Our Defense is NOT Loaded; our BACKUPS are weak.

[patfanken]

Ellis starting is a bigger problem than who is the backup.
Ellis has athleticism and that helps him show up sometimes, but he lacks any good LB instincts. He is often out of position in the run game and seems lost in coverage often.
Gibbens was close to beating him out and played almost as many snaps (506 to 491) and we had zero interest in keeping him.
It’s not just LB depth that’s a concern, it’s a starter too, and there doesn’t seem to be anyone to threaten his job this year.

Maybe the reason they kept Ellis while having no apparent interest in Gibby was that they see in Ellis a more athletic ILB who has room to develop into something better moving on. Clearly Ellis was playing better at the end of the year than he was at the beginning. Perhaps they feel in his 2nd year in the defensive system with his speed and athleticism Ellis can be worthy of starting job at least.

All that being said, as of right now, given the state of the roster, I would start looking closely at the top LB's of the 2027 class as our first pick.

 

[Ring 6]

Maybe the reason they kept Ellis while having no apparent interest in Gibby was that they see in Ellis a more athletic ILB who has room to develop into something better moving on. Clearly Ellis was playing better at the end of the year than he was at the beginning. Perhaps they feel in his 2nd year in the defensive system with his speed and athleticism Ellis can be worthy of starting job at least.

All that being said, as of right now, given the state of the roster, I would start looking closely at the top LB's of the 2027 class as our first pick.

I don’t think it’s clear that he was playing better, but he showed up with a few athletic plays. I’d like a LB who can read in run D and have awareness in coverage over a guy who pummels Jackson dart after a 9 yard run.
His playing time didn’t increase later in the year or in the playoffs, he played 45.8% in the SB.
It’s actually very concerning to me that Elliss couldn’t become an every down player and we got rid of the guy he wads splitting with.
He’s been in the league 5 years so I’m not optimistic he can figure it out in year 6.
We survived him last year but it surely would have been a good place to upgrade.