Why does a player's depth chart position sometimes say linebacker when he's ranked as a defensive lineman?

Some teams officially list stand-up edge rushers at outside linebacker spots even though they function as pass rushers on the field. We rank and score these players in the DL bucket based on their actual role and production, not their official depth-chart label.

Does this scoring format favor edge rushers over interior linemen?

Yes, generally. Sacks are worth roughly two and a half solo tackles in this template, so pass rushers who get to the quarterback often outscore high-tackle-volume interior linemen even when the interior player logs more total stops.

Rankings

Top 40 Defensive Linemen: 2026 IDP Season Projections

Our first defensive board. It opens with the biggest trade of an offseason full of them, and a scoring format that rewards getting to the quarterback over almost anything else a lineman can do.

By Kenny Flermoen · August 4, 2026

This is the first post in a new series covering IDP — individual defensive player leagues. Our scoring template awards 1.5 points per solo tackle, 0.75 per assist, 4 per sack, 5 per interception, plus smaller bonuses for pass deflections, forced fumbles, and tackles for loss. This ranks who scores the most IDP points in 2026, not who's worth the most in a trade — a separate Dynasty Value Score board for defense is coming.

Top 40 DL — 2026 Projected IDP Points

Top 40 defensive lineman IDP projections for 2026
Rank	Player	Team	IDP FP	PPG
1	Myles Garrett	LA	191.9	11.3
2	Maxx Crosby	LV	187.5	11.0
3	Aidan Hutchinson	DET	178.2	10.5
4	Danielle Hunter	HOU	164.8	9.7
5	Jeffery Simmons	TEN	158.9	9.3
6	Nick Bosa	SF	150.9	8.9
7	Will Anderson Jr.	HOU	150.2	8.8
8	DeForest Buckner	IND	145.9	8.6
9	Trey Hendrickson	BAL	140.5	8.3
10	Leonard Williams	SEA	137.3	8.1
11	Dorance Armstrong	WAS	135.6	8.0
12	Derrick Brown	CAR	132.0	7.8
13	Montez Sweat	CHI	131.8	7.8
14	Zach Sieler	MIA	131.4	7.7
15	Josh Hines-Allen	JAX	129.7	7.6
16	Laiatu Latu	IND	127.3	7.5
17	Cameron Heyward	PIT	125.4	7.4
18	Greg Rousseau	BUF	123.8	7.3
19	Calijah Kancey	TB	121.7	7.2
20	Kobie Turner	LA	120.6	7.1
21	Nnamdi Madubuike	BAL	120.2	7.1
22	Travon Walker	JAX	118.5	7.0
23	Rashan Gary	DAL	118.3	7.0
24	Ed Oliver	BUF	117.1	6.9
25	Joey Bosa	BUF	116.7	6.9
26	Al-Quadin Muhammad	TB	116.1	6.8
27	George Karlaftis	KC	116.0	6.8
28	Quinnen Williams	DAL	116.0	6.8
29	Jalen Redmond	MIN	115.8	6.8
30	Brandon Dorlus	ATL	114.8	6.8
31	Will McDonald IV	NYJ	114.4	6.7
32	Justin Eboigbe	LAC	114.1	6.7
33	Devonte Wyatt	GB	113.1	6.7
34	LaCale London	ATL	112.4	6.6
35	Marlon Tuipulotu	KC	111.7	6.6
36	Calais Campbell	BAL	111.2	6.5
37	Jalen Carter	PHI	111.0	6.5
38	Jer'Zhan Newton	WAS	110.0	6.5
39	Vita Vea	TB	109.7	6.5
40	Austin Booker	CHI	109.7	6.5

Ranked by projected 2026 IDP season points: 1.5 per solo tackle, 0.75 per assist, 4 per sack, 5 per interception, plus deflections, forced fumbles, and tackles for loss. This is a scoring projection, not a trade value ranking.

A quick note on how to read this board

Two things worth knowing before the rankings below make sense. First, this scoring format rewards pass rush heavily — a single sack is worth roughly the same as two and a half solo tackles — so edge rushers who get after the quarterback outscore interior run-stuffers with a much higher raw tackle count. That's why a name like Myles Garrett tops this board on 16 projected sacks rather than tackle volume alone.

Second, depth-chart data lists several of the league's best edge rushers at linebacker spots — Garrett, Maxx Crosby, and Nick Bosa all carry an "SLB" or "WLB" designation in the underlying roster data, a quirk of how some teams' official depth charts label stand-up pass rushers. Don't let that confuse the ranking: all three score in the DL bucket here because that's where their actual production lands, regardless of what their team's depth chart calls the position.

The biggest trade of the offseason tops the board

Myles Garrettopens at No. 1 on a team he didn't play for last season. Cleveland traded the reigning Defensive Player of the Year to the Rams in June for edge rusher Jared Verse and three future draft picks — one of the largest trades ever involving a defensive player, and it happened after the Browns spent years publicly insisting he wasn't going anywhere. Garrett is walking into a Rams defense that just finished remaking its secondary too, giving Los Angeles as complete a defensive roster as anyone in the league heading into 2026.

A trade that fell through, and the free agent it created

Trey Hendrickson ranks 9th here on a team he signed with almost by accident. Baltimore had a blockbuster trade agreed to bring in Maxx Crosbyfrom Las Vegas — then backed out after Crosby failed his physical. Within 24 hours, the Ravens pivoted and signed Hendrickson as a free agent instead. Crosby stayed with the Raiders, which is exactly where you'll find him on this board too, ranked 2nd. Hendrickson himself comes with real risk worth knowing — he played just seven games last season after a core muscle injury required surgery, and he's now 31. This ranking assumes a full bounce-back; it's not a lock.

Dallas rebuilt its entire defensive line with one trade's proceeds

Two of the Cowboys' new defensive linemen sit inside this top 30: Quinnen Williams at 28th and Rashan Garyat 23rd. Neither came cheap, and neither came from nowhere — Dallas traded away Micah Parsons last year and used the draft capital it collected to first acquire Williams from the Jets at the trade deadline, then trade for Gary from Green Bay this offseason. It's an unusual team-building path: sell one star pass rusher, use the return to buy two more. Whether that nets out ahead of just keeping Parsons is a real dynasty-relevant question, but it's produced a genuinely deep Dallas front seven heading into 2026.

Model any of these players against your own roster on the Dynasty Trade Calculator — IDP support is expanding there alongside this series.

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FAQ

How are these IDP rankings calculated?: Projected 2026 season points under our IDP scoring template — 1.5 per solo tackle, 0.75 per assist, 4 per sack, 5 per interception, plus smaller bonuses for pass deflections, forced fumbles, and tackles for loss. It's a scoring projection, not a dynasty trade value score.
Why does a player's depth chart position sometimes say linebacker when he's ranked as a defensive lineman?: Some teams officially list stand-up edge rushers at outside linebacker spots even though they function as pass rushers on the field. We rank and score these players in the DL bucket based on their actual role and production, not their official depth-chart label.
Does this scoring format favor edge rushers over interior linemen?: Yes, generally. Sacks are worth roughly two and a half solo tackles in this template, so pass rushers who get to the quarterback often outscore high-tackle-volume interior linemen even when the interior player logs more total stops.

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