I looked at the calendar the other day and was actually surprised to realize that my birthday is coming up at the end of this week. I’ve never been huge on birthday parties or any sort of brouhaha surrounding my age, but I’ve noticed that my lack of concern about my own birthday has gotten even more exaggerated as I get older. A lot of it is the reflection of aging; I loathed the nuisance of holding a birthday party when I was 15, and now -- a decade later -- it’s not much better. I try to tell myself that it's my being selfless and not caring about being self-celebratory, but I'll be honest: it's more about not liking the attention.

If that’s the case, I’m going to be really cranky when I’m 50; that’s for darn sure.

Just as it’s shocking to look up and realize you’re a quarter of a century old, so it is to notice that we’re already halfway through the fantasy football regular season. At this point in the year, teams’ fortunes have already started to be solidified and stratified. There’s still plenty of time for you to make a playoff push or tear down before the end of the season, but this Week 8 midpoint is a fairly defining moment in your fantasy football life.

In Individual Defensive Player (IDP) formats, where there are many more moving parts than just those on the offensive side of the ball, it’s easy to find yourself behind quickly. However, the more players and positions we have, the easier it is to find an advantage on your competition and catch up, as well. There’s no need to fear IDP mid-life crises; we’re here to help you figure out which defensive players will help your fantasy teams going forward.

Which IDP players owned in less than 15% of ESPN leagues will make you feel young again in Week 8 onward?