re: Are we done in FA?

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The Dts weren't good enough last year but they are this year, if we don't do something at DT we will continue not to get push and QBs will be able to just step up in the pocket

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It's reasonable to expect our young DTs to improve. Rankins didn't have the sack numbers people were hoping, but he did a good job getting pressure and eating up some double teams. He was just a 2nd year player and missed half of his rookie year. Onyemata, who had very little experience entering the NFL, has definitely improved. Hendrickson looked comfortable inside as a rookie. Davison is kind of just a guy, but he's not a liability as a rotation player and he's cheap.

The team could definitely use a stud next to Rankins (with Onyemata being the main rotation player and Hendrickson playing more at DE), but I don't think that the position is in some dire need of an upgrade.

And Fairley got paid when Onyemata was still VERY raw and a question mark. Suh got interest because he's too good of a player to not go after.

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Davison is kind of just a guy, but he's not a liability as a rotation player and he's cheap.

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at times he's been impressive stopping the run. Wish he could be more of force up the middle to collapse the pocket though.

I think Rankins was moved around some too. I mean he didn't always line up inside and I wondered if it had to do more with losing Okafor during the Redskins game?? Not sure about that but it did seem like he moved around some. I mean it's one thing to take an outside rusher and line him up on a guard to get a mismatch but its another to take an inside guy and ask him to beat a tackle.

one of the emphasis it seemed like the D-line had last year was to prepare to get its hands up to bat passes. I don't think it was a thing where the coaches thought our rush wouldn't be good enough but has more to do with the quick passing plays there are today.

and Cam Jordan was just great. His game against the Rams was probably his best game of the year. A close 2nd was the Lions game in my opinion.

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I think Rankins was moved around some too. I mean he didn't always line up inside and I wondered if it had to do more with losing Okafor during the Redskins game??

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Yeah, not only did he move outside, but they moved him to weakside DE. He moved around a lot in college, but Louisville ran a lot of 3-4 IIRC, so it wasn't the quite the same. He played a decent amount of 5-tech (outside of the LT's left shoulder) after Okafor went down, which wasn't ideal. I think he'd be fine playing 5-tech on the strongside (mostly what Cam plays), but LT's are clearly a different animal and much more capable of pass blocking.

I like our DT rotation and the plus side is that Davison is heading into a contract year and the other 2 are entering year 3.

No reason not to expect a step forward from the trio. Also flirting with Suh could also be a motivating factor to all of them.

oh yeah.. I've seen him hold his ground exceptionally well against the run. He can anchor real well.

I'll admit that on pass plays I don't notice as much. The ball usually is thrown a lot quicker these days either by design or cause of the cushion that the DB's give sometimes.

maybe it's both. It's a high tempo game still for the most part. I guess

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oh yeah.. I've seen him hold his ground exceptionally well against the run. He can anchor real well.

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I didn't find he held ground or created push often enough. He was somewhat inconsistent.

Shows you how good Davison is against the run with that score, b/c his pass rushing score had to be pretty bad. He's a very good run stuffer. It's nice to have Onyemata replacing him on obvious passing downs. If Onyemata keeps getting better against the run, he might replace Davison completely.

Davison has been our best run stuffing DT for the last 2 years (better than Fairley & Rankins). He should be pretty cheap if we want to re-sign him after the 2018 season as well. Something like 2-3 mil a year (he's making 1.961 mil this year).

I think Davison has pretty much reached his ceiling as a really good run stuffer though. I don't think Rankins or Onyemata have reached their ceiling yet, so I'm really not sure what to expect this year.

I'm starting to agree with bonethug about Hankins & Logan. There's really no point in signing either of them, b/c we already have Davison. If they are better than Davison at stopping the run...it's not by much at all & they cost a lot more. It's nice to have 3 solid options & we should be fine at the DT position if all 3 of them can stay healthy like last year.

If we don't draft a DT...I'm assuming Loewen will be our #4 DT this year. He can actually provide a decent pass rush from the interior. He can play DE (probably to stop the run) if needed, & plays special teams as well. Based on what I saw last year...he's kind of similar to Trey Hendrickson (both of them are DT/DE tweeners).

Any more good O lineman floating around in FA?

Awesome. I can't wait for the draft.

We keep anywhere from 8-10 O-Lineman. Usually 8 or 9.

As of right now...we have Armstead, Unger, Warford, Peat, Ramczyk, Bushrod (I'm assuming he can still play RT if needed...Peat is our backup LT), & Tom as guys that are likely to make the roster. 7 guys total.

I think LeRibeus could be an option eventually, but I'm not really sure at this point. Combine that with a likely OG/OC in the draft & I think we're done here. I've been wrong much more than I'd like to be, so take this for what it's worth.