After far, far too long football is finally back. 215 days after the Patriots beat the Rams in Super Bowl LIII, it’s finally time for some good old regular season football. And of course, with the dawn of a new NFL season comes something even greater: a new Fantasy Football season.
I’ll be breaking down the Top 40 players at each IDP position for your reading pleasure every Tuesday, helping you get the edge over your leaguemates in IDP leagues.
Week 1 Linebacker Rankings
| Rank | Player Name | Team | Matchup |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bobby Wagner | SEA | v CIN |
| 2 | Luke Kuechly | CAR | v LAR |
| 3 | Darius Leonard | IND | at LAC |
| 4 | Deion Jones | ATL | at MIN |
| 5 | Cory Littleton | LAR | at CAR |
| 6 | C.J. Mosley | NYJ | v BUF |
| 7 | Blake Martinez | GBP | at CHI |
| 8 | Roquan Smith | CHI | v GBP |
| 9 | Leighton Vander Esch | DAL | v NYG |
| 10 | Devin Bush | PIT | at NEP |
| 11 | Lavonte David | TBB | v SFO |
| 12 | Tremaine Edmunds | BUF | at NYJ |
| 13 | Khalil Mack | GBP | v GBP |
| 14 | Jaylon Smith | DAL | v NYG |
| 15 | Myles Jack | JAX | v KCC |
| 16 | Nick Vigil | CIN | at SEA |
| 17 | Zach Cunningham | HOU | at NOR |
| 18 | Christian Kirksey | CLE | v TEN |
| 19 | Devin White | TBB | v SFO |
| 20 | Joe Schobert | CLE | v TEN |
| 21 | Jordan Hicks | ARI | v DET |
| 22 | Alec Ogletree | NYG | at DAL |
| 23 | DeMario Davis | NOR | v HOU |
| 24 | T.J. Watt | PIT | at NEP |
| 25 | Jayon Brown | TEN | at CLE |
| 26 | Kwon Alexander | SFO | at TBB |
| 27 | Zach Brown | PHI | v WAS |
| 28 | Jerome Baker | MIA | v BAL |
| 29 | Bradley Chubb | DEN | at OAK |
| 30 | Anthony Hitchens | KCC | at JAX |
| 31 | Patrick Onwuasor | BAL | at MIA |
| 32 | Sam Eguavoen | MIA | v BAL |
| 33 | Todd Davis | DEN | at OAK |
| 34 | Von Miller | DEN | at OAK |
| 35 | Eric Kendricks | MIN | v ATL |
| 36 | Rashaan Evans | TEN | at CLE |
| 37 | Kenny Young | BAL | at MIA |
| 38 | Tahir Whitehead | OAK | v DEN |
| 39 | Lorenzo Alexander | BUF | at NYJ |
| 40 | Matt Judon | BAL | at MIA |
Week 1 Defensive Back Rankings
| Rank | Player Name | Team | Matchup |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jamal Adams | NYJ | v BUF |
| 2 | Landon Collins | WAS | at PHI |
| 3 | Keanu Neal | ATL | at MIN |
| 4 | Jordan Poyer | BUF | at NYJ |
| 5 | John Johnson | LAR | at CAR |
| 6 | Budda Baker | ARI | v DET |
| 7 | Malcolm Jenkins | PHI | v WAS |
| 8 | Harrison Smith | MIN | v ATL |
| 9 | Reshad Jones | MIA | v BAL |
| 10 | Shawn Williams | CIN | at SEA |
| 11 | Jabrill Peppers | NYG | at DAL |
| 12 | Antoine Bethea | NYG | at DAL |
| 13 | Johnathan Abram | OAK | v DEN |
| 14 | Bradley McDougald | SEA | v CIN |
| 15 | Tyrann Mathieu | KCC | at JAX |
| 16 | Justin Reid | HOU | at NOR |
| 17 | Hasean Clinton-Dix | CHI | v GBP |
| 18 | Earl Thomas III | BAL | at MIA |
| 19 | Jessie Bates III | CIN | at SEA |
| 20 | Damarious Randall | CLE | v TEN |
| 21 | Kevin Byard | TEN | at CLE |
| 22 | Justin Evans | TBB | v SFO |
| 23 | Adrian Amos | GBP | at CHI |
| 24 | Clayton Geathers | IND | at LAC |
| 25 | Justin Simmons | DEN | at OAK |
| 26 | Minkah Fitzpatrick | MIA | v BAL |
| 27 | Kyle Fuller | CHI | v GBP |
| 28 | Jaquiski Tartt | SFO | at TBB |
| 29 | Sean Davis | PIT | at NEP |
| 30 | Kareem Jackson | DEN | at OAK |
| 31 | Eddie Jackson | CHI | v GBP |
| 32 | Tony Jefferson | BAL | at MIA |
| 33 | Kenny Vaccaro | TEN | at CLE |
| 34 | Marcus Peters | LAR | at CAR |
| 35 | Morgan Burnett | CLE | v TEN |
| 36 | Ronnie Harrison | JAX | v KCC |
| 37 | Trumaine Johnson | NYJ | v BUF |
| 38 | Eric Reid | CAR | v LAR |
| 39 | Marshon Lattimore | NOR | v HOU |
| 40 | Quandre Diggs | DET | at ARI |
Week 1 Defensive Linemen Rankings
| Rank | Player Name | Team | Matchup |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aaron Donald | LAR | at CAR |
| 2 | J.J. Watt | HOU | at NOR |
| 3 | Danielle Hunter | MIN | v ATL |
| 4 | Joey Bosa | LAC | v IND |
| 5 | Myles Garrett | CLE | v TEN |
| 6 | Cameron Jordan | NOR | v HOU |
| 7 | Calais Campbell | JAX | v KCC |
| 8 | DeMarcus Lawrence | DAL | v NYG |
| 9 | DeForest Buckner | SFO | at TBB |
| 10 | Frank Clark | KCC | at JAX |
| 11 | Chris Jones | KCC | at JAX |
| 12 | Olivier Vernon | CLE | v TEN |
| 13 | Melvin Ingram | LAC | v IND |
| 14 | Akiem Hicks | CHI | v GBP |
| 15 | Everson Griffen | MIN | v ATL |
| 16 | Dee Ford | SFO | at TBB |
| 17 | Trey Flowers | DET | at ARI |
| 18 | Justin Houston | IND | at LAC |
| 19 | Marcus Davenport | NOR | v HOU |
| 20 | Jonathan Allen | WAS | at PHI |
| 21 | Carlos Dunlap | CIN | at SEA |
| 22 | Leonard Williams | NYJ | v BUF |
| 23 | Jurrell Casey | TEN | at CLE |
| 24 | Cameron Heyward | PIT | at NEP |
| 25 | Nick Bosa | SFO | at TBB |
| 26 | Jadeveon Clowney | SEA | v CIN |
| 27 | Fletcher Cox | PHI | v WAS |
| 28 | Yannick Ngakoue | JAX | v KCC |
| 29 | Vita Vea | TBB | v SFO |
| 30 | Kenny Clark | GBP | at CHI |
| 31 | Geno Atkins | CIN | at SEA |
| 32 | Ezekiel Ansah | SEA | v CIN |
| 33 | Brandon Graham | PHI | v WAS |
| 34 | Clelin Ferrell | OAK | v DEN |
| 35 | Damon Harrison | DET | at ARI |
| 36 | Jerry Hughes | BUF | at NYJ |
| 37 | Ndamukong Suh | TBB | v SFO |
| 38 | Romeo Okwara | DET | at ARI |
| 39 | Da’Ron Payne | WAS | at PHI |
| 40 | Derek Barnett | PHI | v WAS |
Feel free to direct any questions to me in the comment section below, or on Twitter @NateWattQBL.
(Photo by Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire)