- Hutch comes through in the clutch: Aidan Hutchinson topped off his bounce-back season with a string of high-end IDP performances in the fantasy playoffs, ultimately becoming the 2025 IDP playoff MVP.
- Get PFF+ for 30% off: Use promo code HOLIDAY30 to unlock the PFF Player Prop Tool, Premium Stats, fantasy dashboards, the PFF Mock Draft Simulator, industry-leading fantasy rankings and much more — everything you need to win your season.
Estimated Reading Time: 12minutes
With the 2025 fantasy football season wrapped up, it’s time to dole out awards to the NFL defensive players who delivered, and those who didn’t, to help fantasy managers secure the most important award of all: a fantasy football championship.
PFF-Preferred IDP Scoring
PositionSolo TacklesAssistsSacksTFLsQB HitsPBUsDI/ED2.51.255122LB1.50.754122CB/S214122All IDP scorers under these settings can be viewed here (minimum 100 snaps)
2025 IDP MVP
We're starting with the big one. This award goes to the most consistent player throughout the year — one who delivered high-end fantasy performances and solidified themselves as the most valuable IDP in 2025.
WINNER: EDGE Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns
Even without officially breaking the NFL’s sack record during the fantasy season, Garrett’s 22 sacks from Weeks 1-17 were more than enough to solidify him as the top overall IDP on the year. Averaging more than a sack per game is a rare feat for IDPs, and that alone makes him one of this year’s most valuable players.
Garrett had several multi-sack games, including two weeks with four or more sacks, which is unheard-of pass-rush upside. He also finished the fantasy season with 59 tackles, surpassing his previous career high (53) during the fantasy season and giving him the best production floor he’s ever had.
The 30-year-old has long been one of the league’s best pass rushers, if not the best, consistently delivering in terms of overall pass-rush metrics and sack production. That put Garrett in the top tier of defensive linemen in IDP rankings this offseason — a familiar place for the star. Garrett didn’t finish the fantasy season on a high note, but if not for his elite production all season, his IDP managers would likely not have been in a position to make a long fantasy playoffs run in the first place. He runs away with this award as 2025’s clear IDP MVP.
Runners Up:
- LB Jordyn Brooks, Miami Dolphins
- EDGE Brian Burns, New York Giants
- LB Devin White, Las Vegas Raiders
- LB Jack Campbell, Detroit Lions
2025 IDP ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
This award goes to the first-year player who performed above and beyond the expectations of a rookie. There are several strong defensive candidates, but only one can take home this hardware.
WINNER: LB Carson Schwesinger, Cleveland Browns
The Browns take home the first two awards, thanks to stars on their defense. Similar to Myles Garrett for MVP, second-round pick Carson Schwesinger is a runaway winner for this award.
Schwesinger accomplished a rare feat for a rookie linebacker, immediately stepping into an every-down role in Week 1 and wearing the green dot for the Browns, putting him in a great position to rack up 146 total tackles — the seventh most among all players this season. Schwesinger didn’t just deliver as a tackler, but he also added 2.5 sacks, two interceptions and 11 tackles for loss, leading to an LB5 finish on the year.
Schwesinger’s calling card coming out of college, where he was just a one-year starter, was his tackle efficiency. It took a few games for him to deliver in that department, but he eventually came through, finishing the year with a strong 15.7% tackle rate. Schwesinger has put himself in a great position as one of the top dynasty linebackers coming out of 2025, if not the best, and will more than likely be one of the most highly drafted linebackers this offseason.
Runners Up:
- S Nick Emmanwori, Seattle Seahawks
- S Xavier Watts, Atlanta Falcons
- LB Barrett Carter, Cincinnati Bengals
- EDGE Abdul Carter, New York Giants
Weekly Fantasy Football Rankings
Weekly rankings for standard, PPR, half-PPR and IDP leagues for the 2025 season.
Explore Fantasy Rankings2025 IDP WAIVER-WIRE ADDITION OF THE YEAR
This award goes to the player who went undrafted before establishing themselves as a top fantasy option to the point where they were a must-add in most IDP leagues. Candidates also had to maintain their fantasy relevance for most of the year to qualify.
WINNER: LB Cedric Gray, Tennessee Titans
Gray emerged as the Titans’ clear LB2 coming out of Week 1 of the fantasy season, putting him on IDP radars early this season — although he truly hit his stride in Week 4 with a 17-tackle performance. Gray went on to deliver double-digit tackles in nine of his next 12 games as one of the league’s most efficient tacklers (18.1%).
Gray put his Titans linebacker partner, Cody Barton, to shame in terms of efficiency this season. Despite playing 137 fewer defensive snaps, Gray finished as the overall LB10, while Barton finished as the LB45. Gray's tackle rate was 10 percentage points better than Barton's (7.9%) and was one of the best marks in the entire league. Gray’s elite tackling ability, combined with his IDP relevance coming out of Week 1, makes him our IDP most valuable waiver-wire addition this season.
Runners Up:
- EDGE Chase Young, New Orleans Saints
- DT Jordan Davis, Philadelphia Eagles
- LB Eric Wilson, Minnesota Vikings
- LB Tatum Bethune, San Francisco 49ers
2025 MOST IMPROVED IDP OF THE YEAR
This award goes to the player who produced the biggest jump in value from last season to this season, delivering a high-end fantasy performance in 2025.
WINNER: LB Jack Campbell, Detroit Lions
Campbell did not disappoint in an expected breakout season for IDP, taking over an every-down role for the entire year for the first time and delivering consistent high-end production. Even the highest expectations were exceeded, as our preseason IDP rankings had Campbell ranked as the LB7 overall. He ended up as the overall LB4 for the year. That was a massive improvement from his previous seasons, when he finished no higher than LB28, mostly due to a lack of consistent playing time.
This year, Campbell took that full-time role by the horns and shone for IDP managers who invested highly in him, whether in rookie drafts in 2023 or in redraft leagues this season, as he was often taken well outside the top 10 IDP linebackers heading into the year. Campbell delivered in terms of tackle efficiency, with a mix of big plays. He looks like one of the best long-term linebacker options going forward after his true breakout season.
Runners Up:
- EDGE Chase Young, New Orleans Saints
- LB Nate Landman, Los Angeles Rams
- EDGE Byron Young, Los Angeles Rams
- S Jordan Battle, Cincinnati Bengals
2025 IDP PLAYOFFS MVP
Weeks 15-17 can make or break a fantasy manager's season. This award goes to the player who consistently delivered high-end fantasy performances for all three weeks of the fantasy playoffs and was the primary driver of a championship.
WINNER: EDGE Aidan Hutchinson, Detroit Lions
Hutchinson finished a remarkable bounce-back season with five sacks and an interception during the three-week fantasy playoff stretch, ultimately ending up as the highest IDP scorer from Weeks 15-17. After Hutchinson's injury-shortened 2024 season, there were concerns that he wouldn't be himself in his first year back. But those have been brushed aside, especially after his clutch stretch during the fantasy playoffs (Clutchinson?).
Hutchinson finished as the overall ED5 this year and played more defensive snaps than any other defensive linemen (962). He ranked third in PFF pass-rush grade (91.9) and fourth in pass-rush win-rate (22.4%) among edge defenders, ultimately finishing with 12.5 sacks. Five of those sacks came in the final three weeks of the fantasy season — a fitting end to the year for a resilient and clutch IDP performer in 2025.
Runners Up:
- DT Jeffery Simmons, Tennessee Titans
- LB Blake Cashman, Minnesota Vikings
- S Derwin James, Los Angeles Chargers
- EDGE Chase Young, New Orleans Saints
Read More
Fantasy Football: Early 2026 top-300 PPR big board
Read More →2025 IDP COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR
This award goes to the player who was on a downward trend in fantasy value heading into this year but found a way to bounce back and improve their fantasy stock, returning to previous levels of production.
WINNER: LB Devin White, Las Vegas Raiders
There might not be a more obvious pick for this award. Devin White was the overall LB2 in IDP scoring and ranked second in the league in total tackles (168). White spent the past two seasons as an irrelevant IDP option, for the most part. After last season, during which he bounced around the league and never made an impact, it was looking like his time was up as a weekly IDP starting option. However, the linebacker-needy Raiders allowed White to step into a full-time role, and he played every defensive snap for the team this fantasy season (1,061).
White had previously been a top-12 IDP option as recently as 2022, but things change quickly in IDP, and poor PFF grades and a lack of interest in him around the league seemed to point to the end of his relevance. While the Raiders took a shot on White, the poor PFF grades (39.2) and missed tackle concerns (25) did not go away, which could hurt his value heading into 2026 as teams evaluate the pending free agent’s season.
For this year, however, none of that matters. White was a great value in drafts and the overall LB2 on the season. He is the obvious IDP Comeback Player of the Year in 2025.
Runners Up:
- S Kamren Curl, Los Angeles Rams
- LB Foyesade Oluokun, Jacksonville Jaguars
- EDGE Aidan Hutchinson, Detroit Lions
- EDGE Montez Sweat, Chicago Bears
2025 IDP CORNERBACK STREAMER OF THE YEAR
Every year, a new crop of IDP cornerbacks emerges. Fantasy managers are able to comfortably pick them up off the waiver wire and plug them into lineups without spending much, if any, draft capital. This award goes to the cornerback who was the most effective streamer of the bunch.
WINNER: CB Kamari Lassiter, Houston Texans
Lassiter led all cornerbacks in total tackles (91) this season whole delivering relatively consistent IDP production. He finished the year as the overall CB1 and a top-five defensive back in IDP scoring. For a cornerback to be an effective IDP, they often need to be heavily targeted by opposing offenses, and thanks to Lassiter's role opposite Derek Stingley Jr., offenses tend to pick on him just a little more, which led to more IDP production opportunities. Lassiter was among the 10 most-targeted players at his position in 2025 (86), seeing nearly 20 more targets than Stingley, despite both players playing all 16 games.
Lassiter, much like most IDP cornerbacks, was matchup-dependent when it came to his best tackling performances, but he was also able to add four interceptions and 17 pass deflections (tied for the fourth most in the league). That gave him enough big plays to become IDP’s top cornerback in 202 — and one who was not highly drafted like some of his closest competition (Cooper DeJean, Alontae Taylor, etc.).
Runners Up:
- CB Nahshon Wright, Chicago Bears
- CB Marcus Jones, New England Patriots
- CB Tyson Campbell, Jacksonville Jaguars/Cleveland Browns
2025 MOST DISAPPOINTING IDP OF THE YEAR
The final award goes to the player who let IDP managers down in a big way in 2025, failing to live up to their ADP and consistently disappointing. The player must have played at least 12 games to qualify since injuries can’t be helped.
WINNER: LB Zaire Franklin, Indianapolis Colts
When it comes to non-injury disappointments, Zaire Franklin was a big letdown for IDP managers. He was more often than not drafted as a top-three player at his position this preseason, if not the LB1 overall, and he came nowhere near returning that level of value.
Franklin ultimately finished as the overall LB26 and LB31 in points per game. With there being so many full-time linebackers, it’s not totally uncommon to see 100%-snap players at the position place in more of the LB3 range, but for a player who had finished as a top-five IDP linebacker three seasons in a row heading into 2025, it’s a massive drop-off.
There could be several reasons for Franklin’s down year. Perhaps most relevant was the Colts' new defensive scheme under Lou Anaroumo, which lent itself to more man coverages than in past years. As a result, Franklin went from owning above-average tackle rates in each of his past three seasons to coming in below average in that regard this year (12.0%).
Franklin hit double-digit tackles just four times across 16 games, which is just not going to cut it for a linebacker who played well over 1,000 defensive snaps, and especially not for one often drafted as the overall LB1.