I've really been warming up to Ebiketie lately. He feels a lot like Melvin Ingram, but with longer arms.

I think Ebiketie has 34 inch arms on his 6'2 frame while Thomas measures in about an inch shorter.

I think Ebiketie could emerge into one of the best pass rushers in the league and would be a top 15 pick if he were 2 inches taller.
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What I like about Thomas is the physicality and the type of build. He just looks like a born SDE.

Ebiketie is a little longer, a little more angular in his build. He just seems less likely to be a true 3-down guy. I do think he has a little more pass-rush potential than Thomas and perhaps a higher ceiling, but I see a super high floor on Thomas as well as a more versatile, if perhaps not as dynamic, as a skill-set.

But that's why I said take Thomas AND either Ebiketie or Sanders. Because those are just outstanding complementary talents. Throw Thomas at SDE and either of the other 2 at weakside and you could really have some exciting shit long-term.

But if I had to pick one or the other, I'd go with the guy who I think can translate well to SDE and then if necessary take a more explosive hybrid type, shift to a 4-3 Under front and send the hybrid guy out into space or rush him as needed.
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I think Thomas and one of Sam Williams, Boye Mafe, Drake Jackson, or Nik Bonitto would be a nice pairing as well.
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DJ, you had me here. There is no head in the right space here - it is off of the top of your head and I trust YOUR instincts. I will consider you my ride or die throughout this offseason and draft. I like the way you think and I believe in your opinions. GEAUX CHIEFS! :-) Time to focus on the defense - no matter what the cost. This team WAS KILLER in the 90's on defense. Time to get that back.
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That 90's defense is never coming back. The rules have changed too much. Plus, we're an offensive team both in spirit and financially.
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Agreed - the league just isn't built for those kinds of defenses anymore.

But we do need a defense that can lean on a team. When the offense goes out there and gets an 18 point advantage, we need a defense that can treat the opponent like they're 'short stacked' and use that edge to just bury them.

I don't think it's realistic to expect the team to out there and build a defense that will win you games 17-13. But the defense absolutely has to be able to be sitting on a 21-3 lead facing 3rd and 5 w/ 3 minutes left in the half and the opponent buried in their own territory and finish that goddamn football game.

Or at least make the drive uncomfortable. The Bengals converted that 3rd down from their own 35 and 4 plays later had a touchdown.

Defense in today's NFL is about situational success. And this defense was ostensibly built for EXACTLY that scenario. But they just didn't come through. There's no reason we can't continue with the same sort of approach but execute it better. And the way to do that will be to continue to stack depth in the secondary while constructing a D-Line that can harass quarterbacks when they're in do or die situations.

We used to look at the QB position and say "Hey, we don't need a guy that will play a perfect game every time out. We need a guy who, at least once or twice in the post-season, can pull a game from the fire and steal us a win..."

Well now we have the inverse. I don't need a defense that wins us 4 games in the post-season. I need a defense that will get out there and just once or twice find a way to get us a win when the offense just wasn't firing on all cylinders.

That's not asking too much, IMO.
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I like Sanders in 2 but I think he has far too many holes in his game right now to be a 1st rounder. You never know though, the guy could blow up at the combine and all of a sudden you have a guy that gets drafted earlier than he maybe should based on traits and flashes.

I'm not opposed, just more stating my feelings on the guy.
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And just for the record - I think Thomas will be a riser. As more and more teams get eyes on his tape and they see his versatility, he's gonna sneak into the top 20. What will set him apart in some ways is scheme versatility. A 3-4 team can use him as a 3-tech in either a 2-gap or 1 gap scheme. A 4-3 team can use him at a 5 tech or even pop him inside as an under-tackle in pass-rushing downs.

I don't know that he's QUITE bendy enough for a real 7/9 technique, but I'm betting he can do the job in a pinch.

When literally every team in the draft can find a way to use him, one of them is going to pull the trigger sooner than we think.
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That’s where we get back to it becoming a numbers game. If that happens, I feel a lot better about Walker, Karlaftis, or Johnson possibly falling to us.
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Somehow I've spent the last two weeks convincing myself I like Thomas more than Karlaftis.

This is the kind of shit that happens when you don't have anymore football to watch. I think I'm being a bit too cute there.

But yeah, someone's gonna be there at Edge that I like. I just don't see it getting picked that clean.
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We go through this every year. Some teams are going to take guys we don't think they should and one of our guys (or more than 1) is going to fall to us.

It's a straight numbers game to start with and then you add in weird shit like the Raiders taking Leatherhead and moving the entire board down.
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Where would you rank Jermaine Johnson and Cameron Thomas?
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Real close. And can both be used almost identically.

I'd probably take Johnson over Thomas because he appears to be a little more athletic. But Thomas seems to enjoy being physical a bit more. And the combine could dispel some of those thoughts as well.

Another slight edge for Johnson is he played in a Power 5 conference and had some nice games against quality opponents.

I wouldn't complain about either and ultimately would be surprised if we were left with an actual choice. One of them may be there, but I doubt both will.
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I like Winfrey quite a bit. Natural pass rusher who can still get better vs the run. If they forego DT in the 1st then I'm hoping for UConn's Travis Jones on day two. He's more of a run plugger in the Mike Pennel mode (6'4" 330) but is more explosive. He's one of those strong af guys that muddies things inside but flashes some pass rush prowess here and there.
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Seems like there is a frantic rush on first round ER's every year>
Im sure Burt has got a great plan b,c,d,e.....
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