FanHouse Stephen Cooper

Think IDP leagues are the way to go? Then Ballhawkin' is for you. Here, we pick out a few Individual Defensive Players that could have huge weeks and are possibly sitting in your free-agent pool.

Those of you that picked up Stephen Cooper heading into Week 1 were treated to a pleasant surprise, as the San Diego linebacker notched 13 tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and two passes defended. In my league, he earned me 19 points, which was good enough for the top defensive performance of the week. Other great calls were Louis Delmas with 15 points, James Laurinaitis with 14 points, and E.J. Henderson with 9.5 points. I wasn't so lucky with Kerry Rhodes and Jason Taylor, although Taylor did get a sack in his game.

Think IDP leagues are the way to go? Then Ballhawkin' is for you. Here, we pick out a few Individual Defensive Players that could have huge weeks and are possibly sitting in your free-agent pool.

All IDP leagues are created differently. I have one that starts five defense guys from any position each week. I have one that starts two DLs, two LBs, two DBs, and two flex defenders each week. I have another with different settings than those two, but you get the picture. As such, it makes it extremely difficult to figure out who's going to be available in your league on a weekly basis.

The increase in popularity of Individual Defensive Player (IDP) leagues was easy to see coming. After all, why break down offensive players individually by position yet group all defenders as a team? Of course, when IDPs come into play, the defense can't be just an afterthought.

Sleeping on defenders while other teams amass high-sack guys like James Harrison and DeMarcus Ware, or consistent 100-tackle linebackers like Patrick Willis or Ray Lewis could leave you high and dry at critical positions. You wouldn't be stuck with Donald Driver and Devin Hester as your top two receivers, would you?

However, it'll get to that point in the draft where 20 or 30 defenders are off the board at a certain position, and you need to add a sleeper or two to your IDP core, someone who has the ability to finish in the top ten at their position. Today, I'll examine a few potential breakouts at each position -- hopefully, you'll add one or two of the good ones on draft day.

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