Potential starting D....not bad

[UK Cowboy]

G Hardy
J Brent
T Crawford
D Lawrence

S Lee
R McClain
A Hitchens

Scandrick
(Kevin Johnson)
Wilcox
Church

Maybe Coleman or Ajayi in the 2nd round at RB for the O... add some depth on the DL and secondary in the mid-late rounds. Not bad on paper, IMO

 

[es4m11]

Assuming Dallas can land Johnson, that looks pretty good to me, and much better than recent years. I do think Brandon Carr will be a starter for Dallas, even if we can land a guy like Johnson, at least early on in the year. Ajayi or Coleman in the second would be great -- probably a better chance of Dallas landing Ajayi.

One guy to watch out for in the second round is Damarious Randall. I really think Dallas has their eye on him.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

I still think we get a starter at DT in the draft, even if it's a mid round guy.

 

[jarntt]

I don't totally agree with the "starters" but that's not important as all will play. I agree about them possibly being a pretty good defense. I don't think we are as far off as some think. Also, look how young a lot of those guys are. That's another reason I'm not doing something stupid like go for AP. Defense is young. OL is young. WRs are young. So because Romo and Witten are old we should go all In and focus on the next two years only and ignore the core of talented players this team is putting together? Not me. I think that defensive core could grow into a very good one

 

[UK Cowboy]

I don't totally agree with the "starters" but that's not important as all will play. I agree about them possibly being a pretty good defense. I don't think we are as far off as some think. Also, look how young a lot of those guys are. That's another reason I'm not doing something stupid like go for AP. Defense is young. OL is young. WRs are young. So because Romo and Witten are old we should go all In and focus on the next two years only and ignore the core of talented players this team is putting together? Not me. I think that defensive core could grow into a very good one

The defense still needs a heavy influx from the draft IMO, as Lee's health is a concern and who knows how long Hardy, Brent or McClain will be there. A couple of the ''starters'' could be off, but I think those 11 might log the most PT. Hitchens may back up at WLB and MLB instead of starting on the strong side...as of today, who is it? Wilber maybe? Lawrence may not start, though I think he plays on all pass rush situations. Of the safeties in the draft, Landon Collins is more of a SS type, and most of the FS types are 3rd or 4th rounders from the looks of things, so Wilcox might have the chance to start again next year, and probably should.

 

[DALLAScornhusker]

G Hardy
J Brent
T Crawford
D Lawrence

S Lee
R McClain
A Hitchens

Scandrick
(Kevin Johnson)
Wilcox
Church

Maybe Coleman or Ajayi in the 2nd round at RB for the O... add some depth on the DL and secondary in the mid-late rounds. Not bad on paper, IMO

Someone has to play the negative nancy role here, so here it goes. I still think we have a long ways to go on D. There are still too many who have a tendancy to get hurt, get lost on the field or get in trouble off it.

(Negative but realistic) view of where we are at and where we need to go:
DE, we need one more than you think. I view Hardy as a 1 yr rental (at best) & we lost Selvie and Spencer.
DT, we have a mixed bag, plenty of experience though. Wouldn't hurt to get another guy.
LB, we need two, a mike and sam. You can only count on Lee and McLain for a half a season each, so we'll need a full time backer at some point. Not to knock Lee - but he may be cursed.
CB, we need a Carr replacement, but temper the expectations. Also need to get younger at this position and maybe move on from Claiborne.
S, we need the centerfielder type, but not a shy hitter. They are hard to come by and not typically found on the cheap (low round draft picks).

I think we need to draft a minimum of 5 defenders. Why wait until next year to draft an edge rusher? This is a banner year, take full advantage of it. The type of DT we need can be found later in a draft, but you lower the bar the more you wait. There are a few LB gems in the middle of mocks that I want. Hope we can get them there. I expect us to go fishing for one, just how high of priority it is to the FO remains to be seen. Safety has been in the back seat for so long I don't think it could find its way to the front. I don't expect that to change unless someone bangs on the table.

 

[UK Cowboy]

Someone has to play the negative nancy role here, so here it goes. I still think we have a long ways to go on D. There are still too many who have a tendancy to get hurt, get lost on the field or get in trouble off it.
(Negative but realistic) view of where we are at and where we need to go:
DE, we need one more than you think. I view Hardy as a 1 yr rental (at best) & we lost Selvie and Spencer.
DT, we have a mixed bag, plenty of experience though. Wouldn't hurt to get another guy.
LB, we need two, a mike and sam. You can only count on Lee and McLain for a half a season each, so we'll need a full time backer at some point. Not to knock Lee - but he may be cursed.
CB, we need a Carr replacement, but temper the expectations. Also need to get younger at this position and maybe move on from Claiborne.
S, we need the centerfielder type, but not a shy hitter. They are hard to come by and not typically found on the cheap (low round draft picks).

I think we need to draft a minimum of 5 defenders. Why wait until next year to draft an edge rusher? This is a banner year, take full advantage of it. The type of DT we need can be found later in a draft, but you lower the bar the more you wait. There are a few LB gems in the middle of mocks that I want. Hope we can get them there. I expect us to go fishing for one, just how high of priority it is to the FO remains to be seen. Safety has been in the back seat for so long I don't think it could find its way to the front. I don't expect that to change unless someone bangs on the table.

I don't disagree there's a lot of work to be done, just that the addition of Hardy, resigning McClain, return of Lee, and possible advancement of Crawford, Lawrence, Hitchens and Wilcox make things look much better than a couple of years ago. I mentioned Kevin Johnson, if not him maybe a Jalen Collins or Marcus Peters, I think a stud corner would be a huge help. There are quality LB, DL and FS prospects there in the middle rounds IMO

 

[scotsman1948]

I don't disagree there's a lot of work to be done, just that the addition of Hardy, resigning McClain, return of Lee, and possible advancement of Crawford, Lawrence, Hitchens and Wilcox make things look much better than a couple of years ago. I mentioned Kevin Johnson, if not him maybe a Jalen Collins or Marcus Peters, I think a stud corner would be a huge help. There are quality LB, DL and FS prospects there in the middle rounds IMO

would like to see them sign at least 2 DL FA's (cheap of course) maybe CJ Mosley DT and a DE (to fill the void depending on how many games we lose Hardy for)

 

[jarntt]

Someone has to play the negative nancy role here, so here it goes. I still think we have a long ways to go on D. There are still too many who have a tendancy to get hurt, get lost on the field or get in trouble off it.

(Negative but realistic) view of where we are at and where we need to go:
DE, we need one more than you think. I view Hardy as a 1 yr rental (at best) & we lost Selvie and Spencer.
DT, we have a mixed bag, plenty of experience though. Wouldn't hurt to get another guy.
LB, we need two, a mike and sam. You can only count on Lee and McLain for a half a season each, so we'll need a full time backer at some point. Not to knock Lee - but he may be cursed.
CB, we need a Carr replacement, but temper the expectations. Also need to get younger at this position and maybe move on from Claiborne.
S, we need the centerfielder type, but not a shy hitter. They are hard to come by and not typically found on the cheap (low round draft picks).

I think we need to draft a minimum of 5 defenders. Why wait until next year to draft an edge rusher? This is a banner year, take full advantage of it. The type of DT we need can be found later in a draft, but you lower the bar the more you wait. There are a few LB gems in the middle of mocks that I want. Hope we can get them there. I expect us to go fishing for one, just how high of priority it is to the FO remains to be seen. Safety has been in the back seat for so long I don't think it could find its way to the front. I don't expect that to change unless someone bangs on the table.

I don't think anyone will say it is a perfect defense and we could probably use another player at each level (and two in the secondary). But we have guys like Mincey and T McClain and a few of the young DL too. We brought in a couple FA LBs and we have a couple younger corners that could grow. Plus, we will be drafting some defensive help. The point isn't that we are a great defense, the point is that after being horrible in 2013 we were decent last year and could be better even than that this year. The arrow is pointing up and we are very young. You can't rebuild a defense in one year, especially when you use most of your first rounders on Offense.

 

[jarntt]

would like to see them sign at least 2 DL FA's (cheap of course) maybe CJ Mosley DT and a DE (to fill the void depending on how many games we lose Hardy for)

I don't think cheap FA DL will make this final roster at this point, but i'm all for competition.

 

[Manster7588]

I don't think cheap FA DL will make this final roster at this point, but i'm all for competition.

Yep, any FA DL signed at this point will be camp fodder. May as well go the UDFA market for them.

 

[Earl Stevens]

Pray for good health.

 

[jarntt]

Pray for good health.

We can talk about all kinds of moves and improvements and strengths, but what you said right there trumps all. We could bring Aaron Rodgers or JJ Watt in on a verteran minimum contract, but if they get hurt they aren't helping us.

 

[scotsman1948]

I don't think cheap FA DL will make this final roster at this point, but i'm all for competition.

don't look at CJ Mosley as camp fodder, he stepped in as a starter for the Lions when Fairley went down and was a rock in their defense for like 7 games. a one year deal at 1.5-2M could pay some dividends

 

[jarntt]

And yet after losing Suh and Fairley Detroit still didn't bring him back? I know there is talk of them switching defenses, but still. Also, he's been around a long time and doesn't penetrate. If someone is going to make this team that is on the wrong side of 30 as a DL I think it will be because he can get some push and I don't really see him as an upgrade at the 1 Tech. But like I said, I'm all for competition and would welcome the move. Bring him in without any guaranteed money and I would be thrilled to have him fight for a spot and some playing time.

 

[scotsman1948]

And yet after losing Suh and Fairley Detroit still didn't bring him back? I know there is talk of them switching defenses, but still. Also, he's been around a long time and doesn't penetrate. If someone is going to make this team that is on the wrong side of 30 as a DL I think it will be because he can get some push and I don't really see him as an upgrade at the 1 Tech. But like I said, I'm all for competition and would welcome the move. Bring him in without any guaranteed money and I would be thrilled to have him fight for a spot and some playing time.

with Marinelli's defense i think he would be a good fit on a 1-year deal

 

[jarntt]

What is it about him that makes you think he would be a good fit in Marinelli's defense?

 

[scotsman1948]

What is it about him that makes you think he would be a good fit in Marinelli's defense?

his motor goes hard every play

 

[PDay8810]

Pray for good health.

there it is....#50 & #55 for sure

I think the defense remains a work in progress with 3 or 4 additional contributors required to become close to a top end group. I stood on my soap box this time last year thinking that group wasn't as butt ugly as some of the faithful around here were sure of and I expect improve over last years effort.

baby steps