If the Steelers elect to go back to a 4-3 defense....

..this upcoming draft is loaded with high grade DE's who can flat out go get the QB.


[LIST=1][*]Bjoern Werner 6-3, 260 Florida State[*]Sam Montgmoery 6-5, 260 LSU[*]Damontre Moore 6-3, 250 Texas A&M[*]Barkevious Mingo 6-4, 240 LSU[*]Jackson Jeffcoat 6-5, 245 Texas[*]Alex Okafor 6-5, 265 Texas[*]Dion Jordan 6-4, 245 Oregon[*]Corey Lemonier 6-3, 245 Auburn[/LIST]


By the way, these are not my the rankings. This is from gbnreport.com. Many of these guys could also play 3-4 OLB. This upcoming draft has the potential to be a huge one for the defensive side of the ball. Blue chippers abound.

Jackson Jeffcoat is injured but still could declare fro the upcoming draft.

[QUOTE=Dee Dub;530622]..this upcoming draft is loaded with high grade DE's who can flat out go get the QB.


[LIST=1][*]Bjoern Werner 6-3, 260 Florida State[*]Sam Montgmoery 6-5, 260 LSU[*]Damontre Moore 6-3, 250 Texas A&M[*]Barkevious Mingo 6-4, 240 LSU[*]Jackson Jeffcoat 6-5, 245 Texas[*]Alex Okafor 6-5, 265 Texas[*]Dion Jordan 6-4, 245 Oregon[*]Corey Lemonier 6-3, 245 Auburn[/LIST]


By the way, these are not my the rankings. This is from gbnreport.com. Many of these guys could also play 3-4 OLB. This upcoming draft has the potential to be a huge one for the defensive side of the ball. Blue chippers abound.

Jackson Jeffcoat is injured but still could declare fro the upcoming draft.[/QUOTE]

These guys seem awfully light for defensive ends.

[QUOTE=ikestops85;530684]These guys seem awfully light for defensive ends.[/QUOTE]

Michael Strahan was around 255. Jason Taylor was about 244. Dumerville is around 260. Jason Pierre Paul is about 275. These guys are all in the range coming out of college. They will easily put on 10-20lbs as part of an NFL training program.

The depth of the talent pool is one of the reasons I prefer the 4-3. It opens us up to guys we may not look at "fitting" in the 3-4 and we would still not have the risk of will the conversion work to OLB.

[QUOTE=Oviedo;530685]Michael Strahan was around 255. Jason Taylor was about 244. Dumerville is around 260. Jason Pierre Paul is about 275. These guys are all in the range coming out of college. They will easily put on 10-20lbs as part of an NFL training program.

The depth of the talent pool is one of the reasons I prefer the 4-3. It opens us up to guys we may not look at "fitting" in the 3-4 and we would still not have the risk of will the conversion work to OLB.[/QUOTE]

The are also all (with the possible exception of Werner) excellent 3-4 OLB conversion players. Add Jarvis Jones too who is a good 3-4 OLB.

I get your point about the 3-4 being a longer conversion and the 4-3 being easier to plug players in. But, if Butler is the man next year or LeBeau is back, I believe we will stay with a 3-4.

[QUOTE=steelblood;530687]The are also all (with the possible exception of Werner) excellent 3-4 OLB conversion players. Add Jarvis Jones too who is a good 3-4 OLB.

I get your point about the 3-4 being a longer conversion and the 4-3 being easier to plug players in. But, if Butler is the man next year or LeBeau is back, I believe we will stay with a 3-4.[/QUOTE]

I think the odds are you are right but I still don't like the risk that comes with converting DEs to OLB and the time it takes.

[QUOTE=Oviedo;530685]Michael Strahan was around 255. Jason Taylor was about 244. Dumerville is around 260. Jason Pierre Paul is about 275. These guys are all in the range coming out of college. They will easily put on 10-20lbs as part of an NFL training program.

The depth of the talent pool is one of the reasons I prefer the 4-3. It opens us up to guys we may not look at "fitting" in the 3-4 and we would still not have the risk of will the conversion work to OLB.[/QUOTE]

The 3-4 offers teams more flexibility in the pass rushers they have the opportunity to draft. Pass rushers teams would never take in the 4-3 defense make a better fit for the 3-4. There are more of the 3-4 tweeners coming out of college then there are dominating 4-3 DE's. I believe it's more difficult to find 4-3 dominating pass rushers then it is to find pass rushers that fit into the 3-4.

[QUOTE=BURGH86STEEL;530691]The 3-4 offers teams more flexibility in the pass rushers they have the opportunity to draft. Pass rushers teams would never take in the 4-3 defense make a better fit for the 3-4. There are more of the 3-4 tweeners coming out of college then there are dominating 4-3 DE's. I believe it's more difficult to find 4-3 dominating pass rushers then it is to find pass rushers that fit into the 3-4.[/QUOTE]

I would agree except that more than half the league is looking for these same "tweeners" that 10-15 years ago we almost had a monopoly in going after. It is no accident we are missing more on these guys as more and more teams go after the same thing. PLus there is the time factor that it make take you three years of the guy rarely being on the field to know you got it wrong.

[QUOTE=Oviedo;530689]I think the odds are you are right but I still don't like the risk that comes with converting DEs to OLB and the time it takes.[/QUOTE]

There is also a TON of risk when drafting college 4-3 DE's to play 4-3 DE in the pros, even in the first round.

It may still be too soon to tell for sure one way or the other with the 2011 and 2012 drafts, so let's look back from 2007-2010 to see how well teams did drafting 4-3 DE's in the first round, shall we?

In 2010, Jason Pierre-Paul turned out to be an excellent NFL 4-3 DE, but what about Brandon Graham, Derrick Morgan, and Jerry Hughes?

In 2009, there were no first round success stories among NFL 4-3 DE's (Brian Orakpo successfully converted to a 3-4 OLB), but Aaron Maybin was a massive bust as a 4-3 DE (Tyson Jackson and Larry English didn't have much success either trying to convert to a 3-4 DE and 3-4 OLB, respectively).

In 2008, Chris Long turned out to be an excellent NFL 4-3 DE, but what about Vernon Gholston, Derrick Harvey, and Lawrence Jackson?

In 2007, there were no first round success stories among NFL 4-3 DE's, and Gaines Adams (R.I.P.), Jamaal Anderson, and Jarvis Moss...I'm not 100% sure if Denver was running a 4-3 or 3-4 when they drafted Moss, since they have switched back and forth a couple times in the last decade...all failed to live up to their draft status (to say the least).

In 4 consecutive draft classes, that 2 success stories among 4-3 DE's compared to 10 failures. And you want to switch to a 4-3 because it is easier to find 4-3 DE's?

[QUOTE=Oviedo;530694]I would agree except that more than half the league is looking for these same "tweeners" that 10-15 years ago we almost had a monopoly in going after. It is no accident we are missing more on these guys as more and more teams go after the same thing. PLus there is the time factor that it make take you three years of the guy rarely being on the field to know you got it wrong.[/QUOTE]
Regardless of the scheme the Steelers are going to have to compete with teams for pass rushers. The dominant 4-3 DE end might be the most difficult position to draft on the defensive side of the ball. Many of the good 4-3 DE that teams consider good prospects are usually gone by the time the Steelers have the opportunity to draft. Tweener players usually drop in the draft. The OLB position can be filled with college OLB or players that were good DE in college but wouldn't make it as DE in the NFL. I believe the Steelers will continue to run a 3-4 defense because of the flexibility it offers from a draft perspective, the flexibility it offers on the field, and because of the overall success they've had with the defense. Over the past 4 or 5 seasons most of the top 5 defenses in the league (from a ppg perspective) were 3-4 defenses. I don't see a reason why the Steelers should switch to a 4-3.