Photo: Imagn Images

Things are well and truly heating up now.

Training camps are in full swing across the National Football League. The preseason is underway, with the Chicago Bears downing the Houston Texans in a rain-shortened Hall of Fame Game. This weekend will bring the first full slate of exhibition contests. Who knows? We may even see a starter or two play, if only briefly.

It's those preseason games that will decide quite a few position battles on the defensive side of the ball. But training camp itself has offered a window into what many teams are thinking defense. As happens every season, there have been some surprise starters. At least one team has already been sent into scramble mode by an injury to a defensive starter.

Now, much of what we've learned has flown in the face of what we thought we knew—another perennial occurrence. Atlanta Falcons linebacker Troy Anderson went from an OTA “Riser” in the last edition of this column to being embroiled in a muddied competition with Kaden Elliss and Nate Landman that leaves all three linebackers' IDP value in flux.

But it hasn't all been bad news. Some of what we've seen from camp has reinforced valuations of IDPs or even given that value a boost.

We're going to examine that latter group here, with some IDP Risers, as training camp gives way to the preseason.

IDP Risers After Training Camp

EDGE Rashan Gary, Green Bay

Gary's numbers in 2023 weren't especially impressive at first glance—44 tackles, nine sacks and a DL31 fantasy finish. But those nine sacks were the second most of Gary's five-year career, and he opened last season recovering from an ACL tear. Now the 26-year-old enters the season healthy, and he told reporters he's enjoying playing with his hand in the dirt more in Jeff Hafley's new defense.

“Hand in the dirt and not dropping back,” Gary said, via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. “(It's) That simple. I feel more explosive coming out of a three-point stance. Sometimes, when you're in a two-point stance, you can create more false steps, and with the hand in the dirt, the false steps are taken away.”

Gary, veteran Preston Smith, youngster Lukas Van Ness and the rest of the Packers' defensive front has been the team's most dominant unit in training camp, regularly getting the best of Green Bay's offensive line. With a healthy Gary in a role that he believes best suits him, the first double-digit sack season of his career could be coming—along with an IDP breakout campaign.

EDGE Laiatu Latu, Indianapolis

To say the 2024 NFL Draft was light on defense early on is an understatement—only one defensive player was taken in the top 15 picks. That selection was UCLA edge-rusher Laiatu Latu, whom the Colts chose 15th overall. While speaking to reporters, Latu said he's trying his best to fill the void left by the loss of veteran Samson Ebukam to a season-ending Achilles tear.

“He's literally been helping me (and) been a big brother to me,” Latu said. “Working on different moves and stuff like that, learning from him, watching film with him. So, I'm just trying to carry what he already was providing to the team, and I'm trying to boost that up, so it doesn't feel like we're missing anybody.”

Most rookie edge-rushers go through an adjustment period entering the NFL—2023 DROY Will Anderson Jr. of the Houston Texans had just 7.5 sacks a season ago. And the Colts have a capable veteran edge-rusher in Dayo Odenigbo vying to start opposite Kwity Paye this season. But Latu has drawn raves from coaches dating back to rookie minicamps, and if he continues to impress, he could now see a lot more snaps in 2024 than we originally believed.

LB Zack Baun, Philadelphia

Entering the summer, just about every IDP pundit (this one included) thought that Nakobe Dean would be the second starter at linebacker opposite Devin White in Philadelphia. But through most of camp so far, it has been fifth-year veteran Zack Baun who has been running alongside White with the first team. Baun acknowledged to reporters that he has been as surprised by the development as anyone.

“I have no clue why [defensive coordinator Vic Fangio] went that direction, actually,” Baun said. “I can do a lot of different things. If that's where Vic sees me and he's studied my film, he's watched me. He's seen me in the league and in college, he's seen what I can do. And if he thinks that's a good spot for me, that's where I'll be.”

This has been a rather major surprise—in four years in New Orleans, Baun never played even 30 percent of the team's snaps, and he has 88 total tackles for his career. There's still a long way to go between now and the season opener in Brazil against the Packers, but if this holds and Baun plays close to an every-down role he could have major IDP “sleeper” appeal.