Dynasty players are heading into the fantasy football offseason shortly, when fantasy platforms switch over to 2026 following the Super Bowl, which will open up trades for managers looking to get an early start on improving their rosters for next season.
Here, we'll address defensive backs for IDP. Before anyone points out the obvious tenet of not overpaying for defensive backs, let alone targeting any in trades, this is for the IDP managers who want a locked-in weekly starter for the foreseeable future to consider targeting. As far as trading away defensive backs goes, a case can be made for any who performed well in 2025, considering how deep and volatile the position tends to be, but only a few will be highlighted here.
The full list of top IDP scorers, scoring settings, and production versus expected numbers can be found here.
Defensive backs to target via trade
Lathan Ransom, Carolina Panthers
- Highest ideal trade price to acquire (draft picks): Mid-late 2026 fourth-round pick
Several rookie safeties are coming out of this season who could end up delivering in a big way in Year 2, but a personal favorite has to be Ransom, who only started once in 2025 and flashed a lot of IDP potential in his opportunities. Ransom was mostly a part-time player in Carolina’s defense, typically averaging around 20 defensive snaps per game, which kept him off IDP radars for the most part while also keeping his price tag low enough that he shouldn’t cost much to acquire this offseason.
With his 20 snaps per game, Ransom still finished among the 90th percentile at his position in tackles versus expected, making him the only 2025 rookie safety to hit that mark. What’s most impressive about Ransom’s production is that he did this while playing almost exclusively deep safety as a rookie, as was the case with his teammate Nick Scott this season – the player who Ransom is likely to replace in 2026, as Scott is a pending free agent. Because Tre’Von Moehrig is the likely option to play up near the line of scrimmage, Ransom should still find opportunities for IDP, even as a deep safety once he’s in a starting role, potentially this coming season. Considering he has already shown (in a smaller sample) that he can produce in a less-than-ideal IDP role, getting full-time snaps and potentially more favorable alignments from time to time, IDP managers should have him as a potential buy-low option this offseason.
As will be the case with all defensive backs worth targeting on this list, the price should never really be more than an early fourth-round pick, likely making them a throw-in option as part of a larger deal. Ransom is no different, since we’ll always have defensive backs to choose from, but as far as ones to bet on, Ransom is one of the better options.
DeShon Elliott, Pittsburgh Steelers
- Highest ideal trade price to acquire (draft picks): Early 2026 fourth-round pick
Elliott represents the best potential target worth acquiring via trade this offseason, coming off an injury-shortened season. He displayed high-end potential that IDP managers need. If not for Elliott’s injury, he would be very unlikely to make this list as a target to acquire, as he was on overall S1 pace when on the field this season, which has been the norm for him these past two years.
Elliott played just five games, averaging 16.4 points per game, in large part due to elite tackling ability – evidenced by his 2.2 tackles over expected per game, a 99th percentile mark for the position. As a result, Elliott finished among the 87th percentile in tackles versus expected overall and would have been a real threat to lead the entire position if he played the full season. This was also the case last year. In a part-time role, Elliott finished third at the position in this regard despite averaging just 87% of the team’s snaps. After signing an extension in 2025, Elliott’s role became full-time, but he was, unfortunately, too banged up to fulfill those duties this year, which also creates our target window this offseason.
With Elliott locked onto the roster for 2026, IDP managers should expect a healthy box-heavy safety who can more than deliver in the tackle column. An early fourth would be a fine bargaining chip to part with since we’ll be expecting a locked-in weekly IDP starter who can push for top-12 production at his position in 2026.
Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, Arizona Cardinals
- Highest ideal trade price to acquire (draft picks): 2026 fifth-round pick
As was the case with the previously mentioned Lathan Ransom, Taylor-Demerson represents a safety who flashed strong IDP potential in limited opportunities and could now be walking into a larger opportunity in 2026. Depending on whether the team re-signs pending free agent Jalen Thompson, Taylor-Demerson is currently the next man up to play a starting role next to Budda Baker this coming season.
Through his first two seasons, Taylor-Demerson has been among the most effective tacklers at the position, finishing 87th percentile in tackles versus expected as a rookie despite averaging just 65% of the team’s defensive snaps and then 94th percentile this year on just 55% of the snaps. A full-time role in 2026 makes this level of production all the more promising, as Taylor-Demerson probably won't cost much to acquire so getting ahead of his rise in value could prove very profitable this coming season.
Again, like with Ransom, if Taylor-Demerson is even on a roster then trying to include him as a throw-in option in a trade should be good enough. Odds are that he won't be highly rostered and will be someone we can grab when free agency opens up in our dynasty leagues.
Defensive backs to trade away
Geno Stone, Cincinnati Bengals
- Minimum ideal trade return (draft picks): Mid 2026 fifth-round pick
Stone doesn’t bring much name value at all, though he should still be a player we can use in offers to potentially sweeten the pot of a larger deal, coming off a strong IDP season in 2025.
Stone delivered 100 total tackles for the first time in his NFL career after almost exclusively finishing each of his previous seasons as an ineffective tackler for his position. This year, Stone finished among the top 85th percentile in tackles versus expected as the most effective tackler facing the pass this season. Tackles against the pass are the most unstable metric (among many unstable metrics) to trust year-to-year when it comes to safety production. It's just one of many reasons to profit while we still can.
Again, the key to trading Stone is to use him to sweeten the pot of a different trade you’re trying to make this offseason. Ideally, his strong 2025 production will be enticing enough to a potential trade partner that it’ll be enough to help get a deal done.
Kamren Curl, Los Angeles Rams
- Minimum ideal trade return (draft picks): 2026 late fourth-round pick
After a disappointing 2024 season, Curl reinvigorated his IDP value with an elite season, which we’ve come to expect from him since his rookie season. Curl makes for another great sweetener to a larger deal IDP managers may be trying to get done. Curl finished as the overall S2 in 2025.
The instability of safety production is a big part of why we’ll want to move on and potentially sell Curl at the peak of his value, as there will more than likely be another shift among the top IDP scorers at the position next season. Everything went Curl’s way in 2025, racking up a 99th percentile mark in tackles versus expected, despite playing closer to an average rate of snaps in the box, and delivering enough big plays to put him over the top. Curl should be a better IDP option than Stone for those who are unable to move on from him, but ideally, we’ll be able to still find a strong replacement if we can offer him in an accepted deal.
Curl has at least some more IDP value to his name than Stone as well, after several seasons of decent production, especially coming off a year as a locked-in weekly starter. IDP managers making trade offers this season should utilize Curl’s value to help get a deal done, and we’ll find a cheap replacement – potentially one of the players listed in this piece – at a lesser cost to get replacement-worthy production next season.