2024 Fantasy Football IDP Rankings and Tiers Breakdown: Defensive Backs

Jul 31, 2024

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Training camps are underway, and Draft Season is quickly approaching, so it's time to get our minds right, ducks in a row, and tiers in order. Rankings are useful, but as you likely know, breaking those rankings out into tiers is essential for when you're on the clock. Tiers help you understand when to ignore a positional run and when to jump in.

More IDP rankings & Tier Breakdowns: Defensive Line | Linebackers

I'm relatively new to the IDP space, but I've been creating weekly tackle projections for a few years, and it's changed how I understand and watch football. Now, I'm here on the fantasy side of things, here to expand on the edge that our betting subscribers have exploited with me over the past few seasons.

Let's wrap up the rankings and tiers series with defensive backs.

The increase in sub-packages like dime and nickel changes the calculus of how many defensive backs play early-down snaps. Certain defense styles lean heavily on defensive backs, particularly safeties, who can play near the line of scrimmage and drop in coverage when needed. We also see a number of teams play Cover-1 or single-high safety looks, with the free safety back roaming in coverage while the strong safety is in a more traditional linebacker spot pre and post-snap.

If we look at the three main IDP positions that most leagues are required to fill (DL, LB, and DB) and boil their fantasy viability down to one thing, it will look something like this:

Defensive Line = Skill
Linebacker = Opportunity/Snaps
Defensive Back = Alignment

Now, without a doubt, this is an oversimplification of things, and there's a lot more nuance to all of this, but defensive backs have the most variance from year to year, which directly correlates with how they score points.

It's true that some players have shown they can be relatively reliable weekly producers over multiple seasons, but it's a short list. Big names can fall short of expectations, and defensive backs can emerge from nowhere to post top 10 numbers every year.

Some units use defensive backs to play hybrid roles for their teams that often put them closer to the line of scrimmage, which increases their opportunities for tackles and overall disruption, which leads to fantasy points. Projecting some of the other stats that tend to be more defensive back-focused, like interceptions and touchdowns, is fruitless labor year-to-year, which is why you see so much turnover in defensive back rankings from one year to the next.

When it comes to draft day, it's important to be patient with defensive backs. It's best to focus on drafting defensive linemen and linebackers early on and then fill out your starting lineup with defensive backs in the later rounds. If the defensive backs you pick turn out to be successful, you'll have a regular starter at a lower cost. If they don't perform well, you can find other options on the waiver wire.

If your league breaks up cornerbacks and safeties, I'd advise waiting on cornerback until the tail end of your draft if you aren't able to get one of the few difference-makers near the top. Otherwise, target a cornerback who plays in the slot because that alignment near the line of scrimmage leads to more tackle opportunities, and that's the most bankable way to get fantasy points. If the positions are grouped together as defensive back, then I'd be looking to get one of the top-tier safeties with a high rate of box snaps.

Don't forget to check out the IDP Primer, which is worth reading regardless of your IDP experience!