All of the changes on the DL, and the expectation that Hatcher comes back healthy is making me think we're moving away from using the first pick on a DL. I knew we needed to fill Bowen and Cofield's spots, but the two recent signees look like upgrades...maybe enough to make the DL less important on draft day.
Been thinking about that too.
Before adding all the new beef up front, I'd been a little nervous at all the predictions of us going for an OLB-type given how overmatched we generally are on the DL. That actually seems a little less troublesome now. Even a little intriguing if I'm being honest.
The thing about the three new bigs up front is they aren't dynamic, pure pass rushers--at least not on an elite level. But they're solid and beefy and apparently eat up blocks well, which can open the door for guys like Kerrigan, Robinson, Murphy ... and maybe, if McLuvin thinks a Ray, Gregory or Beasly are the real deal, a pure havoc-wreaking rush guy.
That could set up a pretty competitive front seven.
If one takes the long view of our rebuild, and doesn't expect to also fully rebuild the secondary and OL in 2015, the thought of going pure pass rusher at #5 suddenly doesn't seem like a wasted luxury.
To me it also means that if McLuvin does not think there's an edge rusher worth of the #5, the option to trade down aggressively if possible, and stockpile youth at other positions of need, is a pretty solid option as well.
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