5 Late-Round Defensive Backs To Target

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.

Jimmie Ward, Houston Texans - DB118

As a 49ers stan, I cannot express enough love for how good Ward is as a football player. He has not always been great for IDP purposes, but when he was on the field, you could always trust that he was always playing well. At the moment, he is slated as the Texans's starting strong safety. This is telling two things if the depth chart stays this way. Firstly, Demeco Ryans has nothing but trust in Ward's ability to finish tackles. For his career, Ward holds a 77.04 run defense grade and a. 81.53 tackle grade per PFF.

Secondly, it shows that Ryans may have some worries about all of Jalen Pirtre's missed tackles in 2022. As a rookie, Pitre was phenomenal for IDP squads but not so great for the Texans. He had more missed tackles (36) than assisted tackles (34) at a missed tackle rate of 20.3%. Ward holds a missed tackle rate of just 4.9% in his CAREER. With a lackluster linebacker group, Ward could be tasked with some box duties while Pitre drops as a playmaker in coverage more.

Camryn Bynum, Minnesota Vikings - DB133

Lewis Cine is being drafted like he already won the starting strong safety job from Bynum. Cine is being drafted as the DB56, while Bynum is at DB133. That is absurd. Cine has barely seen any time on the field, and Bynum was not all that bad in 2022. Currently, Bynum is the incumbent starter, and there has been nothing to say that he has lost the job. He produced an 80.1 tackle grade in each of the past two seasons and grades of 79.2 and 74.1 in run defense per PFF as well.

Bynum produced well with 80 tackles, two fumble recoveries, six passes defended, and two interceptions in 2022. To say that Cine will easily win the job over Bynum, he is being drafted as so, is almost blasphemous, and Bynum could be a huge steal at DB133.

Final Thoughts

When drafting defensive backs, it is where you should look for late-round value the most. It is the deepest position, as well as the position with the least amount of value. These defensive backs show just how little the drop-off is in value and ADP. You could probably land all of these players, maybe not Fuller, but the other four as your final picks in your drafts. Good luck in 2023, and thank you for reading.