Photo: USA Today Sports

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The face of IDP has changed in recent years. With the advent of “True Position” (or some variation thereof), 3-4 rush linebackers like T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers are now classified alongside defensive linemen. It was a seismic shift to the IDP landscape.

With that said, one thing has not changed. The scoring in the majority of IDP leagues still favors tackles. And that means that linebackers are the foundation of a successful defensive roster. Their ability to pile up stops makes them both the highest-scoring and most consistent defensive position in fantasy football.

It’s simple, really—build a strong cadre of linebackers, and your IDP team will probably succeed. Draft a group of linebackers that fails to live up to their draft slots, and your fantasy team could be in trouble.

RELATED: See Defensive Linemen Who Will Decide IDP Leagues here >>

“True Position” threw a bit of a wrench into that exercise as well. Granted, quite a few rush linebackers had minimal value with eligibility at that position. But some (like Watt) were still viable IDP assets. The depth at linebacker took a hit.

The changing face of the NFL has also taken a toll. With defenses playing more and more subpackages and more teams featuring three-safety looks, the number of true every-down linebackers who rarely leave the field has decreased. Many linebackers now play under 75 percent of their teams’ snaps. That makes those linebackers who do stay on the field that much more valuable—you can’t make a tackle from the sidelines.

Linebackers are the defining position of IDP—the kings of the format.

And these are the linebackers who (for better or worse) are going to decide leagues in 2024.

Fred Warner, San Francisco

Warner is one of the most consistently excellent linebackers in the NFL—the sixth-year veteran has never had fewer than 118 tackles in a season, and in each of the past three years, Warner has surpassed 130 total stops. As a matter of fact, when Jordan Dajani of CBS Sports compiled rankings of the top 20 off-ball linebackers in the NFL, the 27-year-old Warner topped the list.

“Last year,” he said, “the versatile defender became the only player over the last 25 seasons to record 125 tackles, four interceptions, and four forced fumbles in a season. In all, Warner recorded 132 combined tackles, 2.5 sacks, a career-high 11 passes defensed, four interceptions, and four forced fumbles in 2023, which earned him his third First Team All-Pro nod and third Pro Bowl appearance as well. His coverage ability gives the already-talented 49ers defense some flexibility, and he's proven to be a playmaker at virtually every level of the field. Warner is the best linebacker in the NFL.”

The problem with Warner is that while he’s a fantastic NFL linebacker, it hasn’t always translated into IDP production. Warner’s excellence in coverage costs him tackle opportunities at the line of scrimmage. His 15 percent missed tackle percentage last year tied a career-high. And while his early ADP is inside the top-5 linebackers he has never finished a season that highly in fantasy points and has cracked the top-10 just once.

Azeez Al-Shaair, Houston

Al-Shaair was a trendy breakout pick from many IDP analysts last season (most assuredly including this one—if The Godfather wasn’t driving that bandwagon, he was riding shotgun), and while Al-Shaair’s 84 solo stops weren’t jaw-dropping, he added 79 assists and finished inside the top-15 in fantasy points. Now Al-Shaair is reunited with DeMeco Ryans in Houston, and Ryans told reporters that he expects an even better season from the sixth-year pro in 2024.

“The thing with Azeez that stood out for me last year was his first time getting an opportunity to play full-time as a starter,” Ryans said. “He had been in a backup role when we were there in San Francisco for a while, and he showed that he was capable of running the show and could stay healthy throughout the year. So, he was durable, he was a playmaker, he was physical, he was a leader of that defense. So, excited to add not only Azeez as a player but Azeez as a leader. I think he’s grown as a leader, and I’m excited to work with him again.”

Al-Shaair joins a Texans defense that he knows inside and out already from his time in San Fran with Ryans—a defense that made Blake freaking Cashman a fantasy starter in 2023. If it can do that for a middling talent like Cashman, it can make Al-Shaair a top-10 fantasy asset—especially since, given Al-Shaair’s contract, he’s just about a mortal lock to be the defensive play-caller and an every-down player.