Forgotten IDPs: 3 Defensive Backs Who Could Surprise in 2025
Which 2nd and 3rd year DBs are we overlooking headed in the season?
It’s time to wrap up our three-part series on overlooked or forgotten IDPs. After spotlighting defensive linemen before setting our sights on linebackers, it’s time to give the defensive backs some love and attention.
These are the kinds of players who’ve been quiet so far but might be on the verge of breaking out. They're not early-round IDP targets—DBs very rarely are—but if you’re looking for upside late in your draft, keep these names in mind.
Jordan Battle, Safety, Cincinnati Bengals
At the end of the 2024 season, IDP managers were pretty excited about Battle's dynasty outlook. He had just ended his rookie season on the upswing after replacing Nick Scott in Week 11, and if we extrapolated the points per game pace he achieved in those final eight games over the whole season, he would have finished as the S6 or DB8 in balanced scoring formats.
There was much to like about the potential of a player who, as early as his rookie year, ranked 10th out of 129 safeties in overall PFF grade. The fact that he seemed primed to reprise the heavy box role in the same Lou Anarumo-led defense only added to his appeal, as that role helped him to a very healthy 13% tackle efficiency rate as a first-year player.
Unfortunately, the Bengals had other ideas. Within the space of a week in March 2024, they inked Geno Stone to a two-year deal before bringing Vonn Bell back to Cincy after a one-year hiatus with the Carolina Panthers.
Battle and his IDP managers were right to be concerned, as the young safety once again spent the first part of the year watching from the sidelines before gradually replacing Bell in the lineup. Even then, he didn't top 90% of the snap share until Week 15.
Battle performed well for fantasy managers, averaging more than 10 points per game over the final four contests. Sadly, his second consecutive late-season resurgence was too late for most of us in IDP in a year that will be remembered as a disappointment.
This play certainly didn't help change IDP managers' perception of the young safety:
So, having been burned once before, what gives us hope that 2025 will be any different? Firstly, Vonn Bell is no longer on the team, having departed in free agency. Secondly, new defensive coordinator Al Golden appears high on the third-year DB, and he enjoys using a safety near the line of scrimmage.
Last but certainly not least, there's very little proven talent behind Battle and Stone on the depth chart.
Mike Woellert projects the 24-year-old to finish as the Safety17 in 2025, producing top 10 tackle numbers among all DBs. Considering Battle's ADP was the DB28 in The IDP Show's best ball drafts, IDP managers could snag a potential bargain, especially if your scoring format is more heavily weighted toward tackles than average.
Jaden Hicks, Safety, Kansas City Chiefs
Initially projected as a second or third-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Hicks was a great value pick for the Kansas City Chiefs at the end of the fourth round.
He sat behind Justin Reid and Bryan Cook until well into the second half of the season, but Steve Spagnulo recognised what the rookie had to offer, creating ways to weave him into the fold—occasionally in place of Cook, and sometimes as a third safety.
Hicks acquitted himself exceptionally well in a role that involved spending a similar amount of time in the box and deep, missing only a single tackle on 38 attempts, limiting opposing quarterbacks to a 73.9 rating in coverage, and earning an average depth of tackle that ranked in the 66th percentile.
Impressive though Hicks was, it was Justin Reid’s departure that made the second-year player’s inclusion on this list possible. There’s still a degree of uncertainty about how Chamarri Conner fits into the new-look Chiefs’ secondary, but Hicks is the best natural fit to be Reid’s successor.
Reid spent 52.3% of his snaps in the box last year, and if Hicks inherits that role in 2025, he has all the tools—play recognition, tackling fundamentals, and closing burst—to make the most of his opportunity.
Hicks has an ADP of 192 and is going as the 27th safety, slotting in behind DT Darius Alexander and safety Kamren Curl. I know which of these players I would prefer on my IDP roster.
Cole Bishop, Safety, Buffalo Bills
I’m encouraged to see the IDP community is starting to wise up to the fact that Bishop is by far the more exciting safety prospect in 2025 than Damar Hamlin.
Granted, Hamlin deserves his dues for what he’s achieved despite facing incredible adversity, and we’ll always have tremendous respect for him for that fact. With that said, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere in recent months, he was extremely poor in coverage last year, and Rapp wasn’t much better in that regard.
Bills’ defensive coordinator Bobby Babich disagrees with my assessment, or does he? He praised Hamlin, suggesting it was the “best year that he's had since he's been here,” but, considering Hamlin has had only one other season as a starter during his Bills’ tenure, and performed extremely poorly in that year, Babich’s comments aren’t as glowing as they first seem.
Babich also singled out Rapp for his tackling prowess, and conveniently failed to mention any other aspect of his game, most of which were dreadful. However, his thoughts on Bishop were much more pointed. Compare what he said in June 2024 to June 2025.
Bishop was a classic box safety at Utah, excelling in a role where he spent almost half of his college career in the box. He was used similarly in Babich’s scheme last season. Yes, he missed too many tackles, but we expect improvement in that sense as he continues to acclimate to the speed and rigor of the NFL.
The rookie gained momentum toward the end of the 2024 season, capitalizing on injuries to Rapp and Hamlin and playing a significant role in two playoff games. The faith they showed in him in crunch time speaks volumes. If he doesn’t earn a starting role from the get-go, expect him to do so in short order. Hamlin is entering a contract year, meaning the Bills will want to look toward the future.
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