2024 IDP Redraft Rankings – Defensive Tackles

1. DeForest Buckner DT – IND (14), -1 vs. ECR 
Buckner has long been one of the most consistent producers at the DL position – averaging a 42/26/7,5 slash line over the course of his eight-year career. He showed no signs of slowing down last year, so it’s a safe bet that he will continue to produce at a similar level for managers in 2024.

2. Quinnen Williams DT – NYJ (12), +0 vs. ECR Target
Although he set a career high in tackles last season with 62, Williams’ sack total plummeted down to five versus a monster 2022 campaign in which he registered 12 QB takedowns. The good news is his pressure frequency remained fairly consistent year over year, it was just that his pressure to sack conversion rate plummeted from 25% down 10%. This said, we should expect some regression back to the mean and for Williams’ sack levels to rise again. I have him projected for 60 total tackles and 8-9 sacks.

3. Christian Wilkins DT – LV (10), -1 vs. ECR
After two consecutive seasons of monster tackle production (90+ tackles each year), Wilkins production in that category settled back down 65 TT. That was still good for sixth best at his position and he managed to ramp up his sack production to nine, which more than doubled his previous career best. That’s three straight years of fantasy starter production, making him a very reliable draft choice in the DL20-DL30 range.

4. Jeffery Simmons DT – TEN (5), +2 vs. ECR
When healthy, Simmons is typically good for 60 total tackles and 7-8 sacks. This makes him a mid-to-low end DL3 for me.

5. Chris Jones DT – KC (6), -2 vs. ECR 
Jones had his second straight double-digit sack season and set a career high in pressure rate, signaling his sack totals could have been even higher. The biggest issue limiting his value is he’s never been a strong tackle producer (44 TT is his career). That ultimately keeps him restrained to the DL3 tier in standard scoring systems.

6. Justin Madubuike DT – BAL (14), +2 vs. ECR
Madubuike, a former 3rd round pick out of Texas A&M, finally came into his own during his fourth season notching a very impressive 13 sacks from his interior position. Amazingly, he had 11 straight games with at least 0.5 sack. The fact that over his past three seasons combined, he had just eight sacks and his abnormally high 25% pressure to sack conversion rate give me reasons to think we will see a fair amount of regression from him in 2024. This said, he will likely have a difficult time replicating his top 15-20 finish from year ago.

7. Derrick Brown DT – CAR (11), -13 vs. ECR Avoid
Brown’s current average expert ranking is DL22, which is just too high for a player who has never notched more than three sacks in a season. His 103 total tackles is super impressive but that’s a feat he’s highly unlikely to repeat. Even if he does repeat that production, he still would likely fall into the DL25-30 range if his sack totals stay consistent to his historical (2-3).

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