Defensive Position Battles
As we move into Training camp and the preseason, here are some position battles on the defensive side of the ball we should watch for.
Arizona:
Josh Mauro-
I can see Mauro as either an OLB or a DE. His competition at DE will be ageing veteran Cory Redding. Redding is a decent starting option, but will turn 35 in November. At OLB Alex Okafor will likely take one spot, and the other position will be between Mauro, Lamarr Woodley, and Matt Shaunessy. Shaunessy is a bum who shouldn’t even be in the NFL, let alone in the conversation for a starting position. And since leaving Pittsburgh, Woodley suddenly looks very average, so there may be an opportunity for Mauro at OLB.
Baltimore:
Brent Urban-
Chris Canty and Timmy Jernigan are likely locks to start on the D line, leaving one spot up for grabs. If Urban has even a decent camp, he should be, at worst, heavily involved in the rotation in what will essentially be his rookie season.
Carolina:
AJ Klein-
I don’t know much about Shaq Thompson, but he was a first round pick so they will try to get him involved, possibly putting Klein’s job in jeopardy.
Colin Jones-
In a limited role last season, I thought Jones played extremely well, and clearly has the speed to play the position. If he has a great camp, I can definitely see him taking one of the starting safety spots in what appears to be a patch-work secondary as it is.
Chicago:
Shea McClellan-
He will need to have a great camp, as his time may be running out in Chicago. McClellan is going into his 4[SUP]th[/SUP] season in the league, and is now moving to his 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] position, ILB, where he will battle Mason Foster and Jon Bostic for one of the two starting jobs. Funny, I would’ve thought 3-4 OLB would have best suited McClellan’s strengths, and right on cue, they slide him inside. Go figure…
Cincinnati:
Margus Hunt-
I really thought he’d be a star by now. Unfortunately though, I can’t even remember seeing him on the field last season. None the less, I don’t think the Bengals have a very strong group of DEs. Hunt will battle a pair of streaky, one dimensional pass rushers in Carlos Dunlap and Michael Johnson for one of the starting jobs.
Cleveland:
Scott Solomon-
Word is that Solomon is having a great offseason thus far, and has the inside track for the starting OLB spot opposite Paul Kruger. Solomon is battling the revered pass rusher Barkevious Mingo who posted a mind blowing 2 sacks last season, as the full-time starter.
Dallas:
Andrew Gachkar-
The free agent signee from San Diego will be in the mix to nab one of the two open LB spots alongside Sean Lee. With Rolando McClain being suspended (surprise, surprise) for the first four games; the competition will be among Gachkar, Jasper Brinkley, Kyle Wilber, and Anthony Hitchens. Gachkar is clearly the best of this bunch, but we’ll see how it pans out.
Jeff Heath-
I guess it’s kind of a backhanded compliment, but I seriously don’t think Heath could be any worse than Barry Church and JJ Wilcox, so why not give him a shot. You already know what you have with the other two; inconsistent play ranging from marginally acceptable to downright laughable.
Houston:
Jeff Tarpinian, Mike Mohammed, and Max Bullough-
It will be a four-way battle between these three and this year’s second round pick Benardrick McKinney to start alongside Brian Cushing. I feel like Tarpinian is the best of the bunch, but I’d like to see Bullough take the spot. However I am a realist and know how things work; McKinney will likely be handed the position whether he deserves it or not, but it will be something to keep an eye on.
Indianapolis:
Bjoern Werner-
With the return of Robert Mathis and the free agent signing of Trent Cole, it looks as though Werner may be relegated to backup duties at OLB, unless he is allowed to compete at DE, which I think would be great for him. Arthur Jones is below average and has gotten progressively worse over the last few years.
Kansas City:
Mike Catapano-
With the injury to Dontari Poe, Catapano could find himself in position to start at either the nose or at DE opposite Mike DeVito.
Frank Zombo-
I think people forget just how impressive Zombo was his rookie season, where he played a key role in the Packers’ Superbowl victory. At the moment, Zombo is stuck behind two of the better OLBs in the league, and has really been wasting his career in KC. I’d like to see him moved to ILB to compete with well below average starter Josh Mauga. Probably won’t happen though.
Miami:
Jordan Tripp, Zach Vigil, Mike Hull-
Miami’s LB situation looks wide open to me. Sports media has Koa Misi, Jelani Jenkins, and Spencer Paysinger as the projected starters; yikes…
Minnesota:
Audie Cole-
Cole will compete with 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] round draft pick Eric Kendricks, who has already been anointed a pro bowl caliber talent, despite training camp just getting underway. In other words, Cole will have to play like Urlacher during preseason to even get consideration.
Andrew Sendejo-
Sendejo played really well in 2013 and for some strange reason lost his starting job to Robert Blanton in 2014, until Blanton was benched late in the year in favor of Sendejo, who again shined in a starting role. Sendejo will once again battle hilariously pathetic Blanton for the starting SS spot.
New Orleans:
Davis Tull-
With Junior Galette apparently losing his mind and getting cut, the door is suddenly open for Tull to seriously compete for one of the starting OLB spots. He may not be opening day starter, but I see Tull breaking into the starting lineup at some point this season.
New York Giants:
Mark Herzlich-
There is only one settled LB spot and it belongs to the veteran Jon Beason at MLB. OLB however is wide open, and Herzlich has as good a chance as anyone else, if he’s allowed to compete.
Cooper Taylor-
At the moment, Taylor has the inside track to start at FS. He will be battling unknown nobody Nat Berle for starting duties.
New York Jets:
Jason Babin-
At the moment, the veteran Babin is the best pass rushing OLB on the roster, and should take one of the starting spots. Of course, I also said the same thing last year.
Philadelphia:
Beau Allen-
Bennie Logan is the projected starter at the nose, but Allen, who played a limited role last season, as a rookie, arguably performed as well as Logan.
Bryan Braman-
Braman will battle the revered Brandon Graham for the starting OLB spot opposite Connor Barwin. Graham, who received a contract extension after a banner 5.5 sack season in 2014, will head into camp as the projected starter. Braman is a guy I feel they have to find a way to get on the field defensively.
Chris Maragos, Chris Prosinski-
Average as average gets Malcolm Jenkins will likely be handed the FS job, after a somewhat competent season, but the SS spot is wide open. Earl Wolff was a flop in minicamp, thus opening the door for the lightning fast Prosinski or the hard-hitting Maragos, one would assume. Instead the Eagles decided to move Walter Thurmond to safety, and in the process, anoint him the starter. Seems like an unusual position switch for a guy who is only 5’11, 190. In addition to being undersized for the position, Thurmond has only managed to appear in 36 games in 5 seasons. Good luck playing safety Walter.
San Diego:
Mitch Unrein-
After wasting several years of his career in Denver, the 300 pounder will battle Kendall Reyes for the starting DE spot opposite Corey Liuget.
Tennessee:
Karl Klug-
Jurell Casey is the only lock to start on the d-line, leaving the rest of the starting positions wide open. Klug, in a limited role seems to make plays wherever he’s on the field. I find it almost disrespectful that he has not been able to crack a starting lineup that includes the likes of Sammy Lee Hill and Ropati Pitoitua.
Washington:
Will Compton-
In a limited role last season, Compton clearly looked like the best ILB on the team. However I wouldn’t say the incumbents Perry Riley and Kennan Robinson are terrible; just not terribly impressive. In other words, Compton will have to make a lot of plays in camp to unseat one of them.
, training camps are just around the corner. Rookies start trickling in over the next several days, followed by the veterans toward the end of this month.
