Related: 5 Late-Round Defensive Linemen To Target
Related: 5 Late-Round Linebackers To Target
After covering linebackers and defensive linemen, it is time to really go deep in drafts. The defensive back position is the position faded most by fantasy managers due to the plethora of available players and the scoring, or lack thereof, from the position. Finding late-round gems at the position can mean gold for your IDP rosters because it allows you to load up at all the other positions. We are going to look at some defensive back prospects with an ADP all higher than DB50. This ADP is courtesy of The IDP Show and is pulled from paid best ball drafts (40 and counting) that began in January. Here are five late-round defensive backs to target.
Jordan Fuller, Los Angeles Rams - DB67
Fuller is just two seasons removed from a 113-tackle season. He came out of nowhere, likely scooped off of waivers, to produce numerous DB1 finishes. A hamstring injury limited Fuller to just four games in 2022, thus again taking him off of IDP radars. The Rams still have complete confidence in him. They lost Nick Scott and Taylor Rapp to free agency and virtually added nothing. Add the fact that the Rams lost Bobby Wagner and did not replace him with anything, and tackle opportunities should be plentiful for the strong safety. Fuller could easily approach the 100-tackle mark again, making him a surefire DB1 being drafted out of the top 50.
Quandre Diggs, Seattle Seahawks - DB94
Diggs is a playmaking machine in the secondary. He has 23 career interceptions, including 14 in the past three seasons since he came to Seattle. His hands are always active and attacking the ball, as shown by his 24 passes defended during that same span. Diggs is one of the better coverage safeties in the league, and his 2022 grades were phenomenal. He allowed just a 47.6% reception rate when targeted in 2022 and a QBR of just 60.7.
Diggs also adds solid tackling from the free safety position. During his three seasons in Seattle, he has averaged 76 tackles per season. Now the Seahawks went and signed Julian Love this offseason, who led the Giants in tackles in 2022. Love does not have the playmaking ability of Diggs. The addition is probably more insurance for if Jamal Adams is not healthy or to challenge Coby Bryant in the slot. Either way, Diggs, as the DB94, makes him a top late-round defensive back to target.
Marcus Epps, Las Vegas Raiders - DB101
The Raiders are desperate for an efficient tackling strong safety after the wasted 1st Round pick on Jonathan Abram a few years back. not only have they been missing that, but the inside linebacker group is suspect at best. Divine Deablo was a tackle monster, but he has not put a full season together starting yet, and free agent addition Robert Spillane was efficient in small doses with the Steelers. Enter Marcus Epps.
He has received a tackle grade of 81.0 or higher per PFF over the past two seasons. Epps is coming off of a career year in 2022, his first year as a full-time starter. He racked up 92 tackles and five passes defended, earning himself a two-year and $12 million contract with the Raiders with $10 million guaranteed. This is legitimate starter money for the secondary. There is a legitimate possibility that Epps paces the team in tackles behind Deablo. At DB101, he is a great late-round defensive back target.
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