Thankfully we have loads of free agency money and draft picks, but it looks like we also have a few pieces already for a Saleh 4-3? DT Q. Williams, Fatukasi, Shepherd, T. Smart DE Franklin-Myers, Huff, Phillips, Zuniga, [resigned Basham?] LB Mosley, Cashman CB Hall, Austin, [resigned Poole?], Maulet, L. Jackson, Guidry, Ballentine S Maye, A. Davis, Farley
He was a depth signing at the very end of the season. I don’t think he got any playing time, or a few snaps at most.
Pretty sure your interior DLine is quite set. Q, Fatukasi, Shepard, JFM are all apart of the rotation you can use for the DT's. The ends is where it gets interesting. Huff played at Memphis moreso as a hand in the dirt 4-3 end, then kicked inside due to his power. I think you will see him transition to a 4-3 end. Zuniga would now have his hand in the dirt as well, maybe it comes more natural to him then standing up as a 3-4 OLB. I expect Saleh would try to bring over guys like Tartt and Solomon Thomas. Cashman I simply can't rely on anymore. Dude is way too brittle, although he'd be a solid OLB with the speed he possesses. What happens to Hewitt? He's played MLB and with CJ coming back, his spot is not guaranteed. I feel like the OLB corps will see the most change over. I think Poole won't be here, it depends on how Saleh views him and moreso Guidry, who came on as a good slot CB. This is a new regime coming in which will migrate to a 4-3/ aggressive cover 3 defense. I think Hall will shine here as well as Maye. Davis may benefit too but I'd have to see more. I expect a veteran S, CB, and at least 2-3 new LB's to come into the fold.
I sort of doubt Thomas would come over, but I could see Tart and Verrett. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Juszcyk sign here as well.
I think we should resign Basham. Would it be incorrect to say he was our best DE? That's not saying much, but he was productive on the field. We need to more CB depth to make Bless our #3 or lower.
Yes, Smart just got in for 26 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. However, I think he has a chance to stick as our fourth DT. He comes from a smaller school (Tulane), and has some good PFF grades for his limited snaps. The Rams thought enough about him to draft him in the 6th round in 2017, and he had some good pre-draft write ups. This is from Ourlads: 6005 296 5.23. Three-year starter from Baton Rouge, LA. Played in 48 career games. Finished his career with 40.5 tackles for loss. Two-time first-team All-AAC selection. Bowling ball frame with upper tier explosion off the snap. Combine that with his natural low center of gravity and he can be a terror off the ball. Powerful calves and feet. Gets from point A to point B in a blink. Very quick twitched, can make a difference in a phone booth. At his size, his potential impact is simply limited. Struggles to push blockers back and can be locked onto by a bigger, longer blocker. Upper body strength is average and his hand game doesn’t make much of a difference. Overmatched against double teams. Can use his low to the ground frame and initial quickness to his advantage consistently against blockers who have a hard time bending well. He may not be the most physically imposing player on the field, but he can make a difference as a rotational tackle. A hard guy to lock up at times and knows what to do when he is free within the tackle box. 2016 stats: 67 T, 18.5 TFL, 5.5 sacks, 2 QBH, 1 FF. Edge speed:left 2.14, right 1.90. OSR:13/16. Seventh round/PFA. (A-32 3/8, H-9 7/8, BP-22, SS-1.80)."
\ I fully agree with most of this. My one quibble would be that I think we need JFM to come through for us as a pass rushing, strong side end. I notice that Saleh got good play at strong side end out of Kerry Hyder, although Hyder started out at DT and has DT size/speed (6-2, 290, 5.05). In contrast, Franklin-Myers has 4-3 DE size/speed (6-4, 283, 4.72) as well as excellent pass rush quickness and skills. I think Shepherd has shown enough to earn #3 DT duties.
