Good question. Here's the quick answer.....Very Little.
Don't forget Jones is very raw and will probably gets some of Mark Anderson's snaps as a situational pass rusher along with Scott. Don't forget its a long road transitioning from a college DE to be a true 3 down 3-4 OLB in the BB system. Jones is a great prospect, but for this year don't expect him to be more than depth and situational player.
Hightower is more game ready. I see him in a lot of roles. His versatility will be the key to how much he plays. He's a plug and play player, who won't have a set position, but instead will be used at a variety of positions (ILB, OLB, DE) based on match ups and specific game plans on a week to week basis. At worst he's an upgrade on Spikes because of his speed.
Cunningham has proven that he can be a solid guy at setting the edge, and if he's good enough to make the team, there is a role for a guy like that.
As for Ninko, I'm constantly surprise how often people here dismiss him. He just had a year that was every bit as good as what Vrabel produced for most of his years here with NE. You can easily argue that he had a better year than Matthews, yet its ignored over and and over. Ninko is a key player in this defense now, and a tremendous find. The way BB is running people in and out of the D, there are now very few 3 down starters. Ninko was one of them last season, and will be in this one.
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Bottom line: These 2 draft picks add more pure talent to the defense, increases depth, and bodes well for the future. As for an immediate impact, I'm less sure. While I'm confident that the defense is going to show a marked improvement, I think it will happen more because of guys we are getting back off IR (Dowling, Pryor, Carter, Barrett, etc) and the fact that so many of the young players will have another year's experience playing together. That will be a bigger factor in the D's improvement, than the additions of Hightower and Jones (at least for this season), though adding them doesn't hurt.
