(04-27-2021, 10:32 AM)Bullseye Wrote:

(04-27-2021, 10:23 AM)TheO-LineMatters Wrote: Where would you play McNeil or Shelvin? They are NT's and don't really factor into the pass rush. Both are really great players, but they are pure run stuffers. We just traded for Malcolm Brown who is exactly the same. You can only play one NT. I just don't know how they fit?

Whether they provide pass rush is besides the point.  To me, even though they are first and foremost run defenders, they can win on run downs.  They can occupy blocks to make the LBs more effective.  That is what I look for mostly in a 3-4 DL.  Any pass rush they can offer besides the occasional pocket push is gravy. 

As a general rule, since we are switching to a 3-4, I believe the NT is the key position to fill.  Marcus Brown can play NT, and you and I both believe Hamilton can too.  But I'd rather overdraft that position to ensure we get it right than to neglect the position and not have anyone who can get the job done.  Without the stud NT, the 3-4 is ineffective. 

Hamilton could move to 3-4 DE and still be effective, and can provide more pass rush than one might think.  A double digit sack guy?  Probably not.  But I think he could get in a guy's face and move him off his spot.

I believe Hamilton will have around 5-6 sacks in a full season which would be very good for a 3-4 DE. We already know he is a good run defender based on his small, but effective time as a starter in 2020. 

If you draft a guy like McNeil or Shelvin and you have Brown and Hamilton in the other starting spots, why did we spend so much on Roy Roberston Harris? If he's not a starter, we have $14 million in dead cap money sitting on the bench in 2021 and $10 million in dead cap space in 2022. This is why I was so against hiring Baalke as GM in the first place. He did this in San Francisco and put them in cap hell.

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