John Norton ("The Guru") and Gary Davenport ("The Godfather of IDP") are two of the most experienced and knowledgeable IDP analysts in the fantasy football industry. Now that the 2025 iteration of NFL free agency is a few weeks old, The Guru and The Godfather have come together to examine some IDPs whose value has changed the most—for better or for worse.

Walking the Line

The biggest free agent contract awarded to a player switching teams this year was a defensive lineman—Milton Williams got $26 million a season to join the New England Patriots. Which defensive lineman hit the jackpot from an IDP perspective? Who crapped out?

Not that kind of…come on, people.

Guru: Let me open by saying don't be shocked if Milton Williams becomes a fantasy factor with his new team. He's a better player than many realize, but he was stuck behind some elite guys in Philadelphia.

The edge signing I'm most excited about is Azeez Ojulari to the Eagles. He was a second-round pick of the Giants in 2021, showing a great deal of promise as a rookie (29-20-8). His fast start was derailed by injury, and by the time he was fully healthy, Ojulari was stuck behind a couple of proven studs. He got a chance early last year, putting up five sacks over five games as a starter when Kayvon Thibodeaux was banged up. With Josh Sweat moving on, Ojulari is in line for a starting spot in a defensive scheme that has a lot of success getting after the passer. The biggest question is whether he can stay healthy for an entire season.

I'm not sure the move to New England will be horrible for Harold Landry III, but I'm far from confident that it will be a plus. He has been highly productive over his years in Tennessee. That said, anytime a productive player leaves a place that fits his skill set, there is uncertainty. Couple that with the fact that the Patriots' schemes and multi-player rotations have a long history of limiting the numbers of their best defenders. Then factor in New England's league-low of 28 sacks and consider that no one had more than five in 2024. Call me skeptical.

Godfather: I wish I could say I disagreed with the Guru about Landry. But those 28 sacks last year are a glaring number, and as things stand right now, Landry is all but certain to be double-teamed regularly.

Haason Reddick's 2024 season with the New York Jets was a one-sack fiasco, but prior to last year, the veteran had posted at least 11 sacks in four straight years. There isn't a ton around Reddick in Tampa—no Buccaneers edge-rusher had five sacks in 2024. But as recently as 2022, Reddick was a top-five IDP option. Asking for that level of production in 2025 isn't realistic. But there's real rebound potential here—and the possibility of a sneaky-cheap IDP DL2.

When last we saw Josh Sweat, he was wreaking havoc on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX to the tune of 2.5 sacks. But those sacks didn't help Sweat's fantasy managers any more than the DL48 fantasy finish he posted in Philadelphia. The 27-year-old got a fat bag of cash from the Arizona Cardinals, but Sweat has just one 10-sack season in his seven professional seasons and will be the focus of opposing offenses in the desert.

Linebacker Carousel

There hasn't been as much cheddar spread around at linebacker, but there have been a number of fantasy-relevant moves made. Which one had the most positive impact on the player's IDP value? Which was the most negative?

Guru: We still have a long way to go before Week 1, but if the Cardinals fail to make another significant addition at linebacker, Akeem Davis-Gaither could be in line for a big season. In many ways, he is similar to Kyzir White, who held the position last year. Davis-Gaither is rangy, good in coverage, and has plenty of experience. He was the Bengals' third linebacker for the past five seasons. As a Cincinnati homer, I've long thought he could be a productive starter if the opportunity came. We got a glimpse of that when Logan Wilson missed the last six games in 2024. Davis-Gaither stepped in to rack up 58 tackles, 2 turnovers, and two passes defended in those six games.

Who was the last Patriots linebacker to finish in the top 20? If you said Jamie Collins Sr in 2019, move to the head of the class. The last one before Collins was Jerod Mayo in 2012. Robert Spillane has the potential to buck that trend but the reality is, that he goes from a rock-solid situation where he rarely came off the field and was exceptionally consistent in the box scores, to New England where he could play every snap one week and 65% of them in each of the next two. On the positive side, Spillane is the team's best coverage linebacker, so there is hope for a near full-time role.

Godfather: I don't generally just parrot what the Guru said, even when he blatantly steals the guy I was going to talk about. It really is incredibly rude. But there's just no linebacker whose value took a clearer hit than Spillane, even if his bank account most assuredly did not. The Patriots don't exactly crank out IDP-relevant linebackers, and with both Ja'Whaun Bentley and Jahlani Tavai still in Beantown, the esteemed Mr. Norton is spot-on that a 90-plus percent snap share is in no way guaranteed—fat salary or not.

I'll go the Guru one better with a linebacker who has the chance to go from the IDP outhouse to the penthouse with Elandon Roberts. Frankly, it would be something of an upset if the Las Vegas Raiders don't do something at linebacker—Roberts has topped a 60 percent snap share all of zero times since 2016. But Roberts does have a pair of 100-tackle seasons on his NFL resume and is the Raiders' No. 1 linebacker as things stand right now. We saw what Spillane did with that role the past couple of years.

Meat Left on the Bone

Quite a few linebackers have changed teams in free agency, but there's still a fair amount of meat left on that bone. Highlight one linebacker still without a home who could still have a big fantasy impact—and the best place for them to do so.

Guru: There are several good linebackers still looking for jobs. We may not see any of them sign until after the draft, but teams in need will have options. Eric Kendricks has become a rent-a-player late in his career. The guy keeps signing one-year deals and putting up good numbers wherever he calls home. Kendricks was a top-15 linebacker with Dallas last year but, surprisingly, was not invited back. Meanwhile, the Rams are left with a bare cupboard after trading away Ernest Jones IV last year and letting Christian Rozeboom get on the free-agent bus out of town. Right now, Los Angeles is looking at Omar Speights and Nate Landman as their top options. It's a position with a history of quality fantasy value. I could see Kendricks giving us one more top-20 if he lands there.

Godfather: There are still a pair of linebackers available in E.J. Speed and Kyzir White, who were both top-25 fantasy linebackers in 2024. This Browns fan would have been happy to see either sign with Cleveland given the team's uncertainty at the position, but the Browns gotta Brown, so the team signed what's left of Jerome Baker instead. The San Francisco 49ers still have a glaring hole opposite Fred Warner at the position, and either of those veterans landing in Santa Clara would be just about a best-case IDP scenario for Speed or White at this point in free agency.

Defensive Backs on Display

There have been quite a few safeties and cornerbacks who cleaned up in recent weeks—over a half a dozen defensive backs have cashed in for $15 million or more per season. Which defensive back is free agency's biggest winner so far, and whose fantasy value has absorbed the most depressing hit?

Guru: I'll roll with Camryn Bynum to the Colts as my winner. Though admittedly, I'd be more confident if I knew for sure they would play him at strong safety. This guy piled up 94 solo stops and five turnovers in 2023. That was in a Vikings defense that played three safeties on virtually every snap. The new coaching staff and scheme changed his role and put him in a rotation last year, cutting Bynum's solo tackle total nearly in half. Nick Cross had the second most combined stops among safeties in 2024 at 86 solos and 59 assists. Most of that damage came as the team's strong safety. Last summer, the coaching staff made it clear that they preferred Cross to work as the deep man. If they still believe that is his best fit, Bynum would be the box safety on the defense that was credited with the most tackles in the league in 2025.

With a move to strong safety, Tre'von Moehrig became a major fantasy factor in his fourth pro season. The emergence of Panthers' rookie Demani Richardson at strong safety in 2024 likely means a move back to the centerfield role for Moehrig this year. Xavier Woods put up good numbers as the Panthers free safety last season, so this doesn't necessarily mean Moehrig's value will be ruined. However, I believe that much of Woods' success resulted from the struggles at the linebacker level.

Godfather: Really, dude? Moehrig? Can I not have one lousy offseason column without you jacking my guys? Not one?

That's just harsh.

I guess I'll highlight my (second) loser first in new Broncos safety Talanoa Hufanga. As good as the 26-year-old was in his All-Pro season of 2022, it was still a bit surprising to see Denver give Hufanga $13 million a season after he missed 17 games over the past two seasons. The even bigger IDP concern than his durability is the presence of Brandon Jones—after Jones tallied a career-high 115 total tackles last year, he'll probably stay at box safety, relegating Hufanga to playing farther away from the line of scrimmage.

Will Harris is hardly a name that many IDP managers will be focused on as we move into draft season—he has topped 75 total tackles just once in six seasons. But when the Washington Commanders signed Harris as a discount replacement for the departed Jeremy Chinn, it created the possibility of a cheaply-available fantasy DB2. Harris is a capable NFL player—if he retains the starting box safety role Harris is going to land on a lot of my teams in the late rounds this summer.

This and That

We'll go Dealer's Choice for this last one. Identify one (or even two if you're feeling froggy) player whose fantasy value has been most impacted by free agency—for better or worse. Or just rant about someone. That's always fun.

Guru: When you say "impacted by free agency", I start thinking about guys who will have an opportunity because someone moved on. E.J. Speed has not yet signed, so there is still a chance he could return to the Colts. If he does not and the team doesn't sign or draft another good player, Jaylon Carlies would be in line for the weak-side linebacker job. This position has been a goldmine of IDP value over the last several years. In 2024, Speed's 93 solo stops were fourth among backers and carried him to a top-15 finish.

I'll leap and throw out one more. With Joey Bosa gone, the path is clear for Tuli Tuipulotu to take over as the starting edge for the Chargers. He's been the third man in the rotation since being picked in round two in 2023. With Bosa battling injuries over the last two seasons, Tuipulotu has seen plenty of action and has not disappointed. With 63 tackles, 32 assists, 12 sacks (8 last year), and 4 turnovers in two seasons, he is ready to step up.

Godfather: Before I go any farther, a caveat that should have been mentioned earlier. Yes, a lot has changed over the past few weeks. But it's just the tip of the IDP iceberg. The draft is still to come. So is a post-draft round of free agency. It's fine to be excited about a player whose fantasy fortunes appear to have changed for the better.

Just know that those appearances can be deceiving.

With that said, it appears that the long-rumored season of Cody Barton may finally be here. Barton got a surprising $7 million a season from the Tennessee Titans, where he has a clear path to a three-down role and probably defensive play-calling duties. The Titans are a complete unknown offensively at this point, which likely means the Tennessee defense is going to be on the field quite a bit. Barton had 136 total stops and was a top-20 fantasy option in Seattle in 2022. He looks headed toward an even better 2025 campaign.

John Norton (The Guru) and Gary Davenport (The Godfather of IDP) have over 45 combined years of IDP experience. Follow John on Twitter (still not calling it X, so there) at @JohnPNorton and Gary at @IDPSharks.