2026 Fantasy Football IDP Sleepers: Defensive Linemen
Identifying the top defensive linemen who can outperform their ADP and become fantasy football values in 2026.
There is often plenty of value in the later rounds of fantasy drafts, especially in IDP leagues where many lesser-known defensive players can get overlooked. This list highlights some of the more enticing fantasy options to target beyond the top-36 players at their positions, according to our ADP. The cost is relatively low and worth the upside swing, so be sure to use those late-round picks for the best value on your fantasy football rosters.
We’ve covered the linebacker position already (here), and now it’s time to turn our attention to the defensive line, where pass-rushing ability is key.
Zaven Collins, Arizona Cardinals
Current ADP: DL87/ED68
The Arizona Cardinals are not exactly flush with elite IDP options, outside of Budda Baker, of course, but that often means there will be plenty of opportunities for other lesser-known commodities to step up and become deep-league IDP options, at the very least. Collins is a great example of that: the Cardinals didn’t add any significant edge defenders this offseason, and rumors of Josh Sweat being a trade candidate continue to float around. Collins finds himself in a great spot to play a ton of snaps in 2026.
Collins was on the field for just under 600 defensive snaps last season (55th), in what was really just his third year as a true NFL EDGE — a position in which he is steadily improving. Collins set a new career high in PFF pass-rush grade (69.7), pressure rate (13.2%), and win rate (13.2%) — all above average numbers for the first time in his career. Heading into Year 4, Collins should see another career high in pass-rush opportunities, having yet to crack even 300 pass-rush snaps in a single season to this point. If he continues to improve as a pass rusher alongside that increased opportunity, there’s more than enough room for him to crack IDP starting lineups in non-shallow formats this season.
Collins is flying under the radar right now, essentially undrafted in most formats, meaning he can be acquired for next to nothing. Coming off just a 1.5-sack season in 2025, he’s due for positive regression in the sack column as well, helping to feed his sleeper potential. Deeper formats should add Collins as one of the priority depth options whose opportunity should only increase if Sweat continues to miss time on the PUP list or is eventually traded. Either way, Collins is in position to get a starting role and has the potential to deliver consistent IDP production in 2026.
Princely Umanmielen, Carolina Panthers
Current ADP: DL126/ED92
Initially, this spot belonged to Nic Scourton, who, much like Umanmielen, was entering Year 2 and had a promising college prospect profile to bank on for an improvement coming off his rookie season. Unfortunately, Scourton’s season-ending injury suffered in training camp swiftly ended that potential for 2026, and an opportunity has arisen for Scourton’s fellow 2025 draft pick to deliver on his college potential for IDP this coming season instead.
Coming out of Ole Miss, Umanmielen looked like one of the best pure pass rushers of the 2025 draft class, earning a 92.5 career PFF pass-rush grade (94th percentile) that allowed him to deliver 28 sacks through his time at Florida and Mississippi. Year 1 of his NFL career wasn’t quite as promising, evidenced by the low metrics in his player card above. However, he barely saw the field, playing behind Scourton and D.J. Wonnum, who both surpassed 700 defensive snaps. Both of those players are now out of the picture in 2026, and even with the addition of Jaelan Phillips, there’s room for another starting-caliber EDGE to step up, with early signs pointing to an impressive Umanmielen heading into Year 2.
Head coach Dave Canales has stated that Umanmielen “has really been one of our guys on defense chasing the ball all over the field,” and that’s earned him first-team reps, with his closest competition being Pat Jones II. Jones was also a potential cut candidate earlier in the offseason, though the injury to Scourton likely saved his job for the time being. If Umanmielen continues to impress and run with this opportunity, he should greatly exceed the expectations of his ADP, which puts him outside the top 100 defensive linemen in 2026. He’s a free shot to take for deeper IDP formats, and should surprise many as a key piece on an improving defensive unit.
Mike Green, Baltimore Ravens
Current ADP: DL64/ED52
Green stands out as another second-year EDGE who didn’t quite hit the ground running as a rookie, but owns one of the more promising prospect profiles: a 94th percentile scorer in my rookie prospect model, with a ripe opportunity to improve in Year 2. The Ravens added Trey Hendrickson in free agency, who will likely play the biggest role on the defensive line, though they no longer have Kyle Van Noy, who played over 350 passing-down snaps for the team in 2025. Green himself played over 400 passing-down snaps last year as a rookie, but there’s still room to grow as he develops into an NFL-caliber starter.
Green landed 3.5 sacks in Year 1, which is a fine number for a rookie pass rusher, though his underlying metrics, including just a 38th percentile mark in Expected Sacks and a 55.5 PFF pass-rush grade, are less-than-stellar marks unbefitting of a high-end prospect. Underachieving in Year 1 isn’t a big deal for defensive linemen, and in fact, is mostly the norm for the position as they take more time to acclimate to NFL competition — especially for Green, who spent his college days at Marshall. Years 3 and 4 are typically where we see the true breakout seasons for players at the position, and while Green doesn’t quite qualify as a breakout candidate just yet, it doesn’t mean he won’t have sleeper potential considering his lower ADP.
Green has already been impressing early in training camp, looking like “one of the most impactful players,” according to The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec. With the team looking for someone to step up alongside Hendrickson, Green’s potential Year 2 leap could put him in a very favorable position to lock down the other starting edge spot in 2026. Should Green begin to develop in the way his college profile suggests, the 2025 second-round pick will have no trouble outperforming his current DL64 ADP evaluation.
Austin Booker, Chicago Bears
Current ADP: DL58/ED49
The IDP community is admittedly higher on Booker than I currently am, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t think he has sleeper potential, even if I’m not qualifying him as a true potential breakout just yet. There’s work to be done with Booker, though Year 3 could be where a lot of that work comes to fruition as the team currently has a significant need for another reliable starter opposite Montez Sweat. The risk in investing too much in Booker right now is that the Bears have been linked to trades for another starting edge rusher, including both Maxx Crosby and Josh Sweat this offseason. However, while those are still pipe dreams at the moment, we’ll evaluate his potential on this roster, as is.
Booker will compete primarily against Dayo Odeyingbo for starting snaps opposite Sweat in 2026, which certainly shouldn’t scare Booker or his IDP managers enough to temper expectations for a significant role. Despite missing half the season in 2025, Booker averaged a very encouraging 80% snap share in the games he appeared in, which should speak to the coaching staff's comfort with him as a starter. That huge snap share alone is worth targeting in IDP drafts at his current ADP, though again, there are still risks from current competition or added competition that could derail his value.
Booker is just a former fifth-round pick who hasn’t exactly thrived as a consistent pass rusher through his first two seasons in the NFL, finishing 61st in PFF pass-rush grade in 2025. While his current projection points to a big role, and one that could be enticing for IDP, the concern of the coaching staff wanting to upgrade at the position is at least a risk, unless he can truly take a big step toward being a starting-caliber pass rusher in Year 3. He should get the initial opportunity to take that role and run with it, but if he’s not making an impact consistently, don’t be surprised if the team looks for added help. That being said, I’m a fan of the opportunity and potential here in a young player that has flashed IDP potential, so grabbing him on the fringes of the top-50 players at his position makes for a much easier decision.
Boye Mafe, Cincinnati Bengals
Current ADP: DL45/ED41
Mafe entered the 2025 season as a consistent over-performer in the sack column, which put him at risk of coming down to earth last year and getting hit with regression, which he did. The silver lining coming out of last season is that Mafe’s underlying metrics still point to a solid NFL pass rusher, with a real chance to get back to much better sack totals than the two he ended up with in 2025. On top of that, he finds himself in Cincinnati, where there’s a big need for an EDGE to step up and fill a massive void left behind by Trey Hendrickson.
Mafe’s primary competition for that EDGE1 spot will be former first-round picks Myles Murphy and Shemar Stewart, as well as this year’s second-round pick Cashius Howell. Mafe is by far the most accomplished and experienced of the bunch, which puts him in a likely unique position to have a starting role locked down among that group and really eliminates the major concerns about playing time, which was the case on a much more rotation-heavy defensive line in Seattle, where playing time was distributed more evenly. Mafe’s snap share dipped to just 50% in 2025, after being at 60% in 2024, and a career high of 72% in a breakout 2023 season. Expecting somewhere in that 65% range for 2026 is well within reason, and should help him regain his IDP value.
Mafe’s potential still likely puts him under double-digit sacks in 2026, but that shouldn’t really be the expectation from him anyway. He’s a capable NFL starter with above-average underlying metrics, who should get an IDP-relevant snap share to bounce back after a down season and be a potential value pick in drafts. He’ll play enough on early downs to give a solid production floor, and the positive regression in the sack column should help him push for ED3 value on the year.
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