Fantasy Football: Sleeping IDP Beauties

Hears! You read the introduction and decided to stay a while! Thanks. For starters, no IDP (Individual Defensive Player) is going to produce more than any of your offensive starters. Well, Patrick Willis will get more fantasy points than Michael Vick this year. But there’s absolutely no reason to draft Ed Reed before Darren “Run DMC” McFadden (unless you’re recruiting blindfolded and making your picks by throwing darts at a dartboard).

With that caveat, here are two guys who could have a monster year (mostly in tackles and sacks).

1.Chris long. Long’s best fantasy attributes can be defined in a simple haiku:

Offspring of Howie Long

4 bags in the first seven

New Trainer Blitz-Happy

PRAYED

played all sixteen

Spags New York Defensive Team

Ignore newbie wall

2. Will Smith. To really see the potential of The Fresh Prince of Naw’Lins, you need to clear out the junk first. It’s like trying to catch the last Lucky Charm marshmallow while dodging bits of toasted oatmeal. Put aside the hernia operation in January and forget about the possible suspension for substance abuse. It’s a potential holdover from the 4-game variety that makes Smith virtually undraftable, but it’s definitely worth clicking the old “watch list.” Now that we’ve fished through the oatmeal pieces, let’s get to the sweet stuff: Smith has a high ceiling on his talent. Last year was a bad year, but only because his Robin’s Batman, Charles Grant, got injured and teams were able to focus on Smith. But Grant came back in another year where Smith is always good for 60-plus tackles and 8-10 sacks. Smith is really my super sleeping beauty right now, but she could definitely be a great choice as his second DLer.

As always, good luck in the world of fantasy football. May your draft go as planned, your team compete, and your squad live happily ever after.