05-25-2021, 09:12 AM
I think we massively improved our secondary this off season.
Going from WJ3, Alexander, Phillips as our starting 3 with LeShaun Sims taking 606 snaps and both Tony Brown and Jalen Davis taking about a game or two's worth of snaps (95 snaps for Tony, 72 for Jalen) to Waynes, Awuzie, Hilton being our starting 3 with Phillips, Eli Apple and Ricardo Allen capable of coming in and taking those injury snaps is a huge deal. Maybe Awuzie is a step down from WJ3 (although you can argue he's a better scheme fit so may play better), but I think Hilton is objectively an upgrade over Alexander and Phillips could always step in for Waynes if he struggles, so our depth and talent at CB has taken a rather large step up this off season.
The defensive line has also really improved. Hendrickson may be a lateral move from Lawson or he may be a slight downgrade, but Ogunjobi will play better than Atkins did in 2020. We'll have Reader back and we're even backing him up with a high potential guy in Shelvin. We even have Tupou coming back from COVID exemption and the depth at DT is so good now, he may not even make the team! Kareem should take a step forward this year, as he was just a body in 2020, and we have added two young pass rushers in Sample and Ossai who should really increase our ability to get after the QB. This year won't be like last when we had guys like Amani Bledsoe taking 312 snaps, Christian Covington taking 558 snaps, Xavier Williams taking 310 snaps and guys like Freedom Akinmoladun and Khalil McKenzie taking 24 and 101 snaps, respectively.
The only group that hasn't really improved is the LB core. At least from a personnel standpoint. At a certain point, you have to rely on the guys you have drafted to take a step forward. This will be a defining year for Germaine Pratt, who looked promising as a rookie but disappointing as a sophomore. Wilson and ADG will also be relied upon, as Bynes has not been re-signed. We'll see how this experiment goes. If they don't massively improve, LB becomes a big need in 2022.
Ultimately, we have nowhere to go but up as a defense and I think the team's hyper focus on defensive free agents will come due this season. I don't think we're going to be a top 10 defense or anything, but middle of the pack should be good enough to potentially reach the playoffs if Burrow comes back firing on all cylinders with his elite WR room and improved (albeit modestly) offensive line.
Going from WJ3, Alexander, Phillips as our starting 3 with LeShaun Sims taking 606 snaps and both Tony Brown and Jalen Davis taking about a game or two's worth of snaps (95 snaps for Tony, 72 for Jalen) to Waynes, Awuzie, Hilton being our starting 3 with Phillips, Eli Apple and Ricardo Allen capable of coming in and taking those injury snaps is a huge deal. Maybe Awuzie is a step down from WJ3 (although you can argue he's a better scheme fit so may play better), but I think Hilton is objectively an upgrade over Alexander and Phillips could always step in for Waynes if he struggles, so our depth and talent at CB has taken a rather large step up this off season.
The defensive line has also really improved. Hendrickson may be a lateral move from Lawson or he may be a slight downgrade, but Ogunjobi will play better than Atkins did in 2020. We'll have Reader back and we're even backing him up with a high potential guy in Shelvin. We even have Tupou coming back from COVID exemption and the depth at DT is so good now, he may not even make the team! Kareem should take a step forward this year, as he was just a body in 2020, and we have added two young pass rushers in Sample and Ossai who should really increase our ability to get after the QB. This year won't be like last when we had guys like Amani Bledsoe taking 312 snaps, Christian Covington taking 558 snaps, Xavier Williams taking 310 snaps and guys like Freedom Akinmoladun and Khalil McKenzie taking 24 and 101 snaps, respectively.
The only group that hasn't really improved is the LB core. At least from a personnel standpoint. At a certain point, you have to rely on the guys you have drafted to take a step forward. This will be a defining year for Germaine Pratt, who looked promising as a rookie but disappointing as a sophomore. Wilson and ADG will also be relied upon, as Bynes has not been re-signed. We'll see how this experiment goes. If they don't massively improve, LB becomes a big need in 2022.
Ultimately, we have nowhere to go but up as a defense and I think the team's hyper focus on defensive free agents will come due this season. I don't think we're going to be a top 10 defense or anything, but middle of the pack should be good enough to potentially reach the playoffs if Burrow comes back firing on all cylinders with his elite WR room and improved (albeit modestly) offensive line.
![[Image: oN5QAdY.png]](https://i.imgur.com/oN5QAdY.png)
