DE Ryan Pickett's (eventual) replacement?

KManx89

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Hey guys...

I was just wonderin'... since Ryan Pickett's getting up there in age (not to mention he's not so much a pass rusher as he is a run stuffer/guy who absorbs blockers on our D-Line, imagine us having 2 pass-rushing DEs in our 3-4 like the Texans have with J.J. Watt and Antonio Smith or the Ravens with Haloti Ngata and Pernell McPhee to play alongside B.J. Raji and the nightmares that would create for opposing OLs :devilish: ), do we address his replacement in the draft, or do we just hope and pray that Mike Daniels is that guy (kinda like the Ravens hitting the jackpot with McPhee in the 5th round) and address other spots in the first couple rounds (like RB, since I don't expect us to keep Benson beyond this year, or WR if we can't extend Jennings)? Because there's quite a few intriguing DL prospects in next year's draft, some of which might still be available by the end of the 2nd round:

Star Lotuleili, DT/DE, Utah-Barring some divine miracle, there's no way he won't be one of the top 5 picks in the draft (or drafted within the first 10 picks at the very best), but man would our D-Line look awesome with him and the duo of Raji-Worthy.

Jonathan Hankins, DT/DE, Ohio State-He'll probably be gone by the time we're on the board at the end of the 1st round (plus I could definitely see us using a 1st round pick on a S, either LSU's Eric Reid, who'll probably be gone or USC's T.J. McDonald), but would be a hard to pass up if TT continues his BPA philosophy and IF he's still there by the end of the 1st round (and that's a big if). Plus, we could always take Robert Lester or Tony Jefferson in the 2nd round if we plan on going Safety (to address Woodson's future replacement).

William Gholston, DE/DT/OLB, Michigan State-Very versatile guy who can play any of the 3 front 7 positions (and at 6'7, 278 pounds, he would be tough to pass up if he falls into the 2nd round), plus imagine us having both of Michigan State's top defensive lineman (Worthy, of course being the other one). Of course, at 278 pounds, he would have to bulk up a little bit if we were to plug him in as a DE in our 3-4, but man, could you imagine us having a front 7 of Gholston-Raji-Worthy (w/Daniels and Neal in rotation) and then Perry-D.J. Smith-Bishop-Matthews (we'll probably get rid of Hawk after this year since we'll no longer be subject to the cap hit on his salary)? Or we could implement a 3-4/4-3 base hybrid like NE and BAL use and put Perry-Raji-Worthy-Gholston (or Matthews on RDE w/Gholston and Daniels in rotation) on the D-Line on certain downs, so this pick would give us a ton of options. I cream at all the different crazy schemes Capers could implement with this pick.

Jonathan Jenkins-DT/DE, SEC-Another intriguing prospect who could end up falling into the 2nd round, but will he be there when it's our turn to pick? And would we have the leverage to potentially trade-up without giving up too much for him?

Kawann Short, DE, Purdue-Another enticing option who could end up falling into the 2nd round.

Thoughts?
 

HyponGrey

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Take Gholston and Short out. Picket also has the role of back-up NT, he's better at NT than DE. To put it short he's our poor man's Ngata. Everybody but the two mentioned can also slide to the middle. Another guy to look for is Kwame Geathers, the other NT coming out of UGA. He's more physically gifted than Jenkins, but Jenkins has the better technique. Jesse Williams out of Alabama is another of that type. Admittedly I have my eye on Daniel McCullers Junior DT out of Tennessee, just dont know how to grade him. He dropped about 30 lbs from last year leaving him at 6'8 360 lbs with speed in the mid 5 range. We might be able to hold off on Pickett's replacement until his contract is up in 2014, but as far as drafting a DE goes... I have already said this on a different forum but I don't think it wise to draft another DE until CJ Wilson is unseated from the starter job. Wilson is the only man on our DL I would cut (Merling doesn't count because he gets the boot once Neal gets back) but he starts and he starts for a reason. Wilson is starting because right now he is a better player than Worthy and Daniels in the eyes of our coaching staff. Should we get another pure DE we would have to cut Worthy, Daniels, or Neal. If I had to pick I'd send Neal home. We'll see this season if he can shake off the weight of our disappointment over the past few years.
 
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KManx89

KManx89

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^Yahoo Sports lists Picket as our starting LDE, which is partially why I raised the issue. As a backup NT, he's fine, but he's not a starting DE in the NFL, anymore, because all he's good for is run support and freeing up blockers, like I said. If we had a starting LDE who can do all that AND rush the passer, imagine how scary our D-Line would look with Raji and Worthy playing beside him (I know Worthy isn't listed as our starting RDE on the depth chart, but he started last week vs. Chicago and I wouldn't be surprised if he's made the full-time starter at some point).

Oh, and I forgot all about Geathers, that's another one, but here's another guy I really like that I missed earlier:

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The thing is, we have so many needs and potential future needs to address (more so future needs, namely RB, TE, WR, C, S, etc) I don't know how I would tackle the draft if I were TT (which is kinda why I'm not an NFL GM, LOL). Some of the aforementioned DEs might be available as late as the 3rd-4th round, but do we pass him up if one of the better ones fall to us in the 1st or 2nd round in favor of letting other big need picks go (we could certainly use an early-round RB, WR, TE, or S more than a 1st/2nd rd. DE)? I don't see us keeping Benson beyond this year, so we might have to draft his replacement (Wisconsin's Montee Ball?), I could also see us letting Finley go to make cap room for Jennings, Raji, Rodgers and Matthews, so drafting Tyler Eiffert isn't out of the question (or maybe we try and keep Finley for one more year [he's currently signed to a 2 year deal if I'm not mistaken] and draft Eiffert, and give us a scary 2 TE set), the thing is, though, I don't see him lasting past the end of the 1st round or early part of the 2nd round at best (sort of like Coby Fleener, a borderline 1st round talent taken early in the 2nd by the Colts), and Atlanta, who'll most likely be picking before us (barring a fluke) might use their 1st round pick on him to draft Tony Gonzalez' replacement.

WR is another potential position of need with the uncertainty of Jennings' contract (do we keep Jennings and risk losing one of Matthews, Raji, or Rodgers?), and even IF we manage to keep Jennings around and still be in good hands cap-wise for extending our big 3 next year (doubtful), Driver won't be sticking around much longer (though Cobb could be a suitable replacement for him). I could definitely see us drafting Jennings replacement in the draft, the only question is, when and with who? If Justin Hunter (viable replacement for Jennings) is still on the board at the end of the 1st round, do we risk losing out on him in the 2nd round by letting him fall (IOW, do we address one of our other needs/future needs in the 1st and just hope he falls to us at the end of the 2nd round)? Another grey area.

Drafting a C to replace Saturday is also a possibility, but I could see us desperately trying to get him to stick around one more year and then use our 2014 1st rounder to replace him. Same with possibly drafting Woodson's replacement/Safety.
 

HyponGrey

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^Yahoo Sports lists Picket as our starting LDE, which is partially why I raised the issue. As a backup NT, he's fine, but he's not a starting DE in the NFL, anymore, because all he's good for is run support and freeing up blockers, like I said. If we had a starting LDE who can do all that AND rush the passer, imagine how scary our D-Line would look with Raji and Worthy playing beside him (I know Worthy isn't listed as our starting RDE on the depth chart, but he started last week vs. Chicago and I wouldn't be surprised if he's made the full-time starter at some point).

Oh, and I forgot all about Geathers, that's another one, but here's another guy I really like that I missed earlier: Bjoern Werner
The thing is, we have so many needs and potential future needs to address (more so future needs, namely RB, TE, WR, C, S, etc) I don't know how I would tackle the draft if I were TT (which is kinda why I'm not an NFL GM, LOL). Some of the aforementioned DEs might be available as late as the 3rd-4th round, but do we pass him up if one of the better ones fall to us in the 1st or 2nd round in favor of letting other big need picks go (we could certainly use an early-round RB, WR, TE, or S more than a 1st/2nd rd. DE)? I don't see us keeping Benson beyond this year, so we might have to draft his replacement (Wisconsin's Montee Ball?), I could also see us letting Finley go to make cap room for Jennings, Raji, Rodgers and Matthews, so drafting Tyler Eiffert isn't out of the question (or maybe we try and keep Finley for one more year [he's currently signed to a 2 year deal if I'm not mistaken] and draft Eiffert, and give us a scary 2 TE set), the thing is, though, I don't see him lasting past the end of the 1st round or early part of the 2nd round at best (sort of like Coby Fleener, a borderline 1st round talent taken early in the 2nd by the Colts), and Atlanta, who'll most likely be picking before us (barring a fluke) might use their 1st round pick on him to draft Tony Gonzalez' replacement.

WR is another potential position of need with the uncertainty of Jennings' contract (do we keep Jennings and risk losing one of Matthews, Raji, or Rodgers?), and even IF we manage to keep Jennings around and still be in good hands cap-wise for extending our big 3 next year (doubtful), Driver won't be sticking around much longer (though Cobb could be a suitable replacement for him). I could definitely see us drafting Jennings replacement in the draft, the only question is, when and with who? If Justin Hunter (viable replacement for Jennings) is still on the board at the end of the 1st round, do we risk losing out on him in the 2nd round by letting him fall (IOW, do we address one of our other needs/future needs in the 1st and just hope he falls to us at the end of the 2nd round)? Another grey area.

Drafting a C to replace Saturday is also a possibility, but I could see us desperately trying to get him to stick around one more year and then use our 2014 1st rounder to replace him. Same with possibly drafting Woodson's replacement/Safety.
Bjoern Werner doesn't fit our system, He plays a 4-3 DE and doesn't project well to LB in our 3-4 system (try to remember the difference, because its a big one). I'd rather have Toilolo (should he come out) or Fauria than Eifert. If WR, Terrence Williams or Justin Hunter (once again if he comes out) would possibly be there at the end of the first, but don't expect RB or WR in the first round, TT is almost guaranteed to trade down in such case, not that we'd have to trade down for Ball: third round, tops. Besides, WR are cheap. Woodson's replacement was at CB. We're already set there. If anything it's still Collins' replacement at S, and I still like McMillian, though I wouldn't necessarily count it out. As for Center, the only guy worth the pick is Barrett Jones, and he'll be long gone.
 
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KManx89

KManx89

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Bjoern Werner doesn't fit our system, He plays a 4-3 DE and doesn't project well to LB in our 3-4 system (try to remember the difference, because its a big one). I'd rather have Toilolo (should he come out) or Fauria than Eifert. If WR, Terrence Williams or Justin Hunter (once again if he comes out) would possibly be there at the end of the first, but don't expect RB or WR in the first round, TT is almost guaranteed to trade down in such case, not that we'd have to trade down for Ball: third round, tops. Besides, WR are cheap. Woodson's replacement was at CB. We're already set there. If anything it's still Collins' replacement at S, and I still like McMillian, though I wouldn't necessarily count it out. As for Center, the only guy worth the pick is Barrett Jones, and he'll be long gone.

I gave Bjoern Werner a mention because I saw a couple mock drafts with him going to the 49ers, and I am well aware that we use a 3-4, where most college DEs play OLB, so there you go. Anyway, Khaled Holmes is an enticing option at C for us, and he might be available at the end of the 2nd round (though there's quite a few teams who need O-Line help, like SD, DAL, CHI, ARI, PHI, TEN, etc, some even in more than one spot [CHI, DAL] so who knows? All of the top O-Line prospects in the draft, like Fluker, Matthews, Jones, Warmack, Holmes, etc might be gone by the end of the 2nd round), I also really like Michigan State RB Le'Veon Bell, he can block, pass protect, catch passes and run, plus, Benson is on IR and just a quick fix for us (I don't see us keeping him beyond this year). Do we use a 1st rounder on him, though, if Eifert is still on the board (the Falcons love him, though, so if we do manage to win the SB and pick last, he may well be gone when it's our turn to pick at #32)? Then again, the Giants made a similar move last year in nabbing David Wilson, another projected 2nd round back with potential 1st round talent, so it could work. Then again, he is now potentially the best RB in the draft with Lattimore's career now likely over, and teams like CIN and NYJ could certainly use a(nother) RB, so who knows? One of them just might pull the trigger and snag him in the 1st. He definitely won't fall past the Bengals in the 2nd round (I think they have the 8th pick in the 2nd round), that's for sure.

Hell, with the way our 2012 defensive class is progressing (Nick Perry, Jerel Worthy, Casey Hayward, Mike Daniels, Jerron McMillian), we could maybe afford to go all offense in the 2013 draft what with all the contracts expiring this year or next (Benson, Saturday, Jennings, Finley, Rodgers).
 

HyponGrey

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I just don't see Bjoern transitioning well to olb. I like Holmes, USC falls apart without him, but not any higher than a 2. Besides, its almost certain we'll get Ferentz because of who he is. I'm actually not fond of Bell. He gets too many carries, shortening his career, and anytime I see a back like him, particularly out of big 10 you have to question whether or not he can hit the gap fast enough to be an nfl back. Randle, Bernard, Taylor, and even Gillislee. are better options IMO.
 

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