I’ll keep this relatively short, as not to waste your time. Several weeks ago, over a series of weeks, I put out my initial IDP rankings, position by position. Now, a month later, plenty has changed, and to not update my rankings to reflect those changes would be pretty asinine. As always, happy reading, and I hope my rankings help you out at your draft table this year.
Linebackers
| Rank | Player Name | Team | Initial Rank |
| 1 | Darius Leonard | IND | 1 |
| 2 | Bobby Wagner | SEA | 2 |
| 3 | Luke Kuechly | CAR | 3 |
| 4 | Deion Jones | ATL | 4 |
| 5 | Cory Littleton | LAR | 5 |
| 6 | Lavonte David | TBB | 6 |
| 7 | Roquan Smith | CHI | 7 |
| 8 | Blake Martinez | GBP | 8 |
| 9 | Leighton Vander Esch | DAL | 9 |
| 10 | C.J. Mosley | NYJ | 10 |
| 11 | Myles Jack | JAX | 11 |
| 12 | Zach Cunningham | HOU | 12 |
| 13 | Tremaine Edmunds | BUF | 13 |
| 14 | Jaylon Smith | DAL | 14 |
| 15 | Devin Bush | PIT | 15 |
| 16 | Devin White | TBB | 17 |
| 17 | DeMario Davis | NYJ | 18 |
| 18 | Khalil Mack | CHI | 19 |
| 19 | Nick Vigil | CIN | 20 |
| 20 | Alec Ogletree | NYG | 21 |
| 21 | Christian Kirksey | CLE | 22 |
| 22 | Joe Schobert | CLE | 23 |
| 23 | Kwon Alexander | SFO | 24 |
| 24 | Jordan Hicks | ARI | 28 |
| 25 | T.J. Watt | PIT | 27 |
| 26 | Jayon Brown | TEN | 29 |
| 27 | Kenny Young | BAL | 16 |
| 28 | Patrick Onwuasor | BAL | 40 |
| 29 | Bradley Chubb | DEN | 30 |
| 30 | Anthony Hitchens | KCC | 31 |
| 31 | Zach Brown | PHI | 32 |
| 32 | Tahir Whitehead | OAK | 33 |
| 33 | Danny Trevathan | CHI | 35 |
| 34 | Von Miller | DEN | 37 |
| 35 | Todd Davis | DEN | 41 |
| 36 | Eric Kendricks | MIN | 38 |
| 37 | Wesley Woodyard | NYJ | 39 |
| 38 | Kiko Alonso | MIA | 25 |
| 39 | Raekwon McMillan | MIA | 45 |
| 40 | Lorenzo Alexander | BUF | 42 |
| 41 | Chandler Jones | ARI | 43 |
| 42 | Fred Warner | SFO | 44 |
| 43 | Matt Milano | BUF | 46 |
| 44 | Haason Reddick | ARI | 47 |
| 45 | K.J. Wright | SEA | 49 |
| 46 | Benardrick McKinney | HOU | 50 |
| 47 | Shaun Dion Hamilton | WAS | Unranked |
| 48 | Jerome Baker | MIA | Unranked |
| 49 | Jon Bostic | WAS | Unranked |
| 50 | Blake Cashman | NYJ | Unranked |
Notable Changes:
- I was a bit bullish in my initial ranking of Kenny Young at 16, and didn’t give Patrick Onwuasor enough credit at 40. Kenny Young is still one of my favorite LB targets this year, and I think he could still finish in the teens, but Onwuasor exists, like it or not.
- Injuries to Avery Williamson and Jarrad Davis bump them off the list entirely, and Mason Foster‘s release (and bizarre inability to find a suitor) works likewise. As a result, Blake Cashman, Shaun Dion Hamilton and Jon Bostic jump up into the Top 50.
- With talks of him being a potential roster cut, Kiko Alonso drops down the list, and Raekwon McMillan and Jerome Baker get slight bumps. Even if the report doesn’t shake out and Alonso still makes the roster, the fact that the idea was there doesn’t bode well for his play time, especially given the young, talented linebackers he’s surrounded by.
- Trade rumors surrounding Jadeveon Clowney brought me to drop him just off the list (not that he was ranked highly before), purely because of the uncertainty in his landing spot, and how their scheme would affect his usage and fantasy viability. I’ll get back to you when (if?) he gets moved.
Defensive Linemen
| Rank | Player Name | Team | Initial Rank |
| 1 | Aaron Donald | LAR | 1 |
| 2 | J.J. Watt | HOU | 2 |
| 3 | Joey Bosa | LAC | 3 |
| 4 | Danielle Hunter | MIN | 4 |
| 5 | Myles Garrett | CLE | 5 |
| 6 | Calais Campbell | JAX | 6 |
| 7 | DeMarcus Lawrence | DAL | 7 |
| 8 | Cameron Jordan | NOR | 8 |
| 9 | DeForest Buckner | SFO | 9 |
| 10 | Melvin Ingram | LAC | 11 |
| 11 | Chris Jones | KCC | 12 |
| 12 | Frank Clark | KCC | 13 |
| 13 | Akiem Hicks | CHI | 14 |
| 14 | Olivier Vernon | CLE | 15 |
| 15 | Jonathan Allen | WAS | 16 |
| 16 | Dee Ford | SFO | 17 |
| 17 | Justin Houston | IND | 18 |
| 18 | Nick Bosa | SFO | 10 |
| 19 | Trey Flowers | DET | 19 |
| 20 | Everson Griffen | MIN | 20 |
| 21 | Marcus Davenport | NOR | 21 |
| 22 | Carlos Dunlap | CIN | 22 |
| 23 | Jurrell Casey | TEN | 24 |
| 24 | Fletcher Cox | PHI | 25 |
| 25 | Yannick Ngakoue | JAX | 26 |
| 26 | Leonard Williams | NYJ | 28 |
| 27 | Cameron Heyward | PIT | 29 |
| 28 | Vita Vea | TBB | 23 |
| 29 | Jason Pierre-Paul | TBB | 30 |
| 30 | Kenny Clark | GBP | 31 |
| 31 | Clelin Ferrell | OAK | 34 |
| 32 | Damon Harrison | DET | 27 |
| 33 | Jerry Hughes | BUF | 36 |
| 34 | Geno Atkins | CIN | 37 |
| 35 | Jarran Reed | SEA | 40 |
| 36 | Ezekiel Ansah | SEA | 32 |
| 37 | Brandon Graham | PHI | 38 |
| 38 | Ndamukong Suh | TBB | Unranked |
| 39 | Da’Ron Payne | WAS | Unranked |
| 40 | Ed Oliver | BUF | 33 |
Notable Changes:
- Nick Bosa suffered an ankle injury that could potentially hold him out of Week 1, and will likely limit his snaps for the first few games even if he plays. It’s minor enough to keep him in my Top 20, but be wary of a slow start.
- Reports are that Vita Vea is highly questionable for Week 1 with a knee injury, and could potentially miss multiple games. This is frustrating news for one of my favorite sleepers for 2019, but once he’s back on the field he’ll be a beast.
- Damon Harrison sees a drop after the Lions add former Pro Bowler Mike Daniels to the defensive tackle rotation, giving the Lions a three-headed monster (A’Shawn Robinson) that will likely mean Snacks won’t be on the field for nearly as many snaps as he was in line for.
- Ed Oliver hasn’t blown coaches away as quickly as I’d hoped, though his later season upside is too high for me to drop him out of the Top 40 entirely.
- Robert Quinn got hit with a double whammy of a broken hand and PED suspension, more than dropping him off my radar.
Defensive Backs
| Rank | Player Name | Team | Initial Rank |
| 1 | Landon Collins | WAS | 1 |
| 2 | Jamal Adams | NYJ | 2 |
| 3 | John Johnson | LAR | 4 |
| 4 | Keanu Neal | ATL | 5 |
| 5 | Budda Baker | ARI | 6 |
| 6 | Jordan Poyer | BUF | 7 |
| 7 | Harrison Smith | MIN | 8 |
| 8 | Reshad Jones | MIA | 13 |
| 9 | Shawn Williams | CIN | 9 |
| 10 | Antoine Bethea | NYG | 10 |
| 11 | Malcolm Jenkins | PHI | 11 |
| 12 | Jabrill Peppers | NYG | 12 |
| 13 | Bradley McDougald | SEA | 14 |
| 14 | Tyrann Mathieu | KCC | 15 |
| 15 | Justin Reid | HOU | 16 |
| 16 | Johnathan Abram | OAK | 17 |
| 17 | Kevin Byard | TEN | 18 |
| 18 | Jessie Bates III | CIN | 19 |
| 19 | Hasean Clinton-Dix | CHI | 20 |
| 20 | Damarious Randall | CLE | 21 |
| 21 | Earl Thomas III | BAL | 23 |
| 22 | Minkah Fitzpatrick | MIA | 26 |
| 23 | Clayton Geathers | IND | 24 |
| 24 | Justin Simmons | DEN | 25 |
| 25 | Derwin James | LAC | 3 |
| 26 | Jaquiski Tartt | SFO | 27 |
| 27 | Sean Davis | PIT | 28 |
| 28 | Justin Evans | TBB | 29 |
| 29 | Morgan Burnett | CLE | 30 |
| 30 | Adrian Amos | GBP | 32 |
| 31 | Eddie Jackson | CHI | 33 |
| 32 | Kareem Jackson | DEN | Unranked |
| 33 | Tony Jefferson | BAL | 34 |
| 34 | Ronnie Harrison | JAX | 35 |
| 35 | Kyle Fuller | CHI | 36 |
| 36 | Eric Reid | CAR | 37 |
| 37 | Marshon Lattimore | NOR | 38 |
| 38 | Quandre Diggs | DET | 39 |
| 39 | Kenny Vaccaro | TEN | Unranked |
| 40 | Marcus Peters | LAR | Unranked |
Notable Changes:
- Derwin James will almost certainly be starting the season on injured reserve, holding him out for at least the first eight weeks. This ranking may be a bit aggressive considering, but when you do have him on the field (for playoffs no less) he’s one of the best in the business. Adjust where you draft him to how dangerous you’re feeling at the draft table.
- Per Reshad Jones, he will not be traded. The looming threat of a trade being gone, as well as T.J. McDonald being released, makes me far more willing to take on Reshad Jones this season.
- Juan Thornhill has overall been very disappointing to watch in the preseason, to such a degree that my confidence in him has waned enough to drop him from the list entirely.
- Making my initial rankings I missed the news that Kareem Jackson would be starting at safety for the Broncos, and some kind Redditors let me know. I’ve moved him into the Top 40 accordingly.
(Photo by Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire)