03-22-2024, 05:28 PM
(03-22-2024, 04:55 PM)Whatever Wrote: Rankins played nearly 60% of the defensive snaps last year, far from simply a pass rush specialist. And I highly doubt Hill is going to see 71% of the snaps again due to having another quality 3 tech to rotate with. You don't usually want to dress 3 3 techs on gamedays because an edge rusher can take up a lot of the obvious pass rush snaps, if needed. Particularly true if you have an edge/3 tech tweener like Sample that can do both.
But even arguing that Rankins will experience a big fall off in the 2nd year of his deal and Newton will overtake him and start as a sophomore, there's another problem. An OT plays 100% of the snaps, when healthy. A WR plays 70-90% depending on if they are a 1, 2, or 3. A 3 tech, even having to slide to NT on passing downs, is still only playing like 70%, at best, as evidenced by Hill. And with Rankins still on the roster, they won't sniff that kind of snap share.
Still, there is no guarantee an OT you get in the 1st is better than one you get in the 2nd.
You also never know if a pass rushing DT like Newton or Murphy would make more of an impact than a 1st round OT sitting behind Trent Brown.
