at the NFL level. He is an athletic freak who was going to need some seasoning when he entered the draft in 2024. In limited snaps over the last two seasons, he has put up good pressure and win rate metrics. He has 10 sacks in two seasons playing in a more reserve role but is finally ready to take a starting spot with the Dolphins moving on from Bradley Chubb and Jaelen Phillips. Robinson is being drafted as a DL4. I love that value with his big-play upside.
Austin Booker, DE, Bears
Booker is a player who fell in the 2024 draft because he came out of Kansas a year too early. The Bears saw the potential and traded back into the fifth round to snag Booker. This is the year it should pay off for Chicago. Booker tallied 4.5 sacks in just 10 games in 2025, and now he enters this season as the Bears’ starting right-side edge rusher opposite Montez Sweat. At 23 years old, Booker is the same age as some of the players in this year’s rookie class, but he has two years of NFL experience on them. If you are looking for a sneaky DL3 or DL4 for your roster, Booker is a great upside player you can have for cheap. He is currently going off the board in the mid DL40 range.
Nick Herbig, DE, Steelers
I understand that Herbig is technically not a starter going into the season. But the Steelers re-signed him to a four-year $100 million extension in the offseason. A franchise doesn’t do that for a player who is going to be a backup for very long. Alex Highsmith and TJ Watt have both missed games due to injury the last couple of seasons, which has given Herbig a chance to shine. When he has been on the field, he has been a wrecking ball. There is no need to draft Herbig early, currently DL62, but he is one of my favorite late-round stashes or a guy I’m putting at the top of my waiver wire queue just in case. Herbig is the best handcuff at edge rusher in the NFL. If you draft Watt or Highsmith in your league, consider getting yourself some insurance with Herbig.
Linebacker
CJ Allen, LB, Colts
After being selected in the second round on the NFL Draft in April (the Colts didn’t have a first-round pick because of the Sauce Gardner trade last season), Allen walks into one of the best situations for a rookie in the NFL this season. The Colts defense has been a tackle factory in IDP the past couple of seasons. Now with a completely new linebacker room in Indianapolis, Allen will wear the Green Dot and lead the defense in his very first season in the league. Allen takes over for Zaire Franklin, the former seventh-round pick who emerged as an IDP stud with three top 10 linebacker finishes in the past four years.
Payton Wilson, LB, Steelers
In his second season in Pittsburgh, Wilson was able to have a top-35 finish at linebacker. He recorded 109 tackles with two sacks, an interception, and a fumble recovery. Wilson was a big-play machine in college at North Carolina State, and should continue to increase his big plays, especially with a new coaching staff that says they want to be more aggressive on the defensive side of the ball. Wilson is also a better coverage linebacker than teammate Patrick Queen, which could have him stealing some snaps in nickel and dime formations. If Wilson continues his ascension, fantasy managers who take him as an LB4 could see a really nice return in 2026.
Devin Lloyd, LB, Panthers
Lloyd heads to Carolina after spending his first four years in the league in Jacksonville. Lloyd, who is a former first-round pick, has been consistent throughout his career even though he has never had a clear breakout season in fantasy. He has finished between LB30-LB40 in each of his four seasons. Foyesade Oluokun was the LB1 and leader of the Jaguars defense the last four years, but now Lloyd gets a chance to be the top guy for the Panthers. Lloyd should start alongside second-year pro Trevin Wallace. Lloyd steps into the spot vacated by Christian Rozeboom, who led the Panthers with 122 tackles last season. This might be Lloyd’s best chance of his career to have a top-20 LB season in fantasy.
Nakobe Dean, LB, Raiders
Quay Walker is the new linebacker addition everyone is talking about in Las Vegas, but I prefer Dean. Walker is being drafted in the top 10, while Dean is in the 30s. In a bit of a surprise, Dean is going to wear the Green Dot as the defensive playcaller, which shoots his value up even more. Dean does come with some question marks. He has a long injury history, which should concern anyone thinking of drafting him. But we have also seen what he can do when he is at his best. He finished the season as a top 15 linebacker in 2024 with the Eagles corralling 128 total tackles and three sacks.
Drew Greenlaw, LB, 49ers
This is a deep dive and throwback right here. Greenlaw has played in only 10 games the past two seasons and now rejoins the 49ers after one year in Denver. If you look at Greenlaw’s last two healthy seasons in San Francisco, he had 247 total tackles, 10 pass breakups, and three takeaways. Greenlaw gets to reunite with Fred Warner, who is also coming back from injury, to complete one of the best linebacker duos in the franchise’s history. Greenlaw can be had late in drafts as a reserve LB for your squad, but he has LB2-LB3 upside if he can stay healthy.
For more great fantasy football rankings and analysis, make sure to check out the 2026 FantraxHQ Fantasy Football Draft Kit!
Defensive Back
DeShon Elliott, S, Steelers
It’s easy to forget the type of player that Elliott is after knee issues slowed him down early in the 2025 season and eventually caused him to miss the final 10 games of the year. In 2024, Elliott’s first year in Pittsburgh, he had a top-10 DB season in only 15 games. Elliott had more than 100 tackles with six passes defended and four takeaways. If he bounces back, he should take the lion’s share of safety snaps in the box. He should be a value in drafts with potential top-10 upside.
Jalen Thompson, S, Cowboys
Thompson spent seven seasons in Budda Baker’s shadow in the Arizona Desert. Baker had three DB1 finishes and three more top-15 DB finishes in their time together. So it can be understood if you are overlooking Thompson coming into this season. The impressive thing about Thompson is that he was still able to have one top-10 DB finish, one top-15 DB season, and three top-30 finishes in that time span. Now Thompson heads to Dallas, where he should be in line to get the box safety role. I know people are worried that the Cowboys drafted Caleb Downs with the 11th overall pick in the NFL Draft, but early camp reports have Downs working as the slot corner. I think both players will figure out how to work together and be productive IDP players.
Tyler Nubin, S, Giants
It’s time for Nubin to stay healthy and be the player the Giants took in the first round out of Minnesota in the 2024 NFL Draft. Nubin has played 13 games in each of his first two seasons in the NFL. He had a top 30 DB finish in his rookie year and a top 45 DB finish in his second year despite missing a combined eight games in two years. The Giants have gotten better up front, and the signing of Javon Holland last season to play deep safety should have Nubin roaming the box. With rookie Arvell Reese and Tremaine Edmunds in front of him, with the now-departed Bobby Okereke a free agent, Nubin could be in for a Giants’ share of tackles.
AJ Haulcy, S, Colts
A second Colts rookie on the list? Why not! Much like I stated above with CJ Allen, Haulcy walks into a prime IDP position as a rookie. Nick Cross had back-to-back top two DB finishes the last two seasons, but he left for big money in Washington. Haulcy, who was the Colts third-round pick in April, has impressed in rookie camp and training camp. He looks to have locked up the starting box safety role for the upcoming season. Haulcy is being picked as a low-end DB3, but I think he has huge breakout potential.
Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, S, Cardinals
Taylor-Demerson has been biding his time in the Cardinals’ secondary for the past two seasons, but with the departure of Jalen Thompson to the Cowboys, he is going to get a shot to start alongside one of the greatest IDP DBs in recent history, Budda Baker. Taylor-Demerson will technically be the deep safety in this defense, but the Cardinals are known for moving their secondary guys around. Thompson was able to have five straight top 30 defensive back finishes alongside Baker. If you are one of the “wait until the very end of drafts to take DB” type of fantasy managers, Taylor-Demerson is a late-round stash who could have some upside this season.
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