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Right. But aside from QB, a team isn't defined by one position. A better OL improves a running game for example. A better pass rush improves a secondary. I'm not trying to say that Jamie Collins will be the next Von Miller because that's rather wishful but taking things to the hypothetical level, even if the greatest need is at safety, is not the team helped more by getting an elite pass rusher rather than an average safety (particularly when the safety need is later filled). The "need" at safety in that situation surely becomes subordinate to the "value" of an elite pass rusher.
Collins would have been fine if he'd been ready to play and he was a monster of a cover LB. That's not the case. As for the 'elite' pass rusher theory, he's not one. He's a DE/LB hybrid who might one day become worth something. This isn't a young, rising team with a young QB that can afford to wait on project players taken in round 2. It's an established team that needs to maximize the opportunities while Brady is still at or near the top of the heap.
A good coverage LB has been a need for a while.
I agree, but they didn't draft one. They drafted a DE/LB hybrid who wasn't ready to play either position. The smart play was to sign a cover LB and draft the S.