3-4 Defense?

[SunsetBengal]

(12-21-2018, 07:25 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Bengals can't even field 3 good LBs, so lets field 4? No thanks.

Finally found a decent DE in Hubbard to go opposite Dunlap, and now you want the 270lb Hubbard to play in coverage? That is a Atkins-dropping-into-coverage level of bad idea. All around the league LBs are getting smaller and faster to cover RBs and TEs, and here is 270lb Hubbard who didn't even run a 40 at the Combine. Pass. Hard pass.

Sign a good FA LB, and draft two more in the first four rounds. Nobody in the current group is worth keeping around. (Assuming we are calling Lawson a DE, not a LB.)

Sorry, but I just can't get on board with that analysis.  First of all, at 6'5" a 270# man can still be athletic. Keeping in mind that Hubbard comes from an All-State Safety background.  That is not to say that a 6'1" 300# Geno Atkins isn't athletic, but hopefully you get my point.  Secondly, most ALL 3-4 defenses feature a LB that is more of a 4-3 style DE, who sets the edge, occasionally drops into coverage, and rushes the QB.  In a 3-4 defense, it's the inside backers that need to be quicker, and can be more compact than a traditional MIKE or WILL in a 4-3.