Who is your top defensive lineman on a different team in 2020? Are you targeting this player in a normal redraft league? Do you think they might be underrated by most of the fantasy community?
Jason Wood
Unless Jadaveon Clowney signs in a perfect situation, my choice comes down to DeForest Buckner with Indianapolis or Calais Campbell with Baltimore. Buckner is the rare defensive tackle worthy of IDP consideration in leagues that don't require a separation of ends and tackles. His tackle numbers and ability to disrupt the passer make him a compelling addition to an already opportunistic Colts front. Campbell is aging, but he was still highly productive in Arizona and goes to a team that knows how to utilize defensive talent better than most.
Matt Waldman
While I like Jason's mentioning of Buckner and Campbell, I think Campbell will be used more to keep his linebackers clean than as a penetrator and disruptor for stats.
I'm going to roll with D.J. Reader. He's a Pro Bowl-caliber talent with excellent strength, quickness, and pursuit range. Teaming with Geno Atkins means that whoever earns the one-on-one matchup should dominate and generate big plays. While a defensive end like Clowney is the obvious answer, if you're in an IDP league that requires a defensive tackle, Reader is a fine choice because the Bengals defense will likely be on the field a little more often due to the inefficiencies that rookie quarterbacks often experience--even one has promising as Joe Burrow.
And it's kind of a homer pick because he's technically my second cousin by marriage.
Jeff Haseley
Jason mentioned two excellent players Calais Campbell in Baltimore and DeForest Buckner in Indianapolis. Both are capable of providing good IDP value. Campbell will benefit from Matthew Judon and Derek Wolfe, but as Matt mentioned, he may not be a focal point of the pass rush like he has been in the past. Buckner, on the other hand, will reap the benefits of an improved Colts defensive line and could wind up being the top fantasy-producing lineman on the Colts, even ahead of Justin Huston, due to his high volume of tackle numbers and slightly above-average sack totals.
Some other edge rushers to consider are Robert Quinn in Chicago and Vic Beasley Jr in Tennessee. Both should come close to 10 sacks with 30 solo tackles. The only deterrent is that they are likely listed as a linebacker for IDP positional purposes, which removes some of the fantasy appeal.
John Norton
A strong argument can be made for DeForest Buckner being the best player to change teams this offseason regardless of position. Indeed, he will be a great fit in the Colts aggressive style defense that is similar to what he left in San Francisco, but the guy I want to talk about here is Donte Fowler.
Fowler had a rocky start to his career. The third overall pick in 2015 got off to a typically slow start as a rookie pass rusher with four sacks. He came back with eight in year two despite a limited role on a Jacksonville squad loaded with defensive line talent. Halfway through 2018, Fowler was traded to the Rams where he would go on to have a career year in 2019 as an outside linebacker in their 3-4.
For most fantasy managers, Fowler’s 40 tackles, 16 assists, 11.5 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles did not translate to great IDP value due to the positional designation of linebacker, but on the field, he proved his worth as a three-down edge defender. Now that he is with the Falcons, Fowler will be back at defensive end in a 4-3 where he is most comfortable. Having misfired on a couple of first-round defensive ends in recent years (Vic Beasley Jr and Tak McKinley), Atlanta finally has a guy that can stay on the field in any situation and provide some big-play spark. If he can muster numbers similar to last year’s, which is highly likely, Fowler would easily land among the fantasy game’s top-15 linemen.
Justin Howe
Calais Campbell is the easy answer here, a perennial DL1 who moved from one great situation into another. Campbell's numbers took a drastic fall last year, but he looks ripe for positive regression. He played a career-high 833 snaps, yet his sack total - a fungible stat that can vacillate wildly - dipped to a four-year low of 6.5. Again surrounded by a deep, talented line, Campbell should stay among the position's elites with room to expand, even at 33.
Under the radar, though, deeper IDP drafters could do much worse than Mario Addison, a personal favorite who's topped 9.0 sacks in each of the past four seasons. Those in big-play formats should note he's also one of the league's most prolific at forcing fumbles (eight over the past four years).
