You may not have heard, but the NFL draft happened this past weekend.
Pour one out for Mel Kiper's sanity. It's (apparently) gone now.
The first pick of the 2025 draft was a quarterback, and the fall of Colorado's Shedeur Sanders was easily the biggest story of the event (because heaven forbid the TV folks talk about anything else). But the defensive side of the ball was well represented, with Sanders' college teammate Travis Hunter going second overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Abdul Carter going third to the New York Giants.
It's not exactly breaking news that while talent is, of course, critical to the success of a rookie in the NFL (and fantasy football), their landing spot can also be a huge factor. In IDP leagues, it's that much more so. And at no position is that more true than along the defensive line.
Once upon a time, the concern was that an elite young edge rusher would be drafted by a team that ran a 3-4 base defense--resulting in that player being classified by many IDP providers as a linebacker. In today's era of the nickel as the base defense and "True Position," that's no longer a concern--hand in the dirt or not, an edge rusher is an edge rusher.
But land in a spot opposite a star on the other end of the line with a clear path to snaps, and a young defensive lineman can get a sizable boost. Get buried on a depth chart or land in an iffy fit, and the opposite can be equally true--never mind the veteran players who just went from presumed starters to sad pandas.
Here's a look at some of the biggest fantasy winners and losers in IDP leagues from the 2025 NFL Draft along the defensive front--rookies and veterans alike.
And if you're wondering about the linebackers and (shudder) defensive backs, don't worry--we'll get to them soon enough.
Defensive Linemen Winners
EDGE Mykel Williams, San Francisco
Draftniks expected both Williams and Georgia teammate Jalon Walker to go in the first round of this year's draft. But it was a minor upset when it was Williams, and not Walker, who went first at No. 11 overall to the 49ers. However, according to Matt Barrows of The Athletic, the 49ers actually tried to trade up to select the 6-5, 260-pounder. And head coach Kyle Shanahan has already compared Williams to his future batterymate in San Francisco.
"When you first watched Nick (Bosa) at Ohio State--you didn't appreciate him the first time you watched him," Shanahan said. "But the more you watch him, you realize how much of a ninja he is with his hands and hand placement and all that stuff. That's how Mykel grows on you, too. The more you watch him, it's like, 'I knew he was good. But he's a lot better than I thought.'"
The comparisons to Bosa may be a tad premature (ever so slightly), but Williams has everything an NFL team should want in an edge rusher, from size to strength and technique. With Leonard Floyd (who will be making another appearance later in this column) now in Atlanta, Williams will likely start opposite Bosa as a rookie--giving him a legitimate shot to be the No. 1 rookie defensive lineman in 2025.
EDGE Donovan Ezeiruaku, Dallas
Ezeiruaku's senior season at Boston College was outstanding and then some--20 tackles for loss, 16.5 sacks, and a staggering 80 total tackles. Despite that ridiculous collegiate production, the 6-3, 248-pounder lasted until Round 2. Ezeiruaku will begin his professional career opposite Micah Parsons in Dallas, and he told reporters he's looking forward to donning the Star and getting down to work.
"I can't wait to get in the building, get in the locker room, and get to know the guys," he said. "I can't wait to play with guys like Micah Parsons, Osa Odighizuwa, Sam Williams, guys that are over there right now. I think we'll make a pretty good team. I think I'm going to be able to contribute to that room and to that defense. I think I definitely add value with my skill set, my ability, and my willingness to want to get to the ball, stop the run, and pass rush, of course. It'll be really fun to see, and I can't wait to get over there."
Ezeiruaku isn't a flawless prospect. He's widely perceived as an undersized player for his position who needs some time in the weight room lest he be bullied by NFL tackles. But Ezeiruaku was also considered a first-round prospect by more than a few pundits. He's explosive off the edge, and as it happens, he's right about the same size as Parsons--who will ensure that Ezeiruaku's career begins with a whole lot of single-teams.
EDGE Nic Scourton, Carolina
Scourton's 2024 numbers at Texas A&M weren't great--37 total tackles and five sacks. But the season before at Purdue, the 6-3, 257-pounder racked up 10 sacks and 15 tackles for loss. Scourton fell just outside the top-50 overall picks before being selected by the Carolina Panthers, and per Kassidy Hill of the team's website, Scourton heads to Charlotte with no shortage of confidence.
"I think just a resilient guy, you know, coming to the game with great game plans, really good understanding of how to rush and things like that," he said. "I think I'm a very instinctive player, while also being a very smart player, you know, you can see I'm thinking on the field and I think I'm very physical, so I think I'll fit right in. I really don't like to lose, I think it's like almost like, I think it's it's the worst thing in the world. I hate to lose and I think that's just kind of what drives me to get better. (And) I think having a guy like that is very important on every team."
Scourton doesn't have a star opposite him like Williams and Ezeiruaku--Carolina's top-two edge rushers entering the draft were Jadeveon Clowney and D.J. Wonnum. But while that will mean additional attention from opposing blockers, it could also mean Scourton leading all Panthers edge rushers in snaps, and he's got the sort of skill set that translates well to the pros.
Defensive Linemen Losers
EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux, New York Giants
In the long-ago days of 2022, Thibodeaux was the fifth overall pick of the draft, and in his second season, Thibodeaux piled up 50 tackles and 11.5 sacks. Thibodeaux's sack numbers dropped to just 5.5 a year ago. Still, despite that down season and the addition of Penn State's Abdul Carter with the third overall pick in this year's draft, Giants general manager Joe Schoen made it clear that the G-Men are picking up the fifth-year option on the 24-year-old.
"Kayvon is going to be here. We're excited to have him. You can't have enough pass rushers," Schoen said, via the team's website. "Between those guys coming off the edge, Dex (Dexter Lawrence II) in the middle, Nacho (Rakeem Nunez-Roches), Roy Robertson-Harris, I'm excited about the D-line. We added (Jeremiah) Ledbetter, Chauncey Golston. So we're turning the corner where there's some depth at some of these positions, and that will really help us. I'm excited about the group. Again, just -- we're phase 1, so Shane (Bowen) and his staff and Dabs (Brian Daboll) will get together and figure out the creativity of how they're going to utilize the personnel."
Having three high-end edge rushers isn't a bad problem to have for the Giants. But the Giants are going to feel pressure to get Carter on the field after drafting him at No. 3, and the team committed $87.5 million in guarantees to Brian Burns (who had 8.5 sacks in 2024) just one year ago. Unless Thibodeaux gets traded at some point this summer, he's likely to be a highly-paid complementary player this season.
EDGE Leonard Floyd, Atlanta
After amassing 8.5 sacks in his lone season with the San Francisco 49ers last year, Floyd signed a one-year, $10 million deal in free agency with the Falcons. At the time, Floyd, who has 66.5 sacks over nine years with four teams, told reporters he intended to turn around an Atlanta pass rush that was 31st in the NFL in sacks last season.
"That's my goal," Floyd said. "It's always been my goal every season. It is a blessing, and I am going to go out and work hard for it, too. I'm not going to let the opportunity pass me over. I know what's ahead of me, and I'm ready to grab it by the horns."
Apparently, the Falcons had some horn-grabbing of their own planned. In addition to taking Jalon Walker with the 15th overall pick, Atlanta traded its 2026 first-round pick to Los Angeles to get back into Round 1 and draft Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr. Floyd isn't going to completely vanish, and he's had at least 8.5 sacks in five straight seasons. But he also hasn't had 50 tackles in a season since 2022, and his snap count just got hit by Jason Voorhees.
EDGE Jack Sawyer, Pittsburgh
Despite a dominant College Football Playoff run that included the game-winning strip-sack against Texas, Sawyer dropped to the draft's third day, going with the 21st pick of Round 4 to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Being drafted on Day 3 hasn't dampened Sawyer's enthusiasm--he told reporters at his introductory presser that he can't wait to bring his hard-nosed attitude to a team known for just that.
"I try to play the game as physical and as tough as I possibly can," said Sawyer. "Setting an edge and playing the run is all about manhood on manhood. And for me, that's kind of who I am as a guy, as a man. And, I love the storied defenses we've had throughout Pittsburgh and the toughness they play with. And I can't wait to bring a part of that with me."
Sawyer is indeed tough as nails, and former Steelers cornerback Bryant McFadden compared the 6-4, 260-pounder to LaMarr Woodley. But Sawyer is limited athletically and is now stuck behind a pair of established starters on the edge in T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. Unless one of those guys leaves town (and neither is anytime soon), Sawyer's IDP value for the foreseeable future is, well, there ain't any.
Gary Davenport ("The Godfather of IDP") is a two-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Football Writer of the Year. Follow him on Twitter (Can't make him call it X) at @IDPGodfather.
