Where does McDowell fit in?

[seahawksfan234]

I'm somewhat curious about this.

Was reading up on him and watching some film, and in a lot of ways he reminds me of a bigger version of Michael Bennett. Can rush the passer on the edge at his size and is a plus run defender. I'm wondering if they plan on moving Bennett into the interior more frequently on early downs to get McDowell and Clark snaps. I say this mostly because although I believe McDowell can be effective against the run on the edge, on the interior I see him more as a nickel pass rusher.

Inside McDowell seems to struggle with double teams and his pad level needs some work when rushing inside. I think he has the ability to rush the passer on passing downs from the interior, but I'd find him to be a liability against the run. He is great at playing the run on the edge, but I believe he might struggle against it inside.

That being said, we have three edge rushers who would be ahead of him on the depth chart with Bennett, Clark and Avril. So I'm perhaps wondering if they plan on playing Bennett on the interior more frequently on early downs while rotating Clark and McDowell in that edge spot and perhaps having all 4 of them rush the passer on long passing downs.

Although this could just be a move that is looking long-term in the hope to develop McDowell and groom him for a day when Avril/Bennett aren't around or are no longer as effective.

 

[flyerhawk]

I think the Seahawks would love to have an entire line of interchangeable players that can bounce around. I think McDowell fits into that mold. I think we can expect to see him playing multiple spots on the line.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Anywhere... I think that's kind of the point. He's not only a replacement for Michael Bennett if he gets his head on straight, but with Bennett, McDowell, Avril all rushing at once, it starts to get reminiscent of the 2012-13 Hawks when they had McDonald, a healthier Mebane, etc. If you recall, quite often Bennett was shifted inside and Avril/Clemons were on the outside, so I would have to imagine this will happen. If McDowell actually begins to care, he'll learn the technique required to play inside and be Bennett's successor (with more upside than Bennett imo because of the freak physical metrics).

Of course he struggles with double teams. He's relied on pure athletic and physical freak talent at the college level and has ignored developing technique because of his apparent lack of interest in the game based on the fact he took plays off and was not willing to improve/learn those things.

That said, if Seattle can light a fire under him, he fits anywhere in that line on pass rushing downs especially and IMO is a long term solution when Bennett retires.

 

[dude82]

I don't see McDowell's struggle with double teams as being an issue on this team. He won't see many if any double teams with Bennett and Avril on the field, and by the time Bennett and Avril are done here, if the kid is smart, he'll have learned how to handle doubles (on the inside and on the outside) from those two guys and it won't be a weakness in his game anymore. He really couldn't have landed in a much better place to have that particular weakness or asked for a better pair (or trio if you wanna throw Clark in there this early in his career) of teammates to help coach him up on how to turn that weakness into a strength.

 

[Uhsplit]

Yes, let's not forget about Frank Clark. Potential breakout year ahead.

 

[JMR]

We are clearly trying to create a 2013-like situation at DL with the balance of edge rushers, versatile players, and stout run stuffer types and a volume of them that allows for a rotation to maximize effectiveness for 4 quarters. Will be some quality guys from this unit who won't make the team.

 

[MKHawk]

Not counting Michael Bennett's forays to the middle, we haven't had a real pass rushing force on the interior since 2013 (except for about 6 weeks of Jordan Hill at the end of the 2014 regular season). If McDowell can be that this is a home run pick.