2025 Degenerate Rookie Draft Guide

Professor IDP delivers eight deep sleepers for IDP rookie drafts.

May 14, 2025

The 2024 State of IDP data shows that nearly a quarter of IDP leagues have more than 12 teams, and 11 is the most common number of IDP starters. While five- or six-round 12-team rookie drafts are the norm, many leagues have more teams, more IDP spots, and bigger rosters, which have been lovingly referred to as “degenerate leagues.”

As a result, The IDP Show Draft Kit has become a fantastic resource for traditional and more degenerate leagues with 125 players overall and 75 IDP. Given drafts are often won in the later rounds, and the later rounds are often riddled with less-than-household IDP names, I created this guide to provide a deeper dive into some players who I like in larger format leagues who may go undrafted elsewhere.

Specifically, I focus on players who meet two criteria:

Their consensus evaluation from Adam and Jason is outside of the initial* top 72 overall (i.e. likely undrafted in a 12-team 6-round rookie draft).
My rating is at least a round higher than this consensus.

*The rookie rankings in The IDP Show Draft Kit are updated monthly, so these (and my) evaluations are likely to change.

Using these criteria, I have identified 8 IDPs that I will be drafting in my leagues with 16 teams and/or 8+ rounds where the true degenerates play, providing some background and rationale on each. Along the way, I will make the case for a few players who I think are being overlooked in “normie” leagues who might deserve a second look late in your drafts. I highlight key metrics for each player:

Consensus pre-draft evaluation (per The Athletic and Wide Left)
Draft capital
Current depth chart position (per Ourlads)
Relative Athletic Score (RAS)
2024 or stable metrics
Player comps taken from the PFF Draft Guide

For this exercise, I use 5 IDP positions but devalue DT relative to DE and CB relative to S, so that these can be useful for those who also play in DL/LB/DB leagues.

1. Nik Scourton, DE, Carolina Panthers

Pre-draft, Scourton was rated as the 40th-best overall prospect in the draft using a consensus of several prominent draft resources. The PFF Draft Guide compared Scourton to Shaq Lawson, who had four consecutive seasons of 4+ sacks and 30+ tackles primarily as a rotational player.

Still, Scourton is only 20 years old, with D.J. Wonnum set to become a free agent in 2026 and Patrick Jones a very likely cut candidate at the end of the year (his cap hit jumps over $5 million after the season). With the recent release of Jadeveon Clowney, Scourton’s short-term prospects have improved significantly.

The Panthers also traded up to draft Scourton in the 2nd round, highlighting their faith in the player. I am currently watching Scourton fall in one of my rookie drafts with names such as Brashard Smith (RB, KC), Jimmy Horn (WR, CAR), and Jack Kiser (LB, JAC) going ahead of him with much murkier paths to snaps in 2025.

2. Landon Jackson, DE, Buffalo Bills

Jackson is another EDGE that I’m considerably higher than the consensus on for very different reasons. Whereas Scourton has very high upside with pass rush stable metrics above the 80th percentile according to PFF, Jackson is a phenomenal run defender with stable run metrics above the 80th percentile.

New acquisition Joey Bosa and incumbent A.J. Epenesa will both be free agents after the 2025 season, meaning, at the moment, Jackson will likely only need to beat out Michael Hoecht for snaps in the 2026 season.

While this path is murkier than Scourton’s, there is certainly a road to meaningful snaps and fantasy production comparable to the recently retired Sam Hubbard, who was a fantasy DE2 or DE3 for the majority of his career. Aside from a lack of pass-rush prowess, multiple ACL injuries also limit Jackson’s fantasy draft stock, but his 3rd round selection suggests the Bills are at least optimistic in Jackson’s future.

3. Jordan Burch, DE, Arizona Cardinals

Wrapping up my underrated EDGE trilogy is Jordan Burch, a 3rd round pick for the Arizona Cardinals. While none of Burch’s PFF stable metrics stand out, the site’s draft guide comped Burch to four-time Pro Bowler Matt Judon.

Burch is solidly behind Baron Browning and Josh Sweat, and is already over 23 years old, which also hurts his fantasy draft stock. He represents an intriguing taxi squad stash but will require an injury for short-term ROI or patience for long-term success, as Sweat is signed long-term and Browning is set to be on the team until 2027.

4. Darius Alexander, DT, New York Giants

While I have a well-documented soft spot for the big guys in the middle, my rating of Alexander in my top 50 overall is after discounting all DT in my model for public perception. Alexander was the 53rd-rated prospect pre-draft and was drafted in the 3rd round by the Giants to fill a need next to Dexter Lawrence.

Beyond a high general talent evaluation, his pre-draft fantasy metrics were attractive, with PFF stable metric grades all above the 60th percentile, drawing a comparison to Kawann Short, who was a highly productive fantasy DT for three years in the peak of his career. The Giants have a monster D-line on paper. Interior depth is the only area of concern, so Alexander only needs to beat out Roy Robertson-Harris or Rakeem Nunez-Roches, who had overall 2024 PFF grades of 52.8 and 46.8, respectively.

5. Barrett Carter, LB, Cincinnati Bengals

Rumors are again swirling about a Germaine Pratt departure, which would open the window for newcomer Oren Burks or fellow rookie Demetrius Knight to slot in opposite Logan Wilson. Carter’s talent is solid (but not great), finishing 11th among 26 PFF-rated LBs in pressures and a 75th percentile run defense stable metric across his career. Given all that, Carter feels like a good late-round stash for two reasons.

Logan Wilson has only played two complete seasons in his NFL career, meaning there may realistically be an opportunity for Carter to compete for snaps as well.
New defensive coordinator Al Golden is reportedly keeping predecessor Lou Anarumo’s defense in place, which saw Akeem Davis-Gaither earn up to 30% of snaps in games where he was the team’s 3rd LB option.

Aside from potential opportunity, Carter’s comp is exciting for those who play in very deep leagues, as PFF likened him to Henry To'oTo'o, who likely helped fantasy managers win several games in recent years.

6. Maxwell Hairston, CB, Buffalo Bills

I am admittedly too high on Hairston, who will be moving down somewhat in my next set of rankings, but I suspect the market will be higher than consensus as well. Hairston was one of only two first-round CBs in the recent NFL draft alongside Jahdae Barron. While I agree that Barron is the better fantasy prospect, his consensus fantasy evaluation is overall #41, which is miles ahead of Hairston.

That feels like an exploitable gap to me. Hairston should start and accumulate plenty of valuable snaps, and even if he becomes a shutdown corner, rookie CBs are often tested in the NFL and are fantasy-viable. Remember that in Sauce Gardner’s rookie campaign, he finished as a CB2. That is certainly in Hairston’s range of outcomes and could be sustainable if he never becomes an elite defender that opposing QBs avoid.

7. Nohl Williams, CB, Kansas City Chiefs

I want to walk away from every rookie draft with Williams. He will be incredibly cheap since, even at my high evaluation, he is a 7th-round pick in a 12-team league. He is primarily an outside corner and slotted behind new addition Kristian Fulton per Ourlads, but Williams has the tackle ability (and some experience) to play slot corner.

While I love a corner that is a solid tackler, and that the Chiefs traded up to get him, it is the big play potential that has be very high on Williams, as he led FBS in interceptions in 2024 and had a 27.6 yard kickoff return average (good for 14th among FBS players with at least 12 returns) including a 80-yard touchdown. While it is uncertain if Williams will return kicks in the NFL, he is a highly attractive player for me in leagues that score return yards and/or utilize best ball scoring.

8. Tyleik Williams, DT, Detroit Lions

Last on my list, but nowhere near the bottom of my rankings, is Tyleik Williams, who was a bit of a surprise selection by the Lions in the 1st round of the NFL Draft.

While it may not be until 2026 that this pick pays dividends (both D.J. Reader and Levi Onwuzurike are set to be free agents next offseason), Williams has the talent (PFF’s comp was Da’Ron Payne) and the supporting cast (Hutch and McNeil) to be able to make a long-term impact in DT-required leagues.

Even for DL leagues that do not require DT, Williams’ draft capital alone makes him higher for me than some of the edge rushers I am seeing drafted ahead of him, such as Landon Jackson, Princely Umanmielen, and Jack Sawyer.

I hope you enjoyed this year’s edition of the Degenerate Draft Guide! While I didn’t tackle offense in this article, if you have questions about those players relative to IDP (or other IDP names that I may be particularly high or low on), my office hours are always open in the comments section and on Twitter.