Pryor and Brace would be bigger than most 4-3 DTs in the league. Hell, they almost would both play the same position the 4-3 DT, that being a Pat Williams-type NT. THAT's the guy that needs to "eat-up blockers," but that's only ONE position on the DL. Theoretically you'd still need a lighter Kevin Williams-type UT to play the 3-technique. His job is not to "eat up blockers," it's to shoot the gap. Pryor would be that guy until a future draft.
See, I think some of us need to adjust our way of thinking when discussing a 4-3 defense. This isn't a 3-4 defense, where you're looking for big guys to "eat up blockers." You're looking for smaller, faster guys who shoot gaps on the DL and LBs who can run around and make plays. If you can't find those players, then you can't run that system.
Who would it hurt in the locker room? My plan would leave basically all FA, rookie, 1st, or 2nd-year players on defense.
Locking up Wilfork would be something good to do, I agree. But there's a lot of people out there who think that the Pats will franchise him this year and let him walk in 2011. There's not that many people who think the Pats will actually spend the money to re-sign him to a long-term deal after this year, as much as you may want that to happen. That's why I'm thinking ahead and getting a pick for him before you lose him, while also adjusting your scheme so that you can absorb his loss, instead of being stuck in a 3-4 without a NT in 2011.
I agree. I'm not so sure the Patriots actually will give Wilfork a deal, but they should. Anything less just says to the players that once your rookie deal is completed, you aren't going to get the money from the Patriots that many NFL players feel they deserve, whether it's justified or not.
Seymour got a lucrative contract, but he's the only one I can think of off the top of my head. He's also a borderline HoF player. Brady is the most underpaid QB in the league. They need to stop being cheap if they want a good team in the future.
As for the rest of the comments, not so sure about how much size matters when it comes to any position. You're right that neither Wilfork or Warren is much of a pass-rushing DT, though Warren has shown flashes of being one when healthy. However, I disagree on the point of whether their job should be to eat up blockers. That's the job of every defensive tackle. That's exactly what they should be doing on running downs. On passing downs, each of these guys getting double-teamed leaves one man on your defensive ends.
These guys aren't too big... Wilfork is certainly massive, but Warren is about the same size as Kevin Williams. Wilfork is also very athletic for someone his size, and playing in a 4-3 might allow both of them to go after the quarterback more than they currently do. On passing downs you could bring in Mike Wright instead of Wilfork if you want to shoot the gaps.
As for the DEs, you're right, we wouldn't be able to sign anyone on the free agent market after extending all the players we need to extend (Wilfork, Bodden, TBC, Brady, etc). I would address it through the draft, since there are some great 4-3 DEs coming out this year. We might not be able to get 2 of them right away, but even having Wilfork, Warren, a good rookie DE, and a JAG would result in a better a defense than we have right now. And with our draft picks next year we could easily pick up another DE or two in the future.
I think TBC is big enough at 260+ lbs to play a pass-rushing role as a defensive end. Ninkovich could play a reserve role. They could also kick Wright or someone else out there to stop the run for one season.
Either way the defense needs a lot of work.