With the 33rd Pick of the 2016 Draft: Clemson DE Kevin Dodd

Johnson's making plays now. He'll be a key guy next year and eventually a starter.

 

We rarely get pressure with 3 anyway, so we don't even play a 3-4 on passing downs. The only diff is we are rushing a LB instead of a DT. The only mystery to a 3-4 is which stays back in coverage and which one rushes. I certainly don't see Dodd as LB in any stretch of the imagination.

Dodd ran a 4.86 at the combine. (MM and DH ran a 4.52)

Average 40 Time
DT 5.06
QB 4.93
TE 4.70
WR 4.48
DE 4.80
RB 4.49
OLB 4.65
MLB 4.76
CB 4.48
FS 4.53
SS 4.55

 

Chandler Jones and Aldon Smith ran roughly the same 40 time. Watt is slower. Are you meaning to tell me they can't make it to the QB?

 

It's tougher for a few guys to play in positions with absolutely no depth or quality than it is for two rookies to start over guys playing at Pro Bowl levels?

 

Those guys have talent.

 

We have him listed as a LB...which means he has to run in coverage. Getting to the QB is only part of the problem. He doesn't seem to do either particularly well.

 

Too much is made of schemes, IMO . Not a single defense in the league stays in their base defense the entire game, especially on obvious passing plays. He's a great edge defender anyway, which is huge for a OLB. There are plenty of pass rushers in 3-4 defenses in the league who never drop into coverage.

 

I said earlier we rush 4 most of the time. The only real difference is we have more LB's on the field at any given time, who can either rush or drop into coverage.

 

He was considered a raw prospect to begin with too

 

Dodd's size is fine. There are other guys playing 3-4 OLB around his size that are doing fine. He is not that much bigger than Morgan and is smaller than Julius Peppers.

Orakpo played 4-3 DE in college but has been in 3-4 in the pros and has stated that he plays much better in a 3-4.

Williamson would be fine in a 4-3 unless it was something like a Tamp-2 style defense.