Originally Posted by Avenger

Hightower is going to end up being one of the best LBs in the NFL, IF McCourty stays at safety a McCourty/Wilson combo looks like it will be really good, with Ebner being the 3rd safety off the bench once he develops. Jelani Jenkins from Florida would be a good rotational piece in the LB corps where we have coverage needs, which would allow us to take Spikes out and slide Hightower or Mayo into the middle and put Jenkins into coverage.

Originally Posted by mayoclinic

There's absolutely no doubt we'e missed some opportunities. Big opportunities, with some prospects on many people's radar. I'm not trying to be the team apologist for that. But there have also been some amazing hits: Gronk, Hernandez, Jones, Solder (he'll be a stud LT for us for a long time), Vollmer (huge hit), McCourty (I believe he's a top DB talent, he just hasn't been used consistently; as a zone CB or a FS he's a Pro Bowl player), Ridley, Mesko. Every team has their hits and misses, and we've had our fair share.

I was very high on some of the guys you mentioned (Lavonte David, Randall Cobb) and on some others who could have had a huge impact (Richard Sherman, Red Bryant). No doubt some of those guys would have helped. I still have high hopes for Vereen, Hightower, Wilson and several others, and I'm not sure they were bad picks. It's too early to judge them. No doubt mistakes were made, but perfection is a very high standard in the draft.

Teams have proven in the NFL that it's not a very big leap from mediocre to very good, or very good to great. We're already very good bordering on great. One good interior pass rusher and/or a stud LDE, a better press/man corner, some more safety help and/or a coverage LB. Any combination of those would probably be enough to push the defense into the category where our team would be great. It's no use crying over spilt milk. Time to go out and address needs and correct some deficiencies.

Originally Posted by patsfaninpa

Sure, try to plug the holes. But, I'm wondering if Belichick is just spread too thin. Coaching, contracts, drafting, trades. I'm assuming we're a 4-3 team for good. We need a dt, de, olb and at least one safety. We have 3 linebackers whom are probably best suited to be mlb's. I just can't wrap my head around that one. I'm inclined to go after a dt or safety first. There is some younger talent at de; Cunningham, Bequette and Francis to compete at LDE. I don't even discount Hightower ending up there. If he's 270, that's too big for lb. He can't run his combine 4.68 now. I'd love to see a forty between him and Spikes. Would be a lot closer than the Spikes haters would like to admit. Hightower at LDE might make a nice hybrid for a 4-3/3-4 mix. He can do both. I don't know what to make of the mess in the secondary. Talib will probably walk. Right back where we started. Right now I'd probably go with Matt Elam and an OLB. Arthur Brown or Khasem Greene. If a good dl prospect available in the second, you take him of course. I'd consider Gerald Hodges in the third then. Defense, defense, defense. Speed, speed, speed. When I see a lot of you guys mocking us Jon Cooper, I start turning greyer and greyer. A rg helps this team about as much as a better long-snapper.

Originally Posted by mayoclinic

If the Pats wanted to move Hightower up to LDE as a hybrid and then draft a guy like Alec Ogletree, that would be an interesting approach. I'd have to give that some thought.

Originally Posted by manxman2601

One of the reasons I liked Hightower last year was because of his ability to rush the QB although I was thinking more as a blitzer. He does have a very good bull rush.

Originally Posted by mayoclinic

There's absolutely no doubt we'e missed some opportunities. Big opportunities, with some prospects on many people's radar. I'm not trying to be the team apologist for that. But there have also been some amazing hits: Gronk, Hernandez, Jones, Solder (he'll be a stud LT for us for a long time), Vollmer (huge hit), McCourty (I believe he's a top DB talent, he just hasn't been used consistently; as a zone CB or a FS he's a Pro Bowl player), Ridley, Mesko. Every team has their hits and misses, and we've had our fair share.

I was very high on some of the guys you mentioned (Lavonte David, Randall Cobb) and on some others who could have had a huge impact (Richard Sherman, Red Bryant). No doubt some of those guys would have helped. I still have high hopes for Vereen, Hightower, Wilson and several others, and I'm not sure they were bad picks. It's too early to judge them. No doubt mistakes were made, but perfection is a very high standard in the draft.

Teams have proven in the NFL that it's not a very big leap from mediocre to very good, or very good to great. We're already very good bordering on great. One good interior pass rusher and/or a stud LDE, a better press/man corner, some more safety help and/or a coverage LB. Any combination of those would probably be enough to push the defense into the category where our team would be great. It's no use crying over spilt milk. Time to go out and address needs and correct some deficiencies.

Originally Posted by mayoclinic

I have to say, much as I'm intrigued by Ansah, if the Pats could somehow figure out a way to land Sheldon Richardson + Alec Ogletree I think they would have all the bases covered for their front 7. At 6'4" 295# Richardson is athletic enough to play outside as a big 4-3 LDE or 3-4 DE, or inside as a pass rushing DT, with Ninkovich, Cunningham, Bequette or Hightower moving up on the edge. And Ogletree has the range and athleticism at LB to complement our other guys. But I expect it would be difficult to land either one of those 2 guys if they come out, much less both of them.