Jene Bramel
Footballguy
It's summer and I'm distracted and disorganized. There's some things I've been meaning to post and haven't. I'll try to add links when I can, but with redraft season to begin in July, here's some stuff you need to know.
The Colts will be a more aggressive defense, but there were multiple minicamp notes that suggested the primary philosophy would still be Cover-2 related. Good news for the Colts' corners and whomever wins the WLB job. Both OLB jobs are apparently still up for grabs. I've seen notes recently that suggest Freddie Keiaho is likely to be only depth at both OLB positions and that he may be strongly still in the mix at WLB.
There was a note in PFW (Whispers section) this week that suggests that it will remain Daryl Smith in the middle and Justin Durant outside this year. No confirmation anywhere else I've seen. Unless that was a bad typo, it's time to temper the hype on Durant just a little. (This report may be questionable according to Michael Wright.)
I can't remember if I posted this last month, but the Chiefs will apparently use Derrick Johnson at WILB and Zach Thomas at SILB. That's a big deal for Johnson, who may not have Karlos Dansby's range but compares favorably in most other areas. With the mess in the rest of the front seven and the likely well above-average tackle opportunity, Johnson's situation is mirroring that of Channing Crowder in a bunch of ways right now.
There are hints from league insiders that Arizona has scrapped much of its hybrid playbook in favor of a more traditional 3-4. That could be bad news for Darnell Dockett, who might not get as many high leverage DT snaps. It probably won't hurt the ILBs too much, though.
BJ Raji looks like he'll be a defensive end in the Packer 3-4 for now, with Ryan Pickett taking the nose. Raji becomes a very interesting prospect in tackle-heavy leagues at end and should get a big bump on the radar of those in DT-required leagues, especially if your league has already locked in positional designations.
The Colts will be a more aggressive defense, but there were multiple minicamp notes that suggested the primary philosophy would still be Cover-2 related. Good news for the Colts' corners and whomever wins the WLB job. Both OLB jobs are apparently still up for grabs. I've seen notes recently that suggest Freddie Keiaho is likely to be only depth at both OLB positions and that he may be strongly still in the mix at WLB.
There was a note in PFW (Whispers section) this week that suggests that it will remain Daryl Smith in the middle and Justin Durant outside this year. No confirmation anywhere else I've seen. Unless that was a bad typo, it's time to temper the hype on Durant just a little. (This report may be questionable according to Michael Wright.)
I can't remember if I posted this last month, but the Chiefs will apparently use Derrick Johnson at WILB and Zach Thomas at SILB. That's a big deal for Johnson, who may not have Karlos Dansby's range but compares favorably in most other areas. With the mess in the rest of the front seven and the likely well above-average tackle opportunity, Johnson's situation is mirroring that of Channing Crowder in a bunch of ways right now.
There are hints from league insiders that Arizona has scrapped much of its hybrid playbook in favor of a more traditional 3-4. That could be bad news for Darnell Dockett, who might not get as many high leverage DT snaps. It probably won't hurt the ILBs too much, though.
BJ Raji looks like he'll be a defensive end in the Packer 3-4 for now, with Ryan Pickett taking the nose. Raji becomes a very interesting prospect in tackle-heavy leagues at end and should get a big bump on the radar of those in DT-required leagues, especially if your league has already locked in positional designations.
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