The regular season is, unfortunately, over. It is time to get your fantasy football angst out or continue celebrating even if you don’t play IDP, defense matters.Â
Whatever side of the fantasy football fortunes you landed this year, if you played IDP formats, you have some players to thank. Even if you weren’t playing IDP, the defensive side of the ball always determines your fantasy fortunes.
Here are the best of the NFL 2022 regular season IDP players. Well, the best secondary and defensive line. And also, the best players to watch out for in the 2023 NFL Draft.
The Secondary’s Best                      Â
The Top 5 Teams With the Lowest QBR
- Cincinnati Bengals…80.1
- New York Jets…80.5
- Philadelphia Eagles…81.6
- Buffalo Bills…82.1
- San Francisco 49ers…82.7
- Houston Texans…82.7
The Top 5 Teams With the Most Interceptions
- Pittsburgh Steelers…20…Interceptions Touchdowns…1
- San Francisco 49ers…20…Interceptions Touchdowns…2
- New England Patriots…19…Interceptions Touchdowns…5
- Buffalo Bills…17…Interceptions Touchdowns…1
- Green Bay Packers…17…Interceptions Touchdowns…2
- Philadelphia Eagles…17…Interceptions Touchdowns…2
NFL 2022 BEST CORNERBACK
Is there any doubt about who was the best cornerback this year? Well, yeah, maybe.
Stats courtesy of Player Profiler
|
NAME |
SNAP % |
SHADOW % |
TARGETS ALLOWED |
TARGET RATE |
ROUTES DEF |
REC ALLOWED |
TDS ALLOWED/ INT |
YARDS/ REC |
PASS DEF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Stephon Gilmore |
85.7% |
55.1% |
4.8/game |
16.2% |
475 |
3.0/game |
3/2 |
11.2 |
10 |
|
Darius Slay |
79.9% |
51.1% |
4.2/g |
13.9% |
510 |
2.4/g |
3/3 |
11.8 |
17 |
|
Patrick Surtain |
86.2% |
47.9% |
4.1/g |
12.4% |
564 |
2.5/g |
3/2 |
10.8 |
12 |
 These three men were good. Gilmore excelled on a bad team, as did Surtain. Slay “slayed” on a good team with excellent pieces around him.
THE WINNER
Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, New York Jets
The rookie lived up to the hype. How good was he in his first season? Glad you asked.
Gardner allowed only nine receptions in 130 coverage snaps in man coverage (per Next Gen Stats), which was good as the second-best for all cornerbacks. He was first in the least yards allowed (65), second in completion percentage allowed (34.6%), and finished the season with 75 total tackles, three tackles for loss, two interceptions, and one quarterback hit.
In Week 7, he was named Defensive Player of the Week.
And he had the highest Pro Football Focus coverage grade (90.2) and the most plays on football (interceptions and pass breakups) for the season.
The consensus Defensive Rookie of the Year is also the year’s best cornerback.
NFL 2022 BEST SAFETY
|
NAME |
SOLO TACKLES |
ASSISTED TACKLES |
SACKS |
TACKLES FOR LOSS |
PASS BREAKUPS |
INTERCEPTIONS |
FANTASY POINTS PER GAME |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Derwin James |
4.6/g |
3.5/g |
4 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
17.2 (2nd) |
|
Justin Simmons |
3.5/g |
2.2/g |
0 |
2 |
6 |
6 |
15.1 |
|
Antoine Winfield |
4.9/g |
1.2/g |
4 |
7 |
1 |
1 |
15.2 |
Sometimes the problem with a good safety (and cornerback) is that the quarterback avoids throwing to his side of the field. The problem with the best safety this year is that he was stuck doing great things on a bad team.
Their loss is our fantasy gain.
THE WINNER
Jalen Pitre, Houston Texans
Pitre excelled this season. It “helped” that the Texans poor offense allowed more time for the defense to be on the field.
Thank you, poor offense, and salute you in the fantasy community, Jalen Pitre.
Pitre finished with 100 solo tackles averaging 5.9 per game with 2.8 assisted tackles per game. He had one sack, was ninth in tackles for loss (5), and first in pass breakups with 10. His five interceptions helped propel him to his 19.1 fantasy points per game—a number we will all take from our defensive players.
The Defensive Line’s Best
Top 5 Teams in Sacks
- Philadelphia Eagles…70
- Kansas City Chiefs…55
- New England Patriots…54
- Dallas Cowboys…54
- Baltimore Ravens…48
- New Orleans Saints…48
DEFENSIVE END
Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers
|
Solo tackles |
Assisted tackles |
Tackles for Loss |
Quarterback Pressures |
Sacks |
Run Stuffs |
Fantasy Points per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
41 |
8 |
18 |
59 |
18 |
7 |
15.3 |
Bosa is at the forefront of the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year. Racist tweets aside, the DPOY award is given to the player who excels on the field. Bosa (post-season excluded) led the NFL with 18.5 sacks and 49 quarterback hits.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Chris Jones, Kansas City Chiefs
|
Solo Tackles |
Assisted Tackles |
Tackles for Loss |
Quarterback Pressures |
Sacks |
Run Stuffs |
Fantasy Points per/game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
29 |
15 |
16 |
40 |
15.5 |
6 |
12.4 |
If you had any doubts Jones was the best defensive tackle in the game, rewatch (if you dare) the AFC Championship game. Jones finished the match-up with four tackles, two sacks and five quarterback hits.
And as you can see by his in-season stats, this was just a day in the office for the best defensive tackle for the 2022 season.
LINEBACKER
Fred Warner, San Francisco 49ers
|
Solo tackles |
Assisted tackles |
Tackles for Loss |
Quarterback Pressures |
Sacks |
Run Stuffs |
Fantasy Points per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
83 |
51 |
5 |
7 |
3 |
10 |
16.9 |
Warner is often overlooked in a defense that boasts Bosa, but there is a valid argument that without Warner, Bosa is lesser.
Warner plays the run, but he also has 10 pass breakups and two interceptions, playing 61% of his defensive snaps in coverage.
Fred Warner has allowed the fewest receptions over expected (-29.7) as the nearest defender since entering the league in 2018 (including playoffs).
Warner allowed just 2 receptions for 8 yards with an INT on 5 targets in the Divisional Round vs the Cowboys.#DALvsSF | #FTTB pic.twitter.com/QWnuQN43oa
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) January 23, 2023
Who’s Got Next?
It is early but is it ever too early? Here are three prospective draft players to watch for the NFL Draft.
Per Pro Football Focus:
Cornerbacks
- Cam Smith, South Carolina
- Kelee Ringo, Georgia
- Jaylon Jones, Texas A&M
Safeties
- Brian Branch, Alabama
- Antonio Johnson, Texas A&M
- Tyler Nubin, Minnesota
Per Walter Football
Defensive Ends
- Will Anderson, Alabama
- Tyree Wilson, Texas Tech
- Myles Murphy, Clemson
Defensive Tackle
- Jalen Carter, Georgia
- Mazi Smith, Michigan
- Zach Pickens, South Carolina
Linebackers
- Trenton Simpson, Clemson
- Drew Sanders, Arkansas
- Noah Sewell, Oregon
Simply The Best
I’m watching the NFC Championship game and learning that narratives are only good until the first kickoff. The 49ers’ stout run defense has surrendered three rushing touchdowns in the first half!
What does this have to do (besides me tilting) with IDP superlatives and potential future greats?
Just that no one knows what will happen until it happens, so keep reading Razzball, and we will try to get you closer to being the best you can be without all the tilt.
