Nickel D and the DL (1 Viewer)

[Bri]

If NFL teams play nickel D 70 percent of the time and they claim to be a base 3-4, and intend to draft a DE, do they draft a college 4-3 end or 3-4 end?

When you add in the dime and goalline D, most teams are not even in the 3-4 a lot anymore. 

Nickel DEs are often times the hybrid OLB/DE. Is that due to the difficulty in getting a top DE or best for the position?

 

[BuckeyeChaos]

with all the multiple fronts,  teams are looking either for players that have great situational flexibility (ie play 4-3 DE, 3-4 OLB etc..) or extreme one dimensional use ( pass rush specialist that just comes in on passing downs). this is further complicated by how different coaches scheme what demands they place on the position in their scheme. For fantasy purposes, I think the lack of clarity provides great opportunity and allows you to snag a productive player late in the draft or cheap in FA that others aren't looking at.