X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Join the Best Live Fantasy Chat Community!

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


LINEUP RESOURCES

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
Fantasy Updates
24x7 News and Alerts

IDP Defensive Linemen - NFL Rookies to Watch in 2020

We've already looked at the top rookie linebackers and defensive backs to watch in 2020. Now, we'll finish up on the front lines where the big boys fight in the trenches to find the top tackles and edge rushers. In this space, I'll highlight some rookie IDP (individual defensive player) targets for fantasy football IDP leagues.

I won't be mentioning Chase Young because that just seems like a waste of valuable space. In case you need it in writing, here goes: He's the top rookie DT to target.

Once we get beyond the first-round talent, however, there are plenty of options that could make an impact in year one.

Editor's Note: Our incredible team of writers received five total writing awards and 13 award nominations by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, tops in the industry! Congrats to all the award winners and nominees including Best NFL Series, MLB Series, NBA Writer, PGA Writer and Player Notes writer of the year. Be sure to follow their analysis, rankings and advice all year long, and win big with RotoBaller! Read More!

 

Yetur Gross-Matos (DE, CAR)

Carolina has a type and Yetur Gross-Matos definitely fits the bill. After spending a first-round pick on undersized edge rusher Brian Burns last year, who weighs all of 249 pounds, they spent a second-rounder on 265-pound Gross-Matos. Burns was able to pick up 7.5 sacks as a rookie and the team is hoping that Gross-Matos also shows the burst to break the edge on passing downs. He has an additional advantage - his 35" arm span ranks in the 92nd percentile. After a quiet freshman season at Penn State, he registered 34.5 tackles for loss between 2018-2019, 17 of which came in the form of QB sacks. His job description is simple - take down the quarterback whenever possible.

This is a unit on the rebuild under new coach Matt Rhule, no question. Carolina spent all seven of its draft picks on that side of the ball, starting with dynamic interior lineman Derrick Brown in the first round. It's a much-needed overhaul; the Panthers Defense was statistically the second-worst in the league last year and now will be without longtime anchor Luke Kuechly. As bad as the Panthers were defensively, the one thing they did right was to apply pressure in the backfield.

Carolina finished second in the NFL with 53 sacks, including the seventh-highest pressure rate. For that reason, Gross-Matos fits perfectly into this scheme where he and Burns can pressure the outside while Brown and Kawann Short plug up the middle. Matt Rhule brought defensive coordinator Phil Snow with him from Baylor in hopes that he can continue the success they had together; Baylor ranked first in the Big 12 with 19.8 points allowed per game and 43 sacks on the season. In tackle-heavy formats, he won't move the needle, but if you are simply looking for sack upside at DE, Gross-Matos might be the best bet after Chase Young.

 

A.J. Epenesa (DE, BUF)

Epenesa slipped on draft day after being speculated as a possible late first-round pick. Luckily, he fell to one of the top defenses in the league in a year that Tom Brady leaves the division. With Epenesa, the college production was there, but you have to throw the workout numbers out the window.

See what I mean? His disappointing combine numbers caused him to fall out of round one but allowed him to enter a better situation in Buffalo. He doesn't have the speed of Gross-Matos, but as part of a veteran defense where he can be mixed and matched, he may still be opportunistic enough to be productive.

Considering the recent news of Ed Oliver's legal troubles, the team could depend on their rookie lineman even more than expected as last year's first-round pick may face suspension. Epenesa may be slow out the gate and there's a chance he doesn't have enough burst to penetrate the offensive line frequently enough, so he is simply a name to monitor for now.

Advertising

 

Julian Okwara (DE, DET)

With only his older brother Romeo to beat out on the depth chart, the younger Okwara could make a splash in 2020. Both are edge rushers out of Notre Dame, standing at 6'4" apiece. The difference is that Romeo was undrafted and doesn't possess superior athleticism. Julian is younger, stronger, and should be more productive.

Like several other players who fell to the third round, Okwara could have been drafted higher if his production didn't slip in 2019. Coming off a junior season where he collected eight sacks, Okwara experienced some injury issues and fell to just five sacks as a senior. That doesn't mean he lost the ability to rush the passer.

Despite a smaller frame, Okwara showed his strength with the occasional bullrush move. This won't fly so often in the NFL, but he won't be pancaked regularly by NFL tackles either.


The Lions' depth chart favors Okwara at the moment. Keep him on your radar in leagues where sacks are rewarded more heavily.

 

Leki Fotu (DT, ARI)

We've highlighted several Utah players on the defensive side of the ball already, including Jaylon Johnson in the DB version of this article. Fotu is a massive 6'5", 330lb prospect who looks to be another coming of former Ute Star Lotulelei, currently a DT for the Buffalo Bills. While Lotulelei has been light on sacks and fantasy production, Fotu is a heavier build and could benefit fantasy owners in tackle-heavy scoring systems where DT is required.

What helps Fotu is the lesser competition on the D-line in Arizona but also the pace of play. Arizona was fourth in pace of play last year and could pick that up even more with better weapons on offense in DeAndre Hopkins and a full year of Kenyan Drake. That leads to more opportunities on the defensive side of the ball, especially in pass-rush situations if the Cards can score like they want to. Fotu isn't an exciting IDP prospect, but there are precious few DT options that can bring a high point total each week. Fotu is better viewed as a dynasty stash or player to watch than a must-draft.

More NFL Rookie Analysis




LINEUP RESOURCES

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
Fantasy Updates
24x7 News and Alerts

WIN MORE IN 2024

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
Fantasy Updates
24x7 News and Alerts

ROTOBALLER PLAYER NEWS

RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
Alexis Diaz fantasy baseball closers rankings draft sleepers waiver wire pickups

MLB Closers and Saves: Fantasy Baseball Depth Charts

Saves are an important component for many fantasy baseball leagues. Closers are one of the most volatile positions in fantasy baseball, and one of the highest turnover positions in MLB. Each year, closers drop like flies and many MLB teams make in-season changes due to injuries or poor performance. In addition to closers and saves, relief... Read More


Do These Prospects Matter for Fantasy Baseball?

The 2023 fantasy baseball season has been highlighted by the promotion of nearly two-dozen top prospects to the major leagues to impact fantasy rosters. This week's edition features one player who was called up as the piece was being written. Will these strong performers join the ranks of those who have moved to the majors... Read More


clayton kershaw fantasy baseball rankings draft sleepers MLB injury news

articles report test

this is a test


Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Welcome back! It's Week 24 of our fantasy baseball Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups series! There are just two precious weeks left, and every start is becoming more and more important as most of the fantasy baseball world is in playoff matchups. If you've made it this far, there's a good chance you don't really... Read More


Aaron Nola - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Starts & Sits for MLB Week 23 - All Starting Pitcher Matchups for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back RotoBallers! Big week in fantasy leagues as we approach the end of the season and playoffs! As always, we are here with our starting pitcher starts and sits series to help you set those winning lineups for the week ahead! For those who are not familiar, RotoBaller puts out a weekly grid of... Read More


Gunnar Henderson - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Prospects, Draft Sleepers

Points League Hitters: Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Welcome to Week 24 and our fantasy baseball waiver wire hitters. We'll be doing this roundup of points leagues every week here at RotoBaller, with waiver wire targets and streaming pitchers being evaluated in terms of the different scoring systems of ESPN, Yahoo!, CBS, and Fantrax. Player values can vary wildly from platform to platform,... Read More


Brayan Bello - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

Two-Start Pitcher Streamers for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Yo, it's Jon Anderson, continuing to run the show here in terms of late-summer fantasy baseball writing. There are just two weeks left of streaming pitchers, so let's make it count! This weekly fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups column aims to identify starting pitchers expected to make two starts in the upcoming fantasy baseball week,... Read More


Fantasy Baseball Week 24 Injury News and Updates: Tyler Glasnow, Ozzie Albies, Starling Marte, Anthony Rizzo, Zack Wheeler

September is now more than half over. The baseball season is slowly coming to a close. At this point, fantasy players are pushing for their league titles or just playing for pride. Major League Baseball teams continue to do the same and injuries continue to happen, now with the dreaded term "done for the season"... Read More


Joe Musgrove - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Free MLB Betting Picks - Today's Best Bets, Expert Predictions, Odds (9/17/22)

Happy Saturday, RotoBallers, we're back for another weekend of MLB betting picks! Make sure you're following my Twitter, as I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to get the added plays written here in the article, but I will typically add whatever else I'm playing throughout the day. The entire RotoBaller team has been... Read More


DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (9/17/22): Today's Top MLB DFS Lineups

Today's MLB slates are split up as is the norm for September baseball. Half the guys I think will play will not, so you have to be as flexible as Gumby to play MLB DFS in September, but that also means that there is a lot of money out there should you dare to dive... Read More


Max Fried - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Free MLB Betting Picks - Today's Best Bets, Expert Predictions, Odds (9/15/22)

Happy Friday, RotoBallers, we're back for another weekend of MLB betting picks! Make sure you're following my Twitter, as I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to get the added plays written here in the article, but I will typically add whatever else I'm playing throughout the day. The entire RotoBaller team has been... Read More


Robbie Ray - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Injury News, Draft Sleepers

DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (9/16/22): Today's Top MLB DFS Lineups

Fridays are big MLB DFS days and offer a nice respite from the NFL, who command our attention on Thursdays, Sundays, and Mondays. This slate, like most Friday slates, is a big one as all MLB teams are in action today and 28 of those teams are on tonight's 14-game DFS slate. This was a... Read More


kyle farmer fantasy baseball rankings draft sleepers MLB injury news

Top Hitter Streamers and Starts for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

There are only two weeks left of fantasy baseball! It's going to be very sad when the season comes to an end, but the impending end of the season means that these are the most important, and therefore most fun weeks of the year – for those of you still competing, at least. I have... Read More


TODAY’S MOST VIEWED PLAYERS

rotating JS ad test

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF