DL Preview & Discussion thread

[georgiafan]

Present

This is another position where we dont know a single rating but we do know that it will a low rated group and the weakest of the defense. The titans run a 3-4 but of course will need 4 quality starters when it goes to a nickle. This is a position where a free agent could be signed to add depth.

The headliner of the group is Jurrell Casey and prob the only player with a rating in the 80's of the unit . He will likely play outside in the base defense and slide inside in nickle and dime formations. Last year Casey has 68 tackles and 5 sacks and has 21 in 5 years. Sammie lee hill will play the nose guard spot at 6'4 328'pounds. The other expected started at DE is 2014 4th round pick Daquan Jones who had basically no production last year. Another vet that will be in the mix is Karl Krug who has 14.5 career sacks.Angelo Blackston will be a rookie after being a 4th round pick from auburn who stands at 6'4 318 pounds and will see some playing time.

Two more udfa who will fight for roster spots are two former Georgia Bulldogs Derrick Lott and Toby Johnson. 30 year old Ropati Pitoitua defenitly has the size at 6'8 295 pounds. Mike Martin is undersized and a former 3rd round pick. Al Woods a former LSU tiger played in 16 games last year and will likely backup Sammie lee hill.

If the fails to get to the QB and generate a pass rush one of the OLB like Derrick Morgan could be moved to DE on 3rd down.


Future
Jurrell Casey is only 25 years old so he should be around for a while as well as the 22 year old rookie Blackson. The age of the other players isn't the question it's the talent. The one player that could make building a championship caliber DL much easier is Daquan Jones it's his 2nd year and he must produce or he will be replaced in the offseason. Some more talent is needing but it likely come from mid rounds and free agency.


The star - Jurrell Casey
The unknown - Daquan Jones
Start packing your bags - Mike Martin
Offseason priority - mild

 

[georgiafan]

Final 2015 stats​

Ropati Pitoitua - 18 tackles, 7 TFL, 2 sacks
Jurrell Casey - 30 tackles, 10 TFL, 4.5 sacks
Al Woods - 12 tackles, 4 TFL, 2 sacks

Thoughts - This was one of the biggest surprises of the year as the DL was part of the reason we finished 4th in the NFL in rushing yards. You don't count on DL in a 3-4 getting sacks but still the starting lineup was able to get 8.5 as a unit which is good enough. Casey is still the star of the group a rating well in the 90's by now. Both of the DT Woods and Sammie Lee Hill and one of them is expected back on a cheap deal

Grade B+

 

[georgiafan]

2016 DL Preview​

The titans run a 3-4 base defense and when they go to there base nickel only have 2 DL so with 9 currently on the roster several cuts will have to be made in the coming days.

Jurrell Casey (94 ovr) is still the anchor of the DL and he will lock down of the DE spots but he could have two new starters beside him. DT Steve Mclendon (86 ovr) was signed 2 a 2 year deal from the steelers and he should be a improvement over Al Woods and Sammi Lee Hill who are still FA's. The other DE spot is where it gets muddled as 3 FA's was all brought in this offseason on cheap deals Jared Odrick (80 ovr), Ahtya Rubin (81 ovr) and Red Bryant (80 ovr) also last years starter Ropati Pitoitua (79 ovr) is still a solid player. Rubin is expected to backup McClendon at DT and while Red Bryant is a DE he can be a option at DT due to his 6'4 323 lb size.

DE Karl Klug (76 ovr) DT Angelo Blackson (68 ovr)and DE Daquan Jones (76 ovr ) all was on the team last year but only saw limited playing time. Jones is only 24 so that gives him more of a edge on the last roster spot/ While Blackson was a mid round draft pick he doesn't have a special trait and will likely be on the outside looking in. Some interesting cuts will have to be made and they will likely try to keep 6 DL.

 

[georgiafan]

2020 DL Preview​

There is way to much depth on the DL to talk about them all like I did other positions and it not get boring. They are 3 familiar faces back that has helped pave the way for one of the better defense in the NFL over the past few years in Derrick Morgan, Jurrell Casey and Daryll Crawford. All 3 of them excel at block shedding and had between 4 and 6 sacks last year. So now we will look into some of the new faces that have been added to the team.

The front office had Shawn Kelly rated as the 2nd overall player in the draft class and they was shocked he fell to them at pick 29. Most people overlooked him he was listed at OLB. He was a DE all along for the titans and when he made the move his rating jumped up to a 88 overall right away, His block shedding is really low now at 64 and the goal is to get that at 80 by the end of the year. If he does that we project him to have mid 90's rating. Because once he figures that out he is set as he has everything else you need in a elite DE. He has just missed out on a few sacks in the preseason.

2 DE's was signed in FA which now looks like a mistake as there are to many bodies and not enough spots. At the time the team didn't see a DE it liked with the 29th pick as Kelly was long gone in the mock draft. So the plan was to just ignore the position in the draft unless it was in later rounds.

Darius Murphy is a guy at age 26 that's ready to be a starting DE at 6'6 and 274 pounds. The former 17th overall pick by the Patriots was buried on the depth chart very rarely getting the chance to play. He has speed and solid block shedding and both kind of moves. The bad news for him is that he will once again be spending most his time on the bench

Another guy the team is high on his Russell Carroll another former high draft pick by the Texans. He was mis cast as a OLB in the Texans 3-4 defense at 6'7 260 pounds. Most teams overlooked him in FA as they saw the 67 overall rating and didn't realize he had fast development. When he was moved to DE his rating jumped up 10 points and after his 2 sack game against the redskins its jumped up 3 more. He could see some time on running downs in the 4-3 if he keeps up his good play as he has mid 80's block shedding.

Former 2nd round DT Okoye Mason made headlines with a 3 sack game against the bears. Former 1st round DT Victor Woods continues to make plays when he gets the chance to play with his elite combo of strength, size and speed. Danielle Hunter has elite speed as a nickel pass rusher. Mario Edwards is a proven versatile DL that is also on the roster and would start for most teams in the NFL.