The most glaring hole in our team is no longer the O-Line once Runyan signs and now with the acquisation of the 29th pick. The biggest hole now is the NT position for the 3-4. I truly believe Mangini will continue with the defense with our 1st pick. There will be no trading up. It simply comes down to if Mario Williams drops to 4 or not. If Mario slips then we snatch him up and not think twice about it. He is the kind of hybrid player we need on this D. But I truly feel the Saints will select him at #2. Therefore the case for Ngata begins... Running the 3-4 base defense and mixing in the hybrid 4-3 will need lots of flexibility. We have all that already the only position we do not have an answer for in our front 7 is no doubt NT. I would not bank on Pouha becoming an impact starter at NT. He is a part time player in my opinion. I really feel that either Arizona or Oakland will want to trade up for a shot at one of the QB's. And we take their 1st and 2nd givin away a 4th round pick, and we run with it. In that range we will have the chance to select Ngata. He will single handely make our front 7 a solid area and be great for this team. Don't get me wrong I prefer Mario Williams and a NT later in the draft. But remember Mario I feel will be gone by the Saints pick. With the addition of Ngata we will run defenses based on this. Front 3: I really believe Ellis and Roberton will make fine ends in the 3-4, both are good run stoppers and big bodies. Include Ngata into that and they will form a solid 3 all big bodies and will take up lots of blocks for our roaming LB's. Kimo is a nice addition to sub in with DRob and Ellis and teach them both how to play end in the 3-4. Pouha will provide Ngata with a breather from time to time. We could use a little more end depth not to sold on Trevor Johnson playing full time if we deal with an injury. Back 4: Vilma and Hobson will form a nice duo inside. Vilma will have the freedom to roam and with Ellis/DRob/Ngata talking up blocks he will have a better chance to make plays. Hobson is a bit slower but a better player against the run and inside will suit him nice. Barton and Thomas on the outside could work out nicely but we lack depth there. Chatman will be a decent addition but I would feel better about a vet and rookie OLB. We also will need some more inside depth as well. Thomas will be used the way abe should have been. He will stand up on certain downs and be on the end rushing on other downs. This is something to look forward too. The defense that Mangini is installing uses a lot of role players more and sends guys in from all sides and we have the options with the players on our defense. Youth
I think Chatham and Thomas may split time, depending on whether it's a rushing down or not. But unless Thomas proves he can play at the level he was drafted, I think Chatham would start.
ngata is kind of tall for NT, he's better suited to play in the 4-3 he's huge, and athletic for his size, but DT's have a propencity to bust easily lately in the early first round, and usually you want NT's to just hold the line and take on blocks, so they are generally big strong guys with a lower center of gravity (usually not that tall by NFL defensive line standards)...which is why some people here think that robertson might be able to be converted to NT
Well said. Another case against Ngata is that he would try to penetrate and shoot gaps way to much, which is not what a nose tackle is supposed to do. He's not a very motivated player and he gets a bit lazy at times. You need a guy going 150% on every down especially at nose tackle.
Draft strategy AJ Hawk is by far the best linebacker in this draft. With a new 3-4 defense, you know Mangini's looking at this guy. How does this look: AJ Hawk, Vilma, Chathum (sp?), and Barton. You need playmakers at LB in a 3-4, and I'm not all that impressed with Hobson. I think the Jets can land a quality NT in round 2, maybe a Gabe Watson or some other big body to plug in there. I've said it before, but I think CB will definately be addressed in the early rounds if it isn't addressed in FA. Signing Runyan is a huge priority right now, because the Jets have so many holes to fill. Trading up for Leinart would be a mistake, IMO, because we've got the potential to draft some good yound talent with the picks we have
Hawk would play ILB in the 3-4 and OLB in the 4-3 so it would look like this: Barton-Hawk-Vilma-Hobson or it would look like this: Hawk-Vilma-Barton/Hobson
