Teams across the National Football League recently conducted organized team activities, and while the biggest fantasy story of OTAs may have been the broken foot suffered by New York Giants wide receiver Hakeem Nicks there was plenty of news that could have an impact on the value of several Individual Defensive Players, including a significant injury on the defensive side of the ball as well. That injury was suffered by Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Da'Quan Bowers, who tore his Achilles' tendon while participating in OTAs on May 10th. Some had predicted a breakout sophomore season for Bowers, who started the last six games of 2011 for the Bucs after a knee injury delayed the beginning of his NFL career. Now, with Bowers quite possibly out for the entire season another major injury has decimated Bowers' fantasy value, leaving veteran Michael Bennett as the starter (and a serviceable IDP DL3) at defensive end for at least one more season in Tampa. Baltimore Ravens defensive end Terrell Suggs didn't tear his Achilles' at OTAs, but developments at Ravens OTAs may have shed some light on how the team intends to replace the reigning NFL defensive player of the year, who is out until at least November after suffering the injury while working out in Arizona. When MyFantasyLeague.com released their latest set of positional eligibility changes at the beginning of May veteran Paul Kruger was listed as a linebacker while rookie second-round pick Courtney Upshaw was listed as a defensive end, which would imply that Upshaw would slide into Suggs' "hybrid" role and possess more IDP value. However, Kruger lined up with has hand down at Baltimore's OTAs, while Upshaw was slotted at the SOLB, which would change matters significantly. Granted, this is a fluid situation that could change multiple times between now and opening day. If things hold as they stand today more positional eligibility changes may be in store, and while Kruger's redraft fantasy value would receive a sizable bump as Suggs' replacement Upshaw's short-term IDP value will take a big hit if he stays outside on the strong side of the Ravens' 3-4 defense. That wasn't the only IDP surprise of organized team activities, as Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Juan Castillo pulled an interesting switcheroo at outside linebacker, installing rookie Mychal Kendricks as the first-team strong side linebacker over third-year pro Jamar Chaney, who had 92 tackles for the team in 2011. Given Chaney's ...

The 2011 NFL preseason is in the rearview mirror, and now just a few scant sunsets stand between us and getting down to the nitty-gritty of the 2011 fantasy football campaign. So, as you're counting down the hours to opening night's game, here's an update on some injuries and player news of significant interest to Individual Defensive Players league owners, as well as a quick peek at Thursday's New Orleans Saints-Green Bay Packers tilt from a Start/Sit standpoint. Ladies and gentlemen, let's get it on! The Indianapolis Colts rested a multitude of starters in their preseason finale, among them injured defensive stalwarts Robert Mathis and Antoine Bethea. Mathis is expected to be fine, but the Colts may rotate the defensive end early on to avoid re-aggravating his hamstring injury, leaving Mathis in DL2 territory on opening weekend in a so-so matchup with the Houston Texans. The matchup is a better one for Bethea but his health status is cloudier, and while there have been no reports that Bethea's hamstring could cause him to sit out he played very sparingly in the preseason, so if you have comparable alternatives to the low-end DB1 it's time to explore them, at least for Week 1. We'll start our trip around the linebacker recovery ward in Charlotte, with Carolina Panthers middle linebacker Jon Beason. Beason, who was ranked as high as second overall in my Redraft LB Rankings before Aug. 22, when Beason had surgery on an injured foot, says he intends to play in the season opener against the Arizona Cardinals. The doctors say otherwise, and while the fifth-year pro has yet to miss a start in his career it looks like it will be Dan Connor in the middle for the Panthers in Week 1. Connor will almost certainly leave the field in the nickel in favor of James Anderson and Thomas Davis, however, so he's a deep-league LB3 play at best. The news isn't any better in Denver for Broncos WILL linebacker D.J. Williams, who got a January DUI trial date to go along with the dislocated elbow suffered in Denver's third preseason game, which is expected to sideline him for up to a month. Wesley Woodyard will step into an every down role on the weak side in Williams' stead, and with a tilt against Oakland on tap that should showcase a whole lot of Darren McFadden and Michael Bush. You could do worse than Woodyard as a desperation start at linebacker. Despite a so-so preseason, all indications are that the Philadelphia Eagles intend to roll out rookie Casey Matthews at middle...