IDP Fantasy Football Values Picks For 2026: George Karlaftis, Devin Lloyd & More

We all love good values. When you go to a store and see, “Buy 2 boxes of Cheez-Its, get 1 free”, and we start doing the math, “That’s just $3 per box. Why wouldn’t I do that?”

The same goes for IDP fantasy football value picks. We all love to draft players at a value in our drafts.

So, instead of sleepers, I’m going to focus on their value in IDP drafts.

Value Picks For 2026 IDP Fantasy Football

Linebacker Values For IDP Drafts

Barrett Carter, LB, Cincinnati Bengals

To say Barrett Carter had a rough rookie year is like saying Kramer is charismatic. Carter was a fourth-round pick with no real expectation of making a significant contribution, maybe aside from a special-teams role.

Fast forward to Week 6. Life comes at you fast: Logan Wilson was demoted, and Carter found himself not only starting, but also wearing the green dot as the guy relaying defensive plays from the defensive coordinator.

He struggled as a rookie, which was expected; however, he finished near the bottom of the LB position in positional grades from PFF. From an IDP standpoint, he produced a 13.4% tackle rate and 103 tackles and finished as the LB46. However, from Weeks 6-17, he finished as the LB30, averaging 12.5 points per game.

He appears to be confident heading into his second year, and the Bengals feel he’ll improve in Year 2. They didn’t address the LB position in free agency or the draft, so it appears that he has the green dot role headed in 2026.

Divine Deablo, LB, Atlanta Falcons

Kaden Elliss went back to New Orleans, which opened up 1,000 snaps and the green dot.

Jeff Ulbrich wasted no time in saying Divine Deablo would wear the dot on defense, ensuring a three-down role.

Deablo has had one season where he saw 85%+ of the snaps, and that was 2022, but in 2023 he saw 79% of the snaps and recorded over 100 tackles.

Last season, Deablo missed four games and played 68% of the snaps. However, he was inefficient and produced only a 9.7% tackle rate. Not a great number for someone with a three-down role. It wasn’t all bad, as he raised his tackle rate to 10.5% from Week 12 on. He had just one game of fewer than 6 tackles.

The concern, besides efficiency, has been health. He’s appeared in 17 games just once, and that was his rookie year in 2021. I try not to let that influence my decision too heavily, but he’s a nice value in IDP drafts with a three-down role.

He’s being drafted as an LB4/5, and if he puts together a full season, he could return LB2/3 value.

Devin Lloyd, LB, Carolina Panthers

Devin Lloyd cashed in on his final year in Jacksonville, signing with the Panthers in the offseason.

Lloyd missed two games, but recorded 81 tackles and 5 INTs. He was third among the Jaguars defenders in PFF coverage grading, and was a disruptor as a blitzer. He saw a career-high 103 pass rush snaps, producing a sack and 9 QB hits.

Lloyd finished with an 11.5% tackle rate, but he now finds himself in Carolina and the potential tackle share all to himself at the LB position. When he plays over 800 snaps, you chalk up 100+ tackles, and over his four seasons with the Jaguars, he recorded a 12.5% tackle rate.

I like the scheme for Lloyd, and I think Ejiro Evero is going to utilize him similarly in Jacksonville; plus, he’s projected to wear the dot. Although this is a bit anecdotal, he’s sought out Luke Kuechly to watch and review film. There’s no better linebacker to learn the trade from.

I’m pretty high on Lloyd, and he’s my LB12.

Defensive Line Values In IDP Fantasy Football 2026

George Karlaftis, EDGE, Kansas City Chiefs

I think George Karlaftis is due for another double-digit-sack season. The pass rush metrics have been too good.

Last season, he was -4.1 in sacks vs. expected; however, he generated a 19.5% pressure rate in true pass sets with a 20.9% win rate. His burst was solid at 0.89 seconds, but his time to pressure was a bit higher (3 seconds) compared to the average baseline (2.87 seconds).

If he can improve his finish at the QB and shave a few tenths off his time to pressure, he should be able to reach double-digits.

His lone 10+ sack season came in 2023. He appeared in over 130 more pass rush snaps. His win rate and pressure rate were a bit lower, but he generated more pressures with a higher pressure-to-sack conversion rate (12.7%).

I think Karlaftis is a value right now, and is looking like a nice DL2/3 who could provide DL1 returns.

Nick Herbig, EDGE, Pittsburgh Steelers

Nick Herbig could be one of the biggest values from the edge position in 2026. T.J. Watt gets all of the attention, but at his age, he might not even be Pittsburgh’s best edge rusher anymore.

The Steelers awarded Herbig with a four-year extension worth around $100 million. That’s not nothing.

Last season, among edge rushers who played at least 20% of their teams’ pass rush snaps, he was 7th in PFF pass rush grading while appearing in nearly half the pass rush snaps as the top of the leaderboard. He did all of his damage in just 361 pass rush snaps.

Herbig generated a 19.9% pressure rate in true pass sets and a 22.4% win rate. A true pass set is defined by PFF as passes with 4+ pass-rushers, straight QB drop to 7+ yards, no play action, no screens and 2+ seconds for the QB to throw. It accounts for a true pass rush.

He converted 16.7% of his pressures into sacks, resulting in 7.5. He displayed elite traits, especially his burst at 0.82 seconds. He also had a 2.66-second time to pressure; 0.23 seconds quicker than Watt.

If Herbig sees more usage, he could hit 10+ sacks in 2026.

Odafe Oweh, EDGE, Washington Commanders

The Commanders addressed their edge room over the offseason, adding K’Lavon Chaisson and Odafe Oweh in free agency.

I’m more interested in Oweh this year. He finished among the top 20 edge rushers in PFF pass-rush grading and appeared in 369 pass-rush snaps. He seemed to wear out his welcome in Baltimore as he was dealt mid-season to the Chargers.

Oweh had just 12 total pressures and no sacks in seven games with the Ravens. He had a solid win rate at 20.6%, but just wasn’t getting home. He was a revelation with the Chargers, producing a 16.8% pressure rate in true pass sets and finishing with 7.5 sacks.

He should see a full-time role in Washington, so I’m expecting his snap rate to increase. Oweh is a DL3/4 value who could produce as a DL2.

Defensive Back Value Picks In 2026 IDP Fantasy Drafts

Tyler Nubin, S, New York Giants

I’m a believer in the new coach motivation narrative on Tyler Nubin. Nubin hasn’t received an extension and has two more years left on his deal. However, his contract structure makes it simple for the Giants to move on if he underperforms.

Nubin still has the draft capital of a top-50 pick, and John Harbaugh has even said everyone has a clean slate. Which is good news considering he received a 57.2 PFF grade and a 47.1 run defense grade. He was consistently out of position and taking bad pursuit angles, which led to a 16.9% missed tackle rate. Nubin also dealt with nicks stemming from an ankle issue and an injured neck late in the year.

All that sounds pretty bad.

The Giants passed on Caleb Downs to go with Arvell Reese, so that was a stamp of approval. He showed consistent tackle production and run defense as a rookie when he recorded a 12.4% tackle rate, resulting in 98 tackles with a 9.4% missed tackle rate.

Nubin played 53% of his snaps on the LOS in 2025, so he’s definitely in the IDP sweet spot for production. I think he’s in “keep my job” mode to prove last season was a fluke. He’s being drafted as the DB32, which I think is solid value for a potential DB2.

Chamarri Conner, S, Kansas City Chiefs

The DB position is known for variance, as the top scorers change every year.

Chamarri Conner finished as the DB3 in overall scoring in most formats in 2025. From Weeks 11-17, he was the DB1 and recorded 13+ points in the most important part of the season: the fantasy playoffs.

Conner played 40% of his snaps in the box, and he finished with an 11.4% tackle rate. What was interesting is that most of his tackles came deep, post-snap. He was all over the field in 2025.

He made the shift from nickel to safety in 2025, and the tackle production followed.

He’s being drafted as the DB22, which I think is a bit low. There’s 100 tackle upside in KC’s defense once again, so if he does fall to me, I’ll take the value. I think he should be drafted among the top-12 DBs.

Jalen Pitre, S, Houston Texans

After a huge rookie year dominating the Texans’ tackle share with 147, Pitre has now accumulated 223 total tackles over the last three seasons. However, he has produced a 1.9:1 solo-to-assist ratio, so he’s getting to the ball first consistently.

Pitre missed three games and was on pace for 90 tackles. He also had the most INTs (4) since his famed rookie year, when he had five interceptions.

Pitre produced a 9.9% tackle rate and acted as Houston’s primary nickel, but he did have 222 snaps in the box, and 32% of his tackles came from his box alignment.

If Pitre can put together a full season, there’s 100-tackle upside with his alignment and deployment in Houston’s defense. He’s being drafted as the DB28, so he’s shaping up to be a nice value as a DB3.

Published Aug 1, 2026, 4:00 AM ETUpdated Aug 1, 2026, 9:11 AM ET