Defense plays an integral part in an NFL team's success.
So why aren't we celebrating its individual stars in the same way we do offense in fantasy football leagues?
Myles Garrett just authored one of the most dominant defensive seasons in NFL history, setting the single-season sack record with 23 and winning his second Defensive Player of the Year Award in the past three years. And yet, the only way his contributions carried weight in a majority of fantasy leagues is as part of the Cleveland Browns' defense/special teams, a unit that finished fourth at the position in fantasy scoring.
If maximizing the excitement that a season like Garrett's might bring to the fantasy game appeals to you -- and it should! -- consider switching your league from using team defenses (D/STs) to individual defensive players (IDPs).
Here are the IDP rankings for 2026
IDP formats bring a new dimension of play to your fantasy league and deepen your knowledge in a manner that will bring a whole different level of joy to the game -- both fantasy and on the field.
IDP leagues credit specific players for their big plays on defense. To name a few from last season, there was Roquan Smith's 63-yard fumble recovery touchdown, to go along with his eight solo tackles, in Week 2; Devin Lloyd's 99-yard pick-six of Patrick Mahomes in Week 5; and Ernest Jones IV's two-interception Week 13, which included an 85-yard pick-six and seven solo tackles. Best yet, IDP leagues grant you the flexibility to introduce defensive play into your league as simply or as complex as you wish.
I've played in a pair of IDP leagues for more than 15 years, and one even awards bonus points for big plays such as Lloyd's. Given the choice, I prefer IDP over D/ST as a scoring format.
Here's how to set up an IDP league on ESPN
NOTE: The commissioner/league manager (LM) or anyone with LM powers can make changes to roster and scoring settings.
IDPs are broken down three ways in ESPN custom leagues:
Defensive players as a whole (DP, a position that can also be used as an IDP "flex," which we'll get into later, with the other two formats)
Defensive linemen (DL, which includes defensive ends and defensive tackles), linebackers (LB), and defensive backs (DB, which includes cornerbacks and safeties)
More specific defensive positions including defensive ends (DE), defensive tackles (DT), linebackers, cornerbacks (CB) and safeties (S)
Once you decide upon your desired number of active defensive starters, change your lineup settings by clicking on "LM Tools" and then "Edit Roster Settings." Adjust the drop-down menu accordingly and you're all set.
You can even consider using both D/STs and IDPs, if dipping your toes into the IDP pool is preferred to taking a full dive. Or maybe using just a D/ST and one DP for 2026 is appealing.
Thinking about giving it a try? Here are several reasons to make the switch:
IDP leagues give you the freedom to choose what rewards defenders deserve.
When it comes to defensive play, what matters to you? Is Garrett far and away the most valuable player in your eyes? Is a big-time tackling linebacker like Jamien Sherwood the most valuable defender? How about an interception king like Derek Stingley Jr.? Or maybe it's a master fumble creator and pass defender like Kyle Hamilton?
However you regard each defensive statistical accomplishment, our IDP settings afford you the luxury of weighting each the way you want them.
Play around with the point totals until you find weights you like, but this is the scoring system our ESPN IDP rankings are derived from:
Solo tackle: 1.5 points
Assisted tackle: 0.75 points
Tackle for a loss: 2 points
Sack: 4 points
Interception: 5 points
Forced fumble: 4 points
Fumble recovery: 4 points
Defensive touchdown: 6 points
Safety: 2 points
Pass defensed: 1.5 points
Blocked punt, FG or PAT: 2 points
I prefer a league that most heavily credits sacks, tackles for a loss, interceptions and forced fumbles, plays that are the most prominent and require a certain level of skill on defense. In the case of fumbles, bear in mind that fumble recoveries involve a degree of randomness -- which player was lucky enough to be closest to, and quickest to jump on, the ball at the bottom of the pile? -- whereas forced fumbles credit the player who initially caused the turnover to happen.
One recommendation: Be extra cautious with the way you weight tackles. As linebackers routinely top the leaderboard, including each of the top 22 players in total tackles in 2025 playing the position, crediting the category alone, or awarding it too many points could mean your IDP league quickly becomes a linebacker-centric league. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but if you want to diversify your positions, consider spreading the points across multiple categories.
Speaking of those positions, the two IDP leagues in which I play use the DL/LB/DB format, with two starters apiece at each of those positions, for six total IDP starters. That has come to be a popular format among IDP players, but you could consider one, or three, at each position, or stick to the two apiece but add that aforementioned "flex," or "DP," position.
It's the only format in which you can reward Travis Hunter for his two-way ability
Though Hunter's rookie season wasn't the eye-popping debut many expected, his seven-game contribution illustrated the many ways in which he can help a fantasy football team. Counting both his offensive and defensive efforts and using the scoring system outlined above, Hunter averaged 12.5 fantasy points per game, a rate that would've led all defensive back-eligible players.
The IDP format is the only one in which you're truly able to reward Hunter for his many contributions on both sides of the ball. In standard (i.e. D/ST-style) fantasy football leagues, Hunter earns credit only for the touchdowns he scores defensively. Any tackles, passes defensed, interceptions, sacks, and fumbles forced or recovered would go by the wayside.
If you want to maximize the excitement that Hunter brings to the fantasy game, IDPs are the way to go.
Why IDP > D/ST
It can be maddening to see your high-quality defense unexpectedly deliver a stinker, or worse, play a respectable game but get stuck with a terrible fantasy score simply because the opponent's offense was on its A-game in an exciting, higher-scoring affair.
Last year's Seattle Seahawks, the top-scoring fantasy D/ST, give us one of our best examples of this, during the fantasy championship round in Week 16. In that game, a 38-37 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Rams, the Seahawks D/ST scored a ghastly minus-4 fantasy points, if only because they faced a loaded Rams offense.
But that doesn't mean that every member of that team's defense had a terrible game! Jones (14.0 points in ESPN default scoring), Nick Emmanwori (13.5) and Devin Witherspoon (12.5), all of them typically regarded IDP-league starters, still had solid point totals.
Wouldn't it have been nice to have the ability to start those quality defensive players, from an elite defensive unit, and not worry about the opposing offense?
We'll see another prospective example of this in Week 1 of 2026, when the Houston Texans, the No. 1 D/ST in ADP thus far, host one of the best offensive teams in football in the Buffalo Bills. Do you really want to start the Texans against the Bills? (I don't!)
In IDP leagues, you can start a superstar like defensive lineman Will Anderson Jr. with confidence, especially knowing he'll probably be heavily involved in that game. Much more fun.
You'll gain much more insight into the NFL game with an IDP league.
D/ST play in fantasy leagues presents a more rudimentary process to draft analysis, with schedules and individual matchups having as much if not more to do with identifying positional success than does player skill.
IDP formats allow us to better understand who are the most talented players, granting us greater knowledge of the league as a whole.
For example, the Tennessee Titans were one of the worst fantasy D/STs from a team perspective last season (25th with 3.8 fantasy PPG). A player like Jeffery Simmons, who finished fourth among defensive linemen in fantasy points per game (minimum 12 played), wouldn't have even been noticed in traditional formats, but in IDP leagues, he'd have been one of the more important defensive linemen to consider.
IDP leagues bring more scoring to your lineups.
Everyone loves more fantasy points! As IDPs are rarely subject to the negative point totals that team defenses are -- 16% of all D/ST weekly scores in 2025 finished in the red -- you'll notice a sizable jump in scoring from your active lineup in an IDP format.
Last season, the 10 most-started D/ST by week averaged 7.6 fantasy points, and 8% of them delivered you a negative score.
The 10 most-started IDPs in ESPN leagues at each of the three major positions (defensive linemen, linebackers and defensive backs) averaged a collective 31.7 fantasy points.
That's a heck of a scoring spike -- and that's by starting only three defensive players! Make it six starters, like my IDP leagues, and that number would swell to 60.4. That's a lot more opportunity for Sunday excitement tracking your scoring.
And that's the goal, more excitement, right? Give individual defensive players a try in 2026, and perhaps, like me, you'll never want to go back.