re: 2011 Defense vs 2016 Defense

Good breakdown. You almost have to compare 2010 play projecting 2011 results to truly compare though. As 11 had their chance to shine already. I didn't expect brockers and Logan to be quite the duo they were. And minter was unknown.

There are so many good players there are bound to be a bunch of different opinions:

IMO you see ego and Herron off the bench ahead of Johnson and Gilmore.

I think key starts over Mingo at buck and Mingo plays F. Either or though.

I think aranda would have both minter and beckwith on the field.

I think your best base is tyrann and Reid/Adams at S with white and Claiborne boundary.
In nickel tyrann would slide down with Adams/Reid coming in at S. I think brooks and toliver are your next two in.
Really hard to go wrong with secondary here though, hard to not have Adams in base. Depending on the style of offense maybe Reid and Adams are interchangeable as starters.