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Over the past couple of months, you’ve seen the rankings, you’ve seen the sleepers, you’ve seen the busts, and you’ve seen the NSFW Blurred Lines video. Now you’re ready to do two things: Draft and Google Image search Emily Ratajkowski with SafeSearch off. I’ll give you a minute…okay welcome back. Now you’re ready to do one thing: Draft.

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I already went over my (admittedly vague) definition of a Sleeper and Bust in the Defensive Line version of this article, but it’s worth revisiting. A sleeper is someone who will significantly outperform their draft position, allowing you to improve your team at other positions, while a bust is someone who will essentially do the opposite.

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It’s always tough to determine what makes a player a sleeper or a bust during the preseason. JJ Watt was being drafted as a top 10 DL last year, but he finished as the #1 DL by a wide margin, so did that make him a sleeper? Jared Allen, on the other hand, was typically the first or second DL off the board, yet finished at DL16 for the season, so did that make him a bust? This question is best answered by looking at opportunity cost.

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Over the past month, I’ve gone through my top 50 Defensive Linemen, Linebackers and Defensive Backs, and now it’s time to put it all together. Below you will see my top 75 overall IDPs, regardless of position.

I’ll be brief with this write-up because it’s well over 100 degrees here in Austin, and I have busy day that involves floating down the San Marcos River in a tube with a few cases of Lone Star, followed by an ungodly amount of BBQ in Lockhart. But before we get to the actual rankings, here are a few topics merit some additional discussion:

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When drafting Defensive Lineman, you pick your studs early, then look for some pass-rush specialists to complement them. When drafting Linebackers, you look for consistency in tackles above all, focusing on three-down backers. When drafting Defensive Backs? Anything goes.

Some owners will only take safeties, and pretty much just strong safeties at that, knowing that tackles are more predictable than any other DB stat. Others look for deflections, interceptions and tackles in coverage by focusing on DBs that play alongside a shutdown corner, or rookie corners in general. Still others will go for the gold, taking a return man who might win you a matchup all by himself by taking one to the house.

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As opposed to my 2013 DL Rankings, the top spot in the LB rankings is not quite as clear cut. Luke Kuechly took the #1 overall spot in 2012, as a rookie no less, so common sense would tell you that he will only improve in year 2. I’m not one to disagree with Thomas Paine, so Kuechly will appear at the top of my rankings, but he likely won’t be on any of my teams. Unlike the top Linemen, the top Linebackers are not worth reaching for in 2013.

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As we start rolling out the 2013 IDP Rankings here at Razzball, I thought I would start with the easiest position first. JJ Watt is the consensus #1 IDP this year, and his 2012 numbers were even more impressive than those of Calvin Johnson and Adrian Peterson considering he was a 3-4 Defensive End. While you might have trouble deciding between a gamut of players to take first at any other position, you can rest easy knowing that Watt should be the first DL taken and that it took me three tries before correctly spelling gamut.

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The 2013 NFL draft was ripe with talent on the defensive side of the ball, and there are quite a few guys picked that should go on to be perennial Pro Bowlers. But even the best defensive players may not start lighting up the stat sheet until the end of their first season, or even later. JJ Watt and Jason Pierre-Paul didn’t take the league by storm until their second year, Ronde Barber didn’t truly break out until his fourth season in the league, and we’re still waiting on Vernon Gholston to show us what he’s got.

From a fantasy perspective, this year’s draft doesn’t have anyone who is likely to match Luke Kuechly’s LB1 output in 2012. In fact, we’ll be lucky to see something like Vontaze Burfict’s LB24 finish. The top talent is probably at Defensive Tackle, and while the big boys are vital to a team’s defensive success, they don’t tend to have much of an impact in IDP leagues that don’t require their presence.

But that doesn’t mean we won’t have any impact rookies this year, it just may take some time to figure out who they are. Here is a look at each position and how relevant the rookies will be in 2013 IDP leagues.

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We’re two weeks into free agency, and things have pretty much been decided on the offensive side of the ball. Mike Wallace is in Miami, Reggie Bush is in Detroit, and Terrell Owens is shockingly still out there. On defense, things are still in a bit of flux. Elvis Dumervil’s contract situation has been well-documented, […]

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If you’re looking for a good way to avoid depression in the month following the Super Bowl, I recommend holding a Winter Meeting for your league. This is a perfect opportunity to meet up with your league-mates, award the championship trophy, and deliver your oft-rehearsed excuse why your team didn’t make the playoffs. (Pro-Tip: If […]

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It’s championship week in most leagues, so there aren’t many roster holes that need to be plugged. There are teams everywhere who rode Adrian Peterson and Drew Brees to the title game, and they aren’t too worried. But there are also teams that got this far on the backs of Russell Wilson, James Jones and […]

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