Jene Bramel - Dynasty leagues and IDP

Dynasty leagues, particularly those using IDPs, are among the most rewarding and enjoyable in fantasy football. But many owners avoid these leagues because they see IDPs as a crapshoot. They see variability among the top IDP players every season and wonder how anybody could form a consistently solid defensive dynasty team. They see other owners plucking an unknown DB-du-jour off the waiver wire and scoring big while their big name acquisition flounders and conclude that IDPs are one big luckfest.

Well, we're here to tell you they're flat wrong. With a little effort and study, you'll open the door to a new way of enjoying fantasy football. And your Sundays will never be the same again.

Know Your League

Learning how to scout rookie defensive players is crucial. Understanding defensive schemes and the responsibilities of each position is also essential to success in dynasty IDP leagues. But all the time and hard work you dedicate to scouting and understanding schemes will be wasted if you don't apply it correctly to your league. Building a dynasty is all about maximizing value as often as possible. You may have an advantage over your leaguemates in scouting, but taking an IDP too early in your draft or giving up too much in trade to get a player you've targeted are mistakes that can and should be avoided.

First, you must understand how your particular league's scoring system affects the general value of an individual IDP. You need to know how the top players and average starters compare at every position. Some leagues value defensive players and offensive players about equally; others value defensive players less than their offensive counterparts. Most league management software can generate this information for you quickly. Learning how your league values an average LB relative to an average RB or WR or DB is your first step in assigning a given IDP his proper value.

Next, study your scoring system. Some leagues value tackles more than big play stats like sacks, interceptions, forced fumbles, and passes defended. In general, leagues that award more than three times as many points for sacks and four times as many for interceptions are skewed toward the big play. A 3-4 rush LB who averages 55 tackles and 10 sacks a season will be a stud in a league that awards ten points per sack and two per tackle. The same player may only be a borderline starter in leagues that give three points per sack and one per tackle. The value of most cornerbacks is also determined by how heavily your scoring system rewards interceptions and passes defended in relation to tackles.

Numbers alone aren't enough, however. You need to have some idea of how the other owners in your league value IDPs at each position. When do the most promising rookies come off the board in your draft? What kind of value can you get in trade for a steady LB2? Is there a shark in your league that always seems to grab the gem off the wire before his breakout week? You don't want to pay too much, too soon for an IDP and lose value but you can't get caught with your pants down in the second round of your rookie draft either. Take the time to learn the scoring system and tendencies of your league or any knowledge you have of schemes and scouting will not matter.

Learn Defensive Schemes and Positional Responsibilities

After learning the nuts and bolts of your league scoring system, the next step in properly valuing an IDP is learning how the basic responsibility of each position in each defensive scheme affects a player's fantasy production. Our own defensive guru John Norton wrote the book on how to break down NFL defenses by position. His article, Breaking Down NFL Defenses, will show you which positions hold the most fantasy value in 4-3, 3-4, and 46 schemes and why. That article is your IDP lifeblood. When you understand why a 3-4 SS may not be as valuable on your dynasty roster as he is to his team or why an undertackle or a Cover-2 cornerback is much more valuable than other DTs or CBs, you'll be well ahead of your leaguemates.

Learning NFL defensive concepts will also help you to understand how a coaching or scheme change can affect a player's value. Some productive IDPs become waiver wire fodder after they sign a huge FA contract with a new team. Others fall into much improved situations when changing teams. Not only will you be able to see through the changes that occur in the top scoring IDP lists from year to year, you'll be able to see them coming. And you'll win your way to the playoffs and championships while the other owners in your league are frustrated by the "unpredictability" of IDPs.

Manage Your Roster Well

Managing your defensive roster in a dynasty league is critical. Some owners prefer a bare bones approach, sacrificing defensive depth to pad their offensive roster with talent and working the waiver wire hard to replace defensive starters during bye weeks. It's risky, but if you're loaded with consistent studs or play in a league where no one uses the waiver wire wisely, it may work in a given year. In many leagues, a more balanced approach is recommended.

Get stud players and hold them
Not exactly rocket science but it warrants mentioning. Because of the frequent turnover and week-to-week variability in scoring in the middle ranks of the IDP world, finding those players that are consistent weekly scorers is a must. Unlike the offensive side of the roster, where a good dynasty owner will often elect to move a stud a year before he begins his downfall, you need to hold your IDP studs until they begin to breakdown. Offensive players tend to slowly wind down and gradually lose value (unless they suffer a major injury). Defensive players often retain value very late in their career, before quickly fading. For example, while the value of a Brett Favre or Jerry Rice slowly falls, a Jamie Sharper or Leroy Butler will play well for a number of seasons then lose value almost overnight. You shouldn't move a Michael Strahan or Rodney Harrison or Donnie Edwards or Ray Lewis for anything less than optimal value unless you've got another stud waiting to assume the throne. They're just too hard to replace. Instead, only consider moving a consistent stud IDP when you're convinced a team/scheme change will significantly change their production or when you begin to see signs of breakdown (e.g. back or lower leg injuries).
Get talent/hold talent
Whenever you have an opportunity (draft/trade/waivers), get players with big time talent. It could be freakish measurables or uncanny football sense. Some of these guys will end up in bad situations (stuck as a SLB or a poor scheme) and you'll sometimes have to be patient to the point of frustration. But NFL defensive coordinators find a way to get the most out of their talent. Troy Polamalu is an excellent recent example. The Steelers SS struggled to find his way in a complicated 3-4 defense his rookie year only to see defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau find a way to maximize his freakish recovery speed in coverage and blitzing skills. Other owners may give these kinds of players up cheaply in trade or even drop them. You need to be there to snatch them up. If you've got the roster space, you can keep supremely talented guys in reserve for a year or more waiting for a huge return on your investment. You'll get burned by these guys sometimes (see Boss Bailey, Teddy Lehman), but squeezing out just one of these guys a season will make a huge difference.
Learn to recognize a replacement level player
Here's where the best IDP owners gain the biggest advantage. Almost every owner knows what a stud IDP looks like. Fewer, but a good percentage, will be patient enough to allow huge potential to develop behind their starters. But not many will know how to fill out the middle part of their defensive rosters correctly. They'll grab the luckbox FS coming off the fluke 9 INT season and plug him in the lineup for six weeks before realizing (if at all) that he's killing them. They'll overpay in trade for last year's breakthrough LB who changed teams during the offseason and landed in a fantasy black hole. Don't be that owner. Let the fish fight over the one week wonders while you use your understanding of schemes and talent to draft or pickup guys like Charles Tillman or Kyle Vanden Bosch.

Putting Your Gameplan To Work

Scouting the Rookie Draft
Here's where your homework begins to payoff. Successfully drafting IDP rookies isn't any more difficult than sifting through the maze of first year RBs and WRs on the offensive side of the ball. You're looking for talent with opportunity. Identify anyone with stud potential and those in the best schemes to produce good fantasy numbers.

On the DL, your primary target should be a defensive end best suited to play in a 4-3 scheme. The ideal end for fantasy purposes is a guy with four major attributes. First, you want a guy with good size. In this case, somewhere between 260 and 280 pounds is your target. Smaller guys usually won't have enough strength to stand up to the run; bigger guys often aren't athletic enough to pursue or quick enough to disengage from blocks. Second, your man must be explosive. A good first step is essential to becoming an elite pass rusher. Third, you're looking for strength, both in the lower body (base strength) and in the hands. You want a DE that can shed blocks and hold the point of attack to make an impact defending the run and rushing the passer. Finally, you want the guy with a no-quit motor. True studs (Strahan, Peppers, Grant) have all the qualities you want. Some are somewhat deficient in one, but make up for those deficiencies with elite measurables in others (Freeney, Taylor). Look for players whose scouting reports use buzz words like good size on an athletic frame, quick-twitched explosiveness, tremendous burst, big powerful hands, controls blockers, plays with good leverage or pad level, excellent base strength, and relentless motor.

When studying LBs, your target should be a guy who will likely line up as a MLB or WLB. You want guys with excellent football instincts, quickness (not necessarily speed), agility, and who know how to tackle. The scouting reports on the best linebacker prospects will note things like reads and reacts well at the snap, always in position, has fluid hips and changes direction easily, takes good angles, has sideline to sideline range, sheds blockers well, is stout at the point of attack, explosive wrap up and drive tackler, and has great intensity.

The DB position can be the most difficult to scout because outside factors (scheme, surrounding talent) plays a bigger role in the fantasy value of these players than those in the front seven. Focus on safeties first. You should be looking for guys who are proven in run support first; stud strong safeties are still the bread and butter defensive backs in most leagues. Size is important, but solid, willing tacklers are more important. A true stud safety will also have good recovery speed and ball skills in coverage. The corner position is the most volatile. Ball skills are also important here, but again, willingness in run support is a big plus. Ultimately, though, your draft board is likely to follow scheme and opportunity at this position above all other factors.
Leverage your draft wisely.
Now that you've put a winning draft board together, you need to extract maximum value. You've already put in the time to learn the in and outs of your scoring system and where your leaguemates generally value each class of IDP. Armed with that knowledge, you now can move about in the draft to get the guys you've targeted as players who will help your particular situation the most. While it can often be difficult to maneuver yourself into position to get at the premier offensive talent, you can almost always get yourself into prime drafting slots to grab the IDPs you want. For example, while you would have to move into the upper half of the first round to get a stud RB, you will often find big time IDP talent available in the mid third round or later. That's fine, but don't be afraid to aggressively move up in the draft to get a player you have targeted as having a better than average chance to be a stud. Giving up a fourth or fifth round draft pick to move up a few spots earlier in the draft may not look like a great deal on paper but the hard value of the deal often becomes the difference between getting a possible stud like DeMeco Ryans now versus a flyer like James Anderson later.

Later in the rookie draft, while others are grabbing project wide receivers or marginal backup quarterbacks, look hard at taking an IDP with potential stud talent with poor opportunity instead. While your rivals are taking players that will need to develop on their roster for two to three years to have any value at all, you grab a potential stud like Bernard Pollard or Tamba Hali or James Anderson. These guys will declare themselves as studs or duds more quickly. Should a good number pan out, they are easily flipped for better draft picks (or talent) than you were able to draft at the same point. That's a win-win situation for you and the very definition of getting the most value for your late round picks.
Improving by trade
Trading and acquiring IDPs can be a goldmine for an experienced IDP dynasty owner. It can be near impossible to get an offensive player with the slightest bit of potential from the same owner who will outright cut a player like Thomas Davis. Your knowledge of defensive schemes will come into play here. Try to trade for players who have signed with a new team and have increased opportunity or will be in a more favorable defensive scheme. Look to trade for players who had disappointing seasons but could rebound strongly (i.e. nagging minor injury, forced to move to SLB, faced more double teams because a linemate got injured). Look to flip players who will have less opportunity on a new team, are showing signs of decline, or who have replacement level talent but had a career year that is unlikely to be repeated (eg. a free safety who picked off 8 passes but whose tackle numbers are still suspect). The offseason is usually the best time to make these kinds of deals, but you can also sometimes get a disappointing IDP in whom you see big potential "thrown-into" a larger deal just before the trade deadline.
Mining the waiver wire for hidden gems
Maximizing value by draft and trade is important. But if you're in a dynasty/IDP league loaded with sharks, you'll have to learn to use the waiver wire well. After the draft, you should have a list of available players you feel could produce if given an opportunity. You should also have enough of a working understanding of every team's depth chart (or know where to find one quickly) that you can quickly move on the player who replaces a valuable fantasy performer who gets injured. When a player from your reserve bank gets an opportunity, claim him. Don't wait for the player to have a breakout week the first Sunday he plays. At worst, if he turns out to be much less valuable than you hoped, you throw him back on the scrap heap without much lost time or investment. Waiting too long to grab a player from the wire who produces enough to move into someone's starting lineup is often a doubly critical mistake.

Be aware of specific instances in which the waiver wire can help you. At certain times of the season, the same opportunities always present themselves. The first opportunity arrives like clockwork during the first month of the season. It's especially important for those of you who start a CB as a separate DB position. Every season, at least one (and usually 3-4) previously overlooked corner establishes himself as a fantasy force. Usually it's a second or third year player making his way up the depth chart playing opposite a talented corner and not afraid to sacrifice his body in run support. Guys like Terrence McGee and Ken Lucas emerged on the wire in recent years. In some leagues, you can wait to discover the new Cover-2 corners on the block this way as well (Charles Tillman was available into the second month of the season in some of my leagues last season).

Similarly, you'll almost always be able to find an emerging defensive lineman during your stretch run. These players are usually young, talented pass rushers who were previously used only situationally, then got an opportunity due to injury and begin to abuse OL with their relatively fresh legs. Guys like Osi Umenyiora and Jared Allen fit this category in recent years. If you play your cards well in these two situations alone, you can stock your team with at least one top level IDP a season. Many of them end up becoming year-in, year-out contributors or valuable trade bait.

Finally, a real IDP dynasty shark will make room every year for one or more late season flyers that hold very high potential for next season. Even if you're optimizing your late season roster for a run at the championship, you should strongly consider adding a speculative player or two. Look for talented players behind known fantasy producers in contract years or who may be cap casualties. Look for high potential recent draft picks dumped by their frustrated former owners. These guys are really high risk/reward types, but should an Albert Fincher win a starting spot in training camp, you've essentially earned yourself an extra middle round draft pick. The Colt LB corps has been a prime example of this over the past 4 years. You almost certainly could've found David Thornton, Cato June, or Gary Brackett on your wire in Week 16 of the season before they won their starting spots.

Owners who play in competitive dynasty leagues with IDPs swear by them. They are the most fun when you take the extra time to put together a deep and successful playbook. This primer should prove to newbies and naysayers that an astute, knowledgeable owner can dominate the defensive side of the fantasy landscape every bit as consistently as the offensive side.