IDP Sleepers 2026: 7 Big Values Ready to Alter Your Season

Find the Fit for Your IDP Draft

Welcome back to the one realm of fantasy football that still doesn’t get nearly enough attention. Where you can still find true edges. Where sleepers actually exist.

My favorite draft every year comes in a league that existed long before I got invited to play. It features 11-player starting lineups on both sides of the ball, so I’m facing a group of experienced IDP managers. Yet I’m pleasantly surprised every year to find defensive players I really like sliding well past where I think they should go.

Sure, in some cases I’ve been the one wrong on a player. But that’s the thing about picking IDP sleepers.

If the guy misses, you’re probably drafting him in a range that won’t hurt your team much. But if he hits … well, you’re in great shape.

I’m guessing you don’t come to this article prepping for your own 11-IDP, 30-round draft. But no matter how deep -- or shallow -- your league goes, you’ll find at least someone among these seven players who brings outsized upside at his draft position.

• Yaya Diaby, Edge, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Jalyx Hunt, Edge, Philadelphia Eagles
• Nakobe Dean, LB, Las Vegas Raiders
• Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Miami Dolphins
• DeMarvion Overshown, LB, Dallas Cowboys
• Minkah Fitzpatrick, S, New York Jets
• A.J. Haulcy, S, Indianapolis Colts

IDP Sleepers: DL

Yaya Diaby, Edge, Buccaneers

Let’s start with a former third-round pick who has already showed promise ahead of the final year on his rookie contract.

Diaby led the team with 7.5 sacks in his debut season, but the mere 8 QB hits suggest his performance didn’t quite match the numbers. His dip to 4.5 sacks in 2024 seemed to back that up, but Diaby advanced from part-timer to starter that year and quietly delivered 20 QB hits. That led all Bucs for the season and tied him for 18th league wide.

Last year fell right in line, producing 7 sacks and 19 hits on near-identical playing time:

Pro Football Focus credited Diaby with the 18th-most total pressures among edge players last season (62) after he tied for seventh-most in 2024 (70).

Here’s Why We Probably Haven’t Seen the Ceiling Yet

“He has had a very solid camp. He is working on his pass-rush game and has been good at that and has been great in the run game. He has been as good as he can be.”

Those aren’t rousing words from HC Todd Bowles, via the team website, but I can’t say that I’ve seen many rousing orations from Bowles ever. Reporter Brianna Dix added that Diaby “has generated pressure throughout camp,” thanks in part to a retooled line.

That has included the arrival of first-round Edge Rueben Bain Jr. and free-agent addition of DT A’Shawn Robinson. A healthier Calijah Kancey adds another pass-rush threat after he dealt with injuries in each of his first three seasons.

But surroundings matter only so much, and Diaby’s case starts with his ability.

He delivered a 98th-percentile speed score at the 2023 Combine, so we know the athleticism’s there. And Diaby now heads into his age-27 campaign. Our historical aging-curve data says edge players generally peak across their age-26 and age-27 seasons.

So grab Daiby in DL3 territory -- or even a little before -- and prepare for a potential breakout.

Jalyx Hunt, Edge, Eagles

This one’s primarily for deeper leagues and those that reward fantasy points for pressure numbers beyond sacks.

Hunt leaped from 24.6% playing time as a third-round rookie out of Houston Christian in 2024 to 61.5% last season. But there are signals the team doesn’t want to grow his role beyond that.

Hunt played 65.6% of the defensive snaps before Philly traded for Edge Jaelan Phillips last season; 58% after he arrived for Week 10. And then after losing Phillips via free agency, the Eagles acquired Edge Jonathan Greenard from Minnesota.

So why am I leading with the downside case for this sleeper? I’m not. I’m just pointing out the limitation. And it makes sense that Philly wouldn’t want to overwork an edge player the team lists at just 6’3 and 252 pounds.

That looks like smart usage for a third-year guy with the potential to explode.

Smallish Role … Big Upside

Hunt hasn’t even been playing in the front 7 that long. He opened his college career as a safety at Cornell and finished it at FCS Houston Christian. The fact that Hunt climbed from there to a starter-level role for a playoff team in his age-24 campaign points to both his upside and quick ascension.

Hunt finished that season with the team lead in sacks (6.5) and INTs (3), flashing the athleticism to both come forward and drop into coverage. Further, only 10 players league wide collected more than his 24 QB hits. PFF credited just 15 edge players with more pressures than his 55, even though Hunt ranked a mere 46th among that group in pass-rush snaps.

His work in training camp this year has pointed to more.

Summer Accolades Keep Following Hunt

Philly Voice’s Geoff Mosher on Aug. 12: “This year, Hunt might just blow the lid off expectations, which have already risen for him compared to what they were three seasons ago when the Eagles had drafted him from a school nobody had heard of.”

NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Dave Zangaro on Aug. 21: “Jalyx Hunt took his impressive training camp on the road this week. The third-year edge rusher was a menace in both joint practices against the New England Patriots. … On Day 1 of practice, Hunt kept beating 2025 first-round tackle Will Campbell into the backfield. He was constantly in Drake Maye’s face.”

Olivia Reiner of the Philadelphia Inquirer on Aug. 25: “Hunt is laying the groundwork with the aspiration of following the same trajectory as Baun. His progress in Year 3 is promising. Hunt has taken up residence in the backfield this training camp, but that isn’t a surprise to the outside linebacker given his work ethic.”

This Sleeper’s Not for Everyone, Though

Remember how I said at the beginning that Hunt’s a recommendation for deeper leagues and those with more pressure scoring? It can be easy this time of year to get carried away by hype and lose track of reality.

Hunt could put up an awesome third season and still not offer much value for the average IDP league. If Philly’s trying to keep him around 60% playing time -- or maybe even a little less -- then double-digit sacks and meaningful tackle totals could prove challenging.

But the more pressure categories your league counts and/or the deeper the lineup and roster spots go, the more it makes sense to take a chance on this ascender.

IDP Sleepers: LB

Nakobe Dean, Raiders

Let’s go from current Eagle to former Eagle. Dean got his first shot at the open market this offseason and landed a three-year pact that averages a little more than $12 million per year.

That’s enough to rank him 14th among all LBs in annual average, even though it was just the second-largest LB contract the Raiders handed out this March.

That fact sets up an interesting dynamic.

Who’s the Better New Vegas LB?

Dean joins Quay Walker in the silver and black, a guy he also shared the field with back at Georgia.

Walker hit the league as a first-round pick in 2022, the same year Philly took Dean in the middle of Round 3. Not a shock given that:

• Walker measured nearly 6’4 and 241 pounds, clocked an 89th-percentile 40 time, and posted a 77th-percentile broad jump
• Dean measured 5’11, 229, and didn’t test because of a pectoral injury

Should be clear who the better prospect/player is … right?

Except, when they shared the field for 15 games in 2021, the numbers looked like this:

What about before that? Well, Dean played about 200 more snaps than Walker in 2020, despite being about 7 months younger and starting his Georgia career a year later.

If We’re Not Sure, Chase the Cheaper Option

You’ll probably find Walker and Dean close together in your LB rankings. I won’t tell you definitively which guy will outscore the other. And that’s what makes me more interested in Dean.

Walker has been the healthier of the two in the pros, which has allowed him to compile much bigger stats over the past four years. But if you break them down into rates, then Dean compares much more favorably.

The tackle rates go by total snaps played. The pass-rushing stats go by total pass rushes. And the PD rate uses total coverage snaps.

The only two places Dean doesn’t lead: assists and passes defensed. He also owns the best single-season scoring average between them for his 2024 campaign that ranked eighth among LBs, depending on your scoring format.

Both new Raiders should find plenty of opportunity this year, and Walker doesn’t look like a “bad” pick at his LB14 spot in the FantasyPros expert consensus rankings. But I’d rather wait and take a shot on Dean at LB28.

Jacob Rodriguez, Dolphins

I like to think I’m learning lessons throughout my fantasy-analysis career, but I’m kicking myself for not boosting Rodriguez’s projection before Miami dumped Tyrel Dodson and forced me to do so.

I certainly have no lack of excitement for the second-round rookie, as you’ve probably already noticed if you read our dynasty IDP rookie rankings article.

In case you haven’t read that, here’s the case.

Rodriguez Backed Up Big Numbers with Good Testing

This LB went three college seasons before winning a starting job for Texas Tech in 2024. Once in the lineup, though, he made up for the lost time with these totals over the past two years:

• 256 tackles
• 21.5 tackles for loss
• 10 passes defensed
• 10 forced fumbles
• 6 sacks
• 5 INTs

Rodriguez led the Big 12 in solo tackles each season and won the following national awards in his final campaign:

• Butkus Award (top LB)
• Bronko Nagurski Trophy (top defensive player)
• Lombardi Award (top lineman or LB)
• Chuck Bednarik Award (top defensive player)

The 6’1, 231-pound LB then delivered a 78th-percentile speed score before going to the Dolphins 43rd overall.

Miami’s decision to cut Dodson installs Rodriguez as the starter next to Jordyn Brooks, a role that helped Dodson rank 12th among LBs in fantasy points per game last year, right behind Browns rookie Carson Schwesinger.

Rodriguez looks similar to Schwesinger as a prospect and makes a lot of sense as part of your redraft strategy playbook this year.

DeMarvion Overshown, Cowboys

How can you not root for this guy?

Overshown looked like a promising third-round rookie heading toward the 2023 season, but a left ACL tear ended that campaign before the first game. He made it back for 2024 and was putting together a strong delayed debut … until tearing the ACL, MCL, and PCL in his right knee in Week 14.

Working back from that injury limited Overshown to just 218 total snaps last season. But now we might finally get the full view.

Full-Time Role + Cross-Category Ability = Huge Upside

Now that he’s healthy, the 26-year-old just might be the LB answer Dallas has sought since Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch left town.

Overshown racked up the 12th-most fantasy points per game at the position in 2024 before his most recent knee injury. He did so with varied scoring, averaging 6.9 tackles per game, tallying 8 tackles for loss, notching 5 sacks, defensing four passes, and even taking an INT back for a TD.

He’s expected to wear the green dot, which means relaying plays from the coordinator in the defensive huddle and staying on the field full time.

Combine that with the displayed cross-category scoring ability of this former college DB, and you get exciting upside in a guy who might linger on the board into LB4 territory (though not when I’m drafting).

IDP Sleepers: DB

Minkah Fitzpatrick, S, Jets

The typical “sleeper” is a guy we haven’t seen deliver the points yet. In this case, though, let’s focus on a guy who has … just not in a while.

Fitzpatrick notched top-12 fantasy seasons in 2021 and 2022, the first leaning on a career high in tackles, the second on a league-leading 6 INTs (but also another strong tackle total).

Fitzpatrick’s big plays disappeared in the three seasons since, as he has totaled just 2 INTs since then.

Perhaps that continues. Such plays can be unpredictable. But 2026 moves Fitzpatrick into a spot with opportunity.

Jets Need the Vet ... and He Might Need Them

New York acquired Fitzpatrick amid Miami’s big March sell-off, sending just a seventh-round pick but then signing him to a three-year, $40 million extension two days later, a contract that likely keeps him with the team at least through 2027.

That shows real intent and puts him at the back of a defense with plenty of soft spots. And it’s worth noting that Fitzpatrick doesn’t expect to just stay at the back, as he did toward the end of his Pittsburgh stint.

“People forgot that what I was known for was my versatility and doing different things,” Fitzpatrick said on The Pivot podcast in early August. “I’m a good football player, so no matter where you put me on the field, I’m going to be a good football player. But I think where my capabilities are maximized is when I could do different things.”

Fitzpatrick then indicated that he expects the Jets to play to his versatility a bit more. The veteran did already see some rebound to his scoring last year when Miami shifted a lot of his deep work to the slot.

Fitzpatrick went from outside the top 50 DBs in fantasy points per game the previous two years to the top 15 last season. And those numbers still lacked his big-play production from Pittsburgh.

Now he’s going in DB4 range of drafts despite not turning 30 until Nov. 17.

I’m betting Fitzpatrick ain’t done yet.

A.J. Haulcy, S, Colts

This one might take some patience, but I’m rolling with it.

Indy let S Nick Cross walk in free agency, a guy who landed among the top 12 fantasy DBs each of the past two years. His replacement appears to be this third-round rookie, who spent the summer working with the first team.

Unfortunately, Haulcy has recently missed practice with an ankle injury that blurs his season-opening availability.

“I don’t know yet,” GM Chris Ballard said Tuesday about whether the safety will be ready for Week 1. “He’s progressing really well, so that’ll be a better question for next week. He’s progressing well.”

It’s tough to draft a rookie safety we might not even be able to start in Week 1, but I didn’t want to exclude the upside opportunity just for that.

Here’s Why You Should Stash the Rookie

Haulcy’s ascension to a likely lineup spot made him a later addition to our list of top IDP rookies. Not only does he appear poised to take over Cross’ spot (whenever that ankle’s ready), but Haulcy brings an intriguing profile.

He spent four college seasons starting across three stops. His career numbers over that span included:

• 347 total tackles
• 19 passes defensed
• 10 INTs
• 4 forced fumbles

Haulcy then registered an 82nd-percentile speed score at 6’0, 215 pounds.

His “box” role with the Colts not only assumes the Cross vacancy, but it finds an even weaker LB situation. Indy traded Zaire Franklin to Green Bay this offseason, hoping to replace him with second-round rookie CJ Allen. That remains the longer-term plan, but a pair of lower-body injuries has Allen not yet ready to assume the mantle and the team looking like it’ll open the season with a LB committee.

That only enhances the potential tackle opportunities for the new strong safety.

So don’t let the ankle scare you away. Stash Haulcy if possible at his cheap price and see how close he can get to the fantasy impact Cross made the past two years.

Where Do IDPs Fit in Your Draft Plan?

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