When drafting for redraft or best-ball leagues, there are great late-round veteran defensive line targets.
When you are drafting for dynasty fantasy football, you want to make sure that you draft some young and ascending defensive line talent. This ensures that you do not struggle for the foreseeable future, playing fill in the blank on a weekly or year-to-year basis. When it comes to redraft or best ball, age is not a factor and you can bolster your lineup with some late defensive line targets.
I took the liberty of researching some of my favorite veterans at the position. Included is their current IDP Guys ADP, which is for dynasty, though most drafters still shy away from aging veterans in redraft for fear of regression. Let's take a look at my favorite late defensive line targets.
Chandler Jones, Edge, Las Vegas Raiders
2021 Stats: 41 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss, 10.5 sacks, 4 passes defended, 6 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, and 26 QB hits.
Chandler Jones has been an absolute beast for his entire career. He has been in the NFL for 10 years now and has played at least 15 games for seven of those 10. In those seven seasons, Jones has not had less than 41 tackles or 10.5 sacks in any single one. He is also eighth in the league in total sacks since 2019 and he has missed 13 of a potential 49 games with injury.
Most sacks since 2019
TJ Watt - 47
Aaron Donald - 38
Shaquil Barrett - 37.5
Myles Garrett - 37
Trey Hendrickson - 32
Cameron Jordan - 31
Robert Quinn - 30.5
Chandler Jones - 29.5
Joey Bosa - 28.5
Matt Judon - 28— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) January 1, 2022
Jones has 107.5 sacks in 139 career games and has not shown any real signs of slowing down, having an 89.8 pass-rush grade, per Pro Football Focus. He signed with the Raiders this off-season and will be listed as a defensive end instead of a linebacker.
Currently, Jones is being drafted as LB62, 275th overall. This is on Sleeper, though, where he holds duel eligibility. Jones could be an absolute steal for redraft and best ball.
Von Miller, Edge, Los Angeles Rams
2021 Stats: 50 tackles, 19 tackles for a loss, 9.5 sacks, 1 pass defended, 1 forced fumble, and 17 QB hits. (DEN and LAR combined)
Von Miller has been an ironman edge rusher and one of the best all-time at the position. He has only missed 10 games over his 10-year career, and seven of those came in 2013 when he went on season-ending IR. Miller played well in Denver last year in the first seven games of the season but kicked it up to another level when he arrived with the Rams.
He was graded 88.7 overall last year, per Pro Football Focus, and had a 74.9 pass-rushing grade. Miller joined the Bills during the off-season and will join second-year players Gregory Rousseau and Boogie Basham. Miller is currently being drafted LB69, 344th overall. Being drafted that late could pay huge dividends.
Cameron Jordan, Edge, New Orleans Saints
2021 Stats: 59 tackles, 13 tackles for a loss, 12.5 sacks, 6 passes defended, 2 forced fumbles, and 22 QB hits.
Cameron Jordan is one of the most consistent Edge1 players in the NFL. Since 2012, he has not had any less than 41 tackles or 7.5 sacks. For his entire career, Jordan is averaging just under 10 sacks per season. In 2021, he showed little sign of slowing down, finishing ninth in the league in sacks while also being one of the league's top edge run defenders.
Add in Jordan's active hands at the line of scrimmage and it just makes him more attractive. Over his career, he averages five passes defended per season. Jordan's ADP of DL26 is absolutely ludicrous and downright disrespectful for a man who has consistently been a top 10 edge defender.
Markus Golden, Edge, Arizona Cardinals
2021 Stats: 48 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, 11 sacks, 1 pass defended, 4 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, and 19 QB hits.Â
Talk about an edge defender who is completely disrespected. In 2021, Golden finished 11th in the NFL in sacks and fifth in forced fumbles, while posting a PFF pass-rush grade of 72.1, garnering 44 total pressures. What is his ADP you ask? Well, he is going UNDRAFTED! Just two years ago, in 2019, Golden had 72 tackles, 10 sacks, 27 QB hits, and 64 pressures.
He is in the same position he is in again this season as one of, if not the top, edge rushers on the Cardinals roster. In his last two full seasons with the Cardinals, Golden averaged 60 tackles, 11.5 tackles for a loss, 10.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 23 QB hits, and 54 pressures. He is one of the best late defensive line targets that should be on your radar.
Alex Highsmith, Edge, Pittsburgh Steelers
2021 Stats: 74 tackles, 15 tackles for a loss, 6 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 15 QB hits, and 36 pressures.
Highsmith is one of the few disrespected young edge defenders. At just 25 years old, he is paired with probably the top edge rusher in the NFL, T.J. Watt. This allows Highsmith to face much more one-on-one pass-rushing sets, with most of the attention on Watt. Highsmith has averaged a pass-rush grade of 69.85 per PFF.
He crushed his rookie tackle total of 48 in 2021, posting 74 total tackles. That number of tackles as an edge defender is nearing elite status, ranking him fifth among all defensive linemen/edge rushers. Highsmith's ADP is absolutely blasphemous, coming in at LB68. The worst part of that ADP is that it is actually geared toward dynasty leagues. Highsmith is one of my biggest buys this off-season.
Summary
When doing redraft or best ball drafts, these are some great late defensive line targets. The edge class is quite deep. There are plenty of aging veterans that have plenty left in the tank for another strong year. Their ADPs are absolutely crazy but ready for you to take advantage of. Go and load up on other positions. Let your defensive line bring up the rear with all of the old-timers.
Thank you for checking out my article! Follow me on Twitter at @JoeyTheToothIDP, and check out all of my IDP, Devy, and Offensive work on my IDP Guys author page. Stay up to date with the latest breaking news in fantasy football with The IDPGuys!
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