These are both great posts about 2 nuances to IDP that can really improve your ability to find gems that others may miss.
What exactly depends on how much time you are willing to devote, but familiarizing yourself with the types of schemes coaching staff's prefer will pay dividends in the future. Last year OLB vs DE was a big issue with that incoming class. Players like Sweat who had the DE designation now, but were flipped to LB early May - that's why I didn't draft him then but instead traded for him in March. Or players like Josh Allen that were LB pre-draft and flipped to DE sometime in summer - that's why I drafted him then. I thought there was some risk he may not get flipped, but the cost of a 4th round pick was justifiable.
That isn't going to be the case this year - Chase Young is going to Washington where he will be a DE. The next best EDGE guy is not in the same category as the top half dozen or so from last year. But future years will be a completely different story.
MAC_32 explained this one well in one shot. Nothing to add... except maybe a #humblebrag for doing the same with Josh Allen.
I'd take Young 2.01 in that format. You also have it backward with Simmons - you want him listed at S. He's going to get plenty of snaps/assignments as an LB though, so LB points with a S designation is generally the IDP dream. The elders gather around the campfire to spin tales of when Deone Buchanon and Mark Barron carried fantasy teams to championship glory getting 15.5 PPG while listed as DB's. That's actually how this whole position re-assignment mess began and then Khalil Mack came along and threw a can of gasoline on it.
This concept is one we discuss through preseason and into the early portion of the regular season each year. I'll take a stab at unpacking this one a bit more, as Hankmoody is absolutely right that knowing this part can put you in position to really clean up with what I call "cheat points" during the season. Fundamentally, the concept is simple: take advantage of inaccurate positional designation.
In general, a well balance IDP system should have 2 things:
- Positions are fully broken out. DT, DE, LB, S, CB.
- The scoring system should give more points per stat (tackle/sack/TFL/etc.) to those positions that have less opportunity to make those plays in each game. DT scores more per stat than DE. S scores more per stat than LB.
The "cheat points" come into play when you find a player with an inaccurate designation, or a hybrid player that gets a favorable designation.
The favorable designation is what Hank is pointing out with Simmons. If he gets designated as S he will get the extra points per stat. in your scoring system b/c S scores more per stat than LB. So your SS plays the traditional S role but, as a hybrid player, will line up as LB quite a bit, as well, especially in passing situations. This gives them far more opportunity to pile on points that a traditional S would get. Essentially, the S gets LB opportunity all season long and puts up gaudy numbers as a result.
The inaccurate designation can happen another way. It is more common with DT/DE (a DT designation on a guy that will see DE snaps) but happens with S/CB sometimes and is a great way to gain advantage. A good example of this is a DT that gets forced into action as a DE b/c of injury, or a young player takes over a role after a few weeks of good play. My favorite example is 2016 when Kerry Hyder as a rookie was DT8 - because he was getting the extra points per tackle/etc. that a DT earns despite the fact that he was lining up as a DE. Because he was an unknown, and took his DT designation into the start of the season, the positional designation doesn't get changed. There was a similar situation with CB/S last year for the 49ers due to injury at S but the CB, Tarvarius Moore, playing S didn't do much. These types are more often long shots, anyway, but still can have a big impact if they hit.