Am I the only one who is, like, super-pumped at the very thought of this? Castillo is like an ideal (attainable) acquisition who can do everything Bill still needs - at a reasonable price.
With Fanene, and (hopefully) Castillo; you have two interior linemen who can put legit pressure on a QB in pass situations out of a 4-man rush. That's huge; especially since our two DEs (Carter and Anderson) might not be back. It's all about the interior rush in this era against elite QBs, no? Well, with Castillo (along with Fanene), we'd have it. Oh, and Castillo is also fully capable of taking on his blocker and occupying his gap against the run. That's the versatility this D needs; and somewhat lacked last year.
Oh, and we clearly want Wilfork in at DT, in the 4-3, on run-downs (if not pass downs too, right?). Well, there is really no overlap. Meaning, there is no need to take either Castillo or Fanene off the field when Wilfork plays. Why? Because Castillo can play the other DT role at a high level. And Fanene is versatile enough to play 4-3 DE (as well as DT). My point is that these guys compliment each other so well. It's a nice fit for Belichick's brand of 4-3 D; that's puts major emphasis on ability to mix two-gap and one-gap responsibilities. Total upgrade over what Bill tried to get out of Shaun Ellis last season at DE; because he couldn't rush the passer for squat. Anderson at DE? Liability against the run. But kicking Fanene out to DE? Well, as of right now we'd have to go with Love. Don't get me wrong, he's quality depth. But I'm not sure if he's the starter. But with Castillo? Yeah, we can play Fanene at DE, and not worry the DT opposite Wilfork. Or we can rest Wilfork and not burn him out. Oh, and with Castillo, Fanene, and Wilfork -- against the pass or the run -- we are still in great shape to defend both. That just wasn't the case last year. Not enough consistency with the different lineups.
So, you want to run the type of 2-gap, 4-3 defense that Belichick likes to run? Well, we can do it with: Castillo at DT, Wilfork at that 1-technique DT position shading the center, and Fanene playing DE. You got three guys who are physically big enough to occupy their gap and stop the run. Oh, and without needing to sub, you can sill get a nice pass rush if the opposing team drops back to pass....even if Carter isn't back to play the weakside 4-3 DE. I think that's very important.
You want Wilfork to rest? Well we'd still have an interior rush that can put legit pressure on the QB. Yeah, guys like Love and Pryor show flashes; but I don't think they are on par with Castillo.
Also, if we want to go back to mixing in a lot of 3-4? Well, we know Wilfork can play NT. But, as it stands right now, both of those other two 3-4 DE sports are pretty questionable. With Castillo? We know this guy can play in a 3-4. He did it in SD. Having two legit 3-4 guys like Wilfork and Castillo, makes it much easier to plug a back-up like Love or Gerrard Warren...or even experiment with Fanene. Can Fanene play the other 3-4 DE role? It's worth a shot, but we still have the aforementioned depth if he cannot. Without Castillo? That depth is being stretched too thin, imo. That's pretty important. Cause right now I really don't see the 3-4 being a legit option for this team. With Castillo? A big hole just got filled.
