05-01-2022, 11:35 AM
(04-30-2022, 12:38 PM)fredtoast Wrote: I know when we drafted him they talked about him being versatile and maybe playing inside on passing downs.
But I don't remember him doing this much. To be honest I never payed that much attention to exactly where he was lining up.
According to PFF, of Sample's snaps last season, he only lined up on the interior 18 times the entire season, with 8 of those coming in the first week of the season.
I found it interesting that Sample started trending in the right direction from an overall rating standpoint (run and pass rush defense grades) and then, he would get injured, and he would come back with a low score again....Low, low/med, med, med/good...injured. Happened two times during the season as he missed a total of six games.
He was just 21 last season, and if he worked really hard this offseason, he should have no problem being about 290 lbs and perhaps earning more snaps inside. The loss of Ossai clearly impacted his positional usage, as did the injuries to Kareem.