2023 fantasy football IDP sleepers: Josh Sweat, Denzel Perryman and more
I have a confession to make—I rather dislike the word “sleeper.” Fairly intensely, as a matter of fact.
There isn’t a more overused word in fantasy football. Every year, hundreds of articles are written about “sleepers,” and many of them feature the same players. This is by no means meant as an affront to the analysts who write these articles. But if the same guy appears in two dozen articles, he’s not a “sleeper”— the dude is awake.
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Looking at you, De’Von Achane.
When fantasy analysts talk up “sleepers,” what they are really talking about is simply undervalued players—guys who are falling farther on draft day than they should. Who are flying under the proverbial radar a little. And that happens in IDP leagues just as it does in boring, pointless leagues that don’t feature individual defensive players.
OK, that may have been a little mean.
Unfortunately, ADP for IDP leagues is a bit like the Loch Ness Monster — some folks swear it exists, and occasionally a grainy photo surfaces, but where concrete evidence is concerned there ain’t much.
So, for the purposes of determining these IDP sleepers (hey, people like the term. When in Rome and all that. I surrender.), I went with players who didn’t make my latest list of the top 100 IDPs for 2023 here at The Athletic.
However, just because those players didn’t make the cut in the top 100 players doesn’t mean they can’t make an IDP impact this season.
In fact, some could be the kind of value picks that win leagues.
Josh Sweat, DE, Philadelphia Eagles
The entire Eagles defensive line went bananas last year, piling up a jaw-dropping 70 sacks. Sweat played a part in that explosion—in his fifth season, Sweat set career highs in both total tackles (48) and sacks (11). Per Josh Tolentino of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Sweat said he’s ready to become a defensive leader for the Eagles in 2023.
“It’s pretty much natural to me now,” he said. “I’m just growing into a role other than being a [regular] player. A lot of guys want to hear from me. So, I’m starting to be a little more vocal and taking on that [veteran] role. I’m excited for it.”
Sweat’s numbers last year earned him a DL19 finish in fantasy points per game, but with Brandon Graham not getting any younger, Sweat should see a bump in snaps playing on arguably the best defensive line in football. He’s a great example of the sort of value DL2 that can be had thanks to the added depth afforded by “True Position” in 2023, and there’s a real chance the 26-year-old can crack the top-15 this season.
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Preston Smith, DE, Green Bay Packers
Smith has spent much of his time (eight seasons) in the NFL as an underrated edge-rusher. He doesn’t post gaudy sack numbers (just one double-digit season), but his pressure numbers are annually solid, and Smith is a capable run defender. With that said, the 30-year-old told NFL Total Access that he feels added pressure to take his game to the next level in 2023.
“Well, personally, we feel like last year was one of our best seasons as a defense,” Smith said. “With so much talent on our defense, we know we have to step it up a lot, and knowing we have a young quarterback, we have to be tremendous this year. We have to make sure we step up and do our part to help (Love) to get comfortable out there on the field.”
Smith isn’t a game-changer — he isn’t going to be a top-10 fantasy option come season’s end. But Smith’s 59 total tackles and 8.5 sacks last year quietly landed him just outside or inside the top-25 in fantasy points, depending on scoring system. He’s a great depth add late in IDP drafts, as he’s all but ignored in most of them.
Denzel Perryman, LB, Houston Texans
The linebacker situation in Houston is admittedly a muddied one, with second-year pro Christian Harris the only player who appears certain of an every-down role. But with Christian Kirksey battling a hamstring injury much of camp, free-agent signee Denzel Perryman has staked a claim to the other three-down role in DeMeco Ryans’ defense. The 30-year-old linebacker told reporters that playing for Ryans has given a jolt to his career.
“Just having that mindset, I mean it’s a defensive mindset and he’s a players’ coach, I can say that,” Perryman said. “And he’s been in the same seats that we’ve been in. Literally in the same seats we’ve been in. But, just having a players’ coach in general, I feel like that’s great for the locker room and for the team itself.”
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In the second preseason game, Perryman not only started but made the defensive play calls. It’s not set in stone that will hold, but if it does, we’re talking about a player who eclipsed 100 solos and posted top-10 fantasy numbers in his Pro Bowl season with the Las Vegas Raiders two years ago. There are going to be no shortage of tackle opportunities in Houston in 2023.
Anthony Walker, LB, Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns were absolutely decimated by injuries at linebacker last year, and veteran Anthony Walker was no exception—he made it just 13 tackles and three games into the 2022 campaign before a leg injury ended his season. Per Doc Louallen of the team’s website, Kevin Stefanski said you can’t overestimate the importance that having a healthy Walker back holds for the Browns.
“(His) intangibles are hard to describe, obviously, but his presence is felt really throughout the building, meeting rooms, weight room, on the field,” he said. “He’s a pros pro, and just with his career and what he’s been able to accomplish and plays at a high level and then provides great leadership off the field.”
In three of Walker’s last four seasons preceding 2022, the seventh-year veteran eclipsed 100 total tackles—including a 113-stop effort in his first season in Cleveland that landed him inside the top-25 in fantasy points per game among linebackers. Walker will play an every-down role and make the defensive play-calls in Cleveland again in 2023, and provided he can stay on the field he has the potential to be one of the position’s biggest bargains this season.
Kerby Joseph, S, Detroit Lions
The Lions made quite the overhaul to their safety unit in the offseason, signing free agent Chauncey Gardner-Johnson and drafting Alabama’s Brian Branch in the second round of April’s draft. While Branch has mainly manned the slot, Gardner-Johnson and Kerby Joseph appear locked in as the team’s starting safeties, and head coach Dan Campbell told reporters he believes the former is rubbing off on the latter.
“You just kind of see the growth of (Gardner-Johnson) and Kerby together, and I believe it’s elevating Kerby’s game as well, and so I believe you potentially have a couple of dynamic safeties back there that have versatility, so that’s what we like about having him back there and knowing he can play nickel certainly.”
Joseph showed more than a few flashes as a rookie, topping 80 tackles and intercepting four passes. The roles in Detroit appear set—Branch in the slot, Gardner-Johnson playing deep and Joseph in the box. That’s admittedly an oversimplification given the trio’s versatility, but if Joseph is primarily the box safety, he could easily hit 100 total stops in his second season.
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John Johnson, S, Los Angeles Rams
There was a time not that long ago when John Johnson was one of the top defensive backs in IDP leagues—he topped 100 total tackles twice in four seasons with the Rams. Johnson accomplished that feat again last year with the Browns, but the team made no real effort to re-sign him. Now back with the Rams on a one-year deal, Johnson told the team’s website that it feels like he has come home again.
“This place is very different, it’s unique, it’s a great place to be,” Johnson said. “Just people from top to bottom, it’s just where you want to be. About myself, I learned what type of player I was, what type of systems that I like, that fit me the best, what type of coaching that I need. I think this is the right place to be.”
There’s a reason the Rams brought Johnson back—the safeties were a major question mark for a team that has experienced a ton of turnover defensively in 2023. In his last year with the Rams, Johnson posted 105 total tackles and finished inside the top 25 safeties in fantasy football. The 27-year-old is admittedly a dart-throw. But on a bad team with suspect linebackers where he’ll likely start the ingredients are all there for Johnson to be a surprise IDP standout in 2023.
Gary Davenport (“The Godfather of IDP”) is a two-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Football Writer of the Year. Follow Gary on Twitter at @IDPSharks.
(Top photo: Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Image; in-line of Anthony Walker: Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
