Quote:You can be a playoff team with good, deep stable of pass rushers and average secondary. Not the other way around. Even Seattle's defense works because of Bennett and Irvin, not just their Legion of Boom. Honestly, a team with a only a great front 7 will normally beat a team with only a great secondary.

 

But DC hasn't shown the ability to find LEO's in Free Agency. Not his fault, they don't often hit the market. Plus they either cost way too much or are over-the-hill/injured when they do.

 

Given the athleticism we want that guy to have, we have to use 1st/2nd round picks to get that style of player. You can try to trade down, but if you cannot and there is LEO type player who would normally be drafted at 13-17 and scouts out well, take him. 

Irvin plays their OTTO/Sam backer position. Cliff Avril is probably who you're thinking about. Bennett is a game wrecker and Avril is their LEO. Those two guys alone blow away anybody we have on the DL.

 

Marks is up there, but as we all know, he's not the same coming off his knee injury. Hopefully he can bounce back to form next season.

 

The scheme they run, as well as us, absolutely requires constant pressure from just the front 4. If you watch their games, when their Defense is rolling, it's because the front 4 is constantly in the QBs face. Having those great players in the secondary definitely help, but this scheme lives and dies by the front 4 horses.

 

With that said, I agree completely about needing more horses along the front 4. We're going to need 2 new LEOs. The thing is, there really isn't anybody who fits that LEO type in the front half of the 1st round. Maybe not even in the whole 1st round.

 

There's far more talented players around where we'll be picking, just to reach on a LEO that high.

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