Regarding my defensive line philosophy, I love guys with length who know how to use their hands. Good pass rush moves is essential if a defensive lineman expects me to like him. The great thing about guys who know how to use their hands is that they can shed blocks against anyone. You rarely see a bull rush beat a tackle, and there isn't enough room to use a speed rush to create pressure from the inside. But a good swim move? That can beat anyone, guard or tackle alike. And that give a team amazing potential to wreak havoc with defensive line stunts and twists, because guys who use their hands well can overwhelm and lineman.
Another great thing about good hand usage is that it takes the opposing lineman's strength and athleticism out of the equation. The only thing that beats good hands usage is long arms, solid flexibility, and excellent fundamentals.
The last, and maybe most important, thing about terrific hand usage is that it allows a player to play high while shedding blocks. They say the low man wins in football. They are right when they say this. But hand usage the one way where a player can get penetration while playing very high (you are supposed to play high to use a pass rush move), and the great thing about that is that, although staying low usually helps create penetration, playing high means that you can see the play happening in front of you. If you are playing high, you always have a much better view of the ball and are less commonly out of position.
For those of you who don't really know much about pass rush moves, pass rush moves depend on being able to control the arms of the opposing lineman. For example, a rip move consists of grabbing and practically throwing the elbow of the offensive linemen, and then get under that same elbow and gain ideal leverage
The guy who uses his hands better than any player in the NFL is Aldon Smith. His long arms and strength allow him to control the arms of opposing linemen, and he dominates during defensive line stunts, because he creates an amazing amount of pressure from the interior of the line for a 260lb guy because of his hand usage. The guy even played a 3 technique defensive tackle in college on obvious passing downs, because his hand usage meant creating pressure from the inside was just as easy as creating pressure from the outside.
Success with hand usage requires length (touch the opposing lineman before he touches you), strength (you need to be able to move the arms of the opposing lineman), other methods to beat the quarterback (can't be completely one dimensional, unless you line up against a different lineman every play, so they can't get a feel for you), and solid fundamentals (you do need to know how to use these pass rush moves)
With that in mind, let's take a look at some of the players I think can/do dominate with their hands for next year's draft class.
1. Kawann Short- it's the only reason he gets 7 sacks per season. Knows how to use the rip move against the run too.
2. David Bass-long arms, advanced fundamentals in this area, quick hands
3. William Gholston- Amazing length, already respectable but unspectacular in fundamentals
4. Devin Taylor-his hand usage isn't that great now, but potential is off the charts here. Crazy strength and length, but never uses pass rush moves
5. Margus Hunt- (see Devin Taylor)
6. Jarvis Jones-everything but length. But very little length
7. Cory Grissom-great hand usage for a nose tackle. One of the most underrated prospects of the draft
8. Cornelius Carradine-quick hands, but fundamentals here need a lot of work. Not experienced, but has potential
9. Johnathan Hankins-hands are active. Does more than just pass rush moves, but will punch linemen in the gut
10. Cornelius Washington-truly underrated player who will be an every 3rd down player in the NFL.
