2026 IDP Ranking Tier Breakdown: Linebacker (JULY UPDATE)

Now that my 2026 IDP rankings have been updated, it’s time to update my tiers.

We’re 2 games into the preseason, and IDP fantasy drafts are well underway.

Why tiers?

In IDP, the difference between two players ranked a few spots apart is often minimal. A linebacker ranked 14th and one ranked 18th may project within a handful of fantasy points of each other, and the weekly difference could come down to matchup, game script, tackle crew, snap share, or one splash play.

Tiers help show where the real value gaps are.

The rankings give you the order. The tiers show you where the drop-offs happen.

The goal is not to say the player ranked 27th is dramatically better than the player ranked 31st. The goal is to show when a player belongs in the same value pocket versus when there is a meaningful drop to the next group.

Tiers make the rankings more actionable. They help with draft decisions, trade evaluations, waiver claims, and lineup choices. If you are on the clock and there are still several players left in the same tier, you can address another position or wait for value. If only one player remains before a tier drop, that is the signal to act.

I think there will be some sort of consensus at the top at the linebacker position in 2026. Tier 1 are the linebackers I feel comfortable with drafting earlier than I normally would in mixed draft (rounds 5-7). I expanded the first tier to five linebackers.

I was all in on Carson Schwesinger last season , and my feelings on him haven’t changed. He finished as the DROY, finishing with 156 tackles, 10 TFLs, and 2.5 sacks. I am hoping for the switch in solo/assists this year. As a rookie, he finished as the LB6 in most tackle-heavy formats. The switch to a zone-heavy scheme under Mike Rutenberg should open up more tackle attempts underneath. I am targeting him as my LB1 this season.

I paired Schwesinger with Jack Campbell in a few leagues, and it paid off. Campbell is playing with a freshly inked extension and is the defensive captain. Campbell finished with 165 tackles, 9 TFLs, and 5 sacks the year after recording 131 tackles the year before. I’d like to see a stronger solo-to-assist ratio, but he’s a consistent double-digit tackle machine on a weekly basis. He finished as the LB2 in most formats and he appears to be one of the IDP LBs in fantasy.

If it weren’t for an injury that knocked him out for four games, Blake Cashman might have finished as the LB1. In fact, Cashman was the LB1 in scoring from Week 7 on. He might have carried you to a fantasy title. He recorded fewer than 10 tackles in just two games and finished with an 18.2% tackle rate. If he can put in a full season, he has LB1 upside. Cashman averaged 0.27 pts/snap in 2025.

Roquan Smith gets a new defensive coordinator, but he’s been the case study for consistent linebacker production. 2025 marked his sixth straight season of 130+ tackles, however, his streak of 150+ was broken. Two games cost him tackles, and was on pace for 147. Over the past three seasons, he’s recorded a 14.7% tackle rate and he’s one of the safer bets at the LB position. I envision a return to the top of the mountain as one of the top IDP linebackers.