With many dynasty leagues already planning their rookie drafts, there’s no better time to plan ahead than right now. If you’re like me, you’re looking to stack your IDP rosters with players that have high upside but are still attainable through trade. These are my LB2s with top-five potential.
A note on expert consensus rankings (ECR): redraft rankings for the IDP positions are often slower to update than the offensive positions. Luckily, the dynasty IDP rankings are a bit more up-to-date. My list below is based on Dynasty IDP Rankings from FantasyPros and it contains players that are ranked outside of the top-12 linebackers. Furthermore, the following players are ones that are outside the top 12 in my own redraft rankings.
Let’s begin.
IDP managers may have been disappointed with Jamin Davis (LB – WAS), the other Washington linebacker, last year. Davis was a rookie in 2021 who was all but promised to be an IDP stud. He disappointed. However, Cole Holcomb, a third-year linebacker out of North Carolina, stepped up big time. He finished as the LB13 after finishing as the LB61 in 2019 and the LB147 in 2020. He set career highs in tackles, pass deflections and interceptions. With the Commanders doing nothing to address the linebacker position in the 2022 offseason, Holcomb is set to lead the Washington defense once again. He’s 25 years old and the dynasty LB14, which means he’s very attainable via trade. For a player who finished just outside the LB1 range, it’s not hard to imagine Holcomb could take the leap into the top five in 2022. Deal for him before he takes the leap.
Tremaine Edmunds has been in the league for four seasons already and he’s only 24 years old. The Bills exercised the fifth-year option on his rookie contract so he’s with the team for at least the 2022 season. His long-term home aside, Edmunds presents an interesting LB2 to target. He’s never finished higher than LB14, which he did back in 2018, but he’s always one of the better defenders around. With a Bills team that seems destined for greatness, it’s not difficult to imagine Edmunds showing up big this season and earning a monster new contract. He’s the LB16 in current dynasty IDP rankings and he finished last season as the LB37. His recent tepid production makes him attainable, but he’s more than capable of the production needed to finally sit atop the league.
Simmons took a massive leap in his sophomore season with the Arizona Cardinals. His rookie season was spent sitting behind veteran players, many of whom are no longer with the team, but the delay seems to have been worth it. He jumped from IDP irrelevance in 2020 to LB29 in 2021. It wouldn’t be a shock to see him continue to ascend. Jordan Hicks (LB – MIN) and Chandler Jones (DE,LB – LV), both players who stood in his way to substantial playing time, are now on different teams. With his first-round draft capital as a foundation for believing in him, Simmons is primed to see non-stop playing time in 2022. He’ll finally be the focal point of this defense. The only thing that could get in his way is Zaven Collins (LB – ARI), a rookie linebacker who was drafted by the Cardinals in 2021. Collins did next to nothing as a rookie, but he’ll likely do more damage in 2022. It’s more or less assumed that the Cardinals did with Collins in 2021 what they did with Simmons in 2020: make him sit and learn the defense. No matter his impact, Collins will get more playing time in 2022. Still, Simmons has the physical traits to be utilized all over the field and he’ll rack up stats no matter where he plays. Get him while you can.
If you’re a long-time IDP manager, then you know Blake Martinez. He’s been a perennial IDP stud, but he missed the 2021 season with an injury. He’s back with the lowly New York Giants in 2022 and he’ll presumably step right back into his role as the leader of this defense. I don’t think there’s much to say here except that he’s 28 years old, closer to the end of his career than the start, and he’s got the potential to be a top-five producer at the LB position. Consider that he’s historically been a solid producer. From 2017 to 2020, he finished as the LB3, LB5, LB10 and LB4. He’s already posted multiple top-five finishes. He’s done it, so you know it’s in his range of outcomes. After being injured for nearly all of 2021, his value is at an all-time low. He’s a solid trade target, even if he doesn’t finish at the top of the rankings. He’ll provide value no matter what.
Wilson lands at LB18 in the dynasty IDP rankings after he finished 2021 as the LB38. However, he was injured for part of the season and missed four games. His 17-game pace would have put him near the overall LB13 mark, so his weekly value is not in question. 2021 was only his second year in the league, so he’s young and ascending. Plus, he’s a pure three-down back and he can drop back in coverage, meaning he should almost always be on the field. He’s got the opportunity in his third year to continue his climb up the IDP ladder and lead a really exciting Bengals defense. The only thing standing in the way of him becoming a top-five LB is his own health.
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Tim Metzler is a featured writer at FantasyPros, known for multiple article series’, including 5 Under 25, Expert Consensus Rantings, his in-season Running Diary, and his dynasty IDP rankings. For more from Tim, check out his archive and follow him @Timmy_The_Metz.
