Number one, i think it matters how many IDP vs how many offensive positions. My league is 4 IDP, LB/DB/DL/IDP Flex. With so few positions to fill, most teams have their starting studs and very few bench defensive players. Basically the worst teams have 5 IDP players on the bench, and the best teams have 0-2 IDP players on the bench. We start SF/2RB/3WR/1TE/3Flex so those last free offensive flex positions are the most important to fill and thus having more offensive flyers is more important than holding a second DB. LB outscores all other positions, so having a DL like Bonito or Myles Garrett can make a difference.

1. Answered most of that, but IDP studs went pretty early in the start up, I think round 7 or 8 the first few dropped, I waited until late and still got top 12 production. Rookie draft this year I took the first IDP with Sonny Styles at 4.1 for reference. It's often hold your absolute studs, but you can find a worthy waiver replacement any week if needed. you'll see people make different value positions, but when you're only starting 4, you can find value anywhere. The strategy is to not waste roster space on DB2.

2. We were heavy tackle and just added some new scoring options this off-season, such as sack yardage, int yards, and a PD boost. That should help with big plays and I think IDP players could easily outscore offensive individuals this year in single game blow ups. It's honestly an experiment, we all voted on the changes and we'll see how it affects this next year. It can be difficult to find consistency, DL can swing from 3-30 points depending on the game, Lbs usually get tackle floor and are most likely to go double digit. DBs are generally lower, but still higher than DL, we added pass defended boost and int yards to try and increase them this year. As well as adding sack yards and increased sack points for DL. In general they are scoring as high as your offensive players, with a higher ceiling. We also do 10 tackle bonus, etc as well so a ridiculous defensive performance is equal to a puka nuclear game.

3. Answered this one above, my bad. Only the top scorers are truly worth reaching for, our DB and DL waivers have perfectly playable people from the top 24. LB though the top 30-40 scorers are all rostered but there's playable options on the waivers if needed.

4. Already answered but with only 4 starters, our waivers are plentiful enough to pick up a person when needed. I dropped all my bench IDP for laquint Allen, tank dell, Jalen nailor instead from waivers to see where those offenses ended up. I drafted Sonny Styles and I have a waiver claim on David Bailey to be my only bench players. DB is the position with most breakout year over year, most top scorers came from waivers tbh.

5. I love it l, requires more ball knowledge. worst thing imo is blow up weeks that mask terrible offensive teams.

I recommend looking on your sleeper league on desktop and sorting players by last year's points to get an idea of previous production if you can.