Should Demarcus Lawrence play RDE in 2018?

He has enough athleticism that he should be able to play it, but I think it could do a number of positive things for the team (not necessarily him though). First, it allows us to play David Irving in the base defense. He would still slide inside on passing downs, but he should play LDE imo. Second, it may keep his price down, if he plays RDE and gets between 8-10 sacks, it could save us a bunch AND improve the defense.

Manwiththeplan said:

He has enough athleticism that he should be able to play it, but I think it could do a number of positive things for the team (not necessarily him though). First, it allows us to play David Irving in the base defense. He would still slide inside on passing downs, but he should play LDE imo. Second, it may keep his price down, if he plays RDE and gets between 8-10 sacks, it could save us a bunch AND improve the defense.

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Charlton could play that LDE spot too.

BobSacamano said:

Charlton could play that LDE spot too.

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Ideally, I'd like to see

RDE- DLawrence, CTapper, RGregory
3T- Maliek Collins, Datone Jones, Lewis Neal
1T- Free agent, Brian Price
LDE- DIrving, TCharlton

wait let me get this straight. Dallas will sign this kid to a long term contract making a lot money for a very good pass rushing DE. Then we as a fanbase will clamor that the best pass rushing DE on the squad needs to move to RDE where he will see some of the best OL talent in the league, also he made his name playing LDE. The same fanbase clamoring for him to move RDE will then flame this kid for signing a huge contract and under produce because he is playing out of position. He will be derided for putting forth "effort" in contract year while the fanbase will get pass because they think LDE and RDE is interchangeable.

If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. They tried him at RDE he wasn’t the same player. It’s obvious he is a LDE leave him alone. Von Miller is just fine on the left side so is Lawrence. And Irving needs to bulk up a little and just play the 3 that’s where he is at his best. Hopefully Taco improves and can be the RDE and maybe they will draft a 1.

jrumann59 said:

wait let me get this straight. Dallas will sign this kid to a long term contract making a lot money for a very good pass rushing DE. Then we as a fanbase will clamor that the best pass rushing DE on the squad needs to move to RDE where he will see some of the best OL talent in the league, also he made his name playing LDE. The same fanbase clamoring for him to move RDE will then flame this kid for signing a huge contract and under produce because he is playing out of position. He will be derided for putting forth "effort" in contract year while the fanbase will get pass because they think LDE and RDE is interchangeable.

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If the front office is making decisions based off of what fans think, then they are failing worst than most think. He may not be as good at RDE, I more or less said so in my post. But, having him at RDE allows Irving to play LDE and Collins to play the 3T, where I think both thrive. Not to mention, on passing downs, you can still put Lawrence at LDE and Irving at the 3T next to him to create those match up problems.

Manwiththeplan said:

If the front office is making decisions based off of what fans think, then they are failing worst than most think. He may not be as good at RDE, I more or less said so in my post. But, having him at RDE allows Irving to play LDE and Collins to play the 3T, where I think both thrive. Not to mention, on passing downs, you can still put Lawrence at LDE and Irving at the 3T next to him to create those match up problems.

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So are you willing to be Baghdad bob when the fans start screaming he is under performing. Personally i think that if you put Tank at RDE he will be spent by seasons end and frustrated, he could get 8 sacks from the RDE spot but I think it makes the overall line worse. He will be 1 on 1 most of the time, which means double teams will go to whomever is hot elsewhere. I say keep him at LDE and get the 8 sacks he would have given you from the committee that will play RDE. I get your point about the best guys int he best positions but Irving has yet to warrant a full time gig between injuries and suspension.

jrumann59 said:

So are you willing to be Baghdad bob when the fans start screaming he is under performing.

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I don't think any successful front office would ever consider the fans evaluation of a player.

jrumann59 said:

Personally i think that if you put Tank at RDE he will be spent by seasons end and frustrated, he could get 8 sacks from the RDE spot but I think it makes the overall line worse. He will be 1 on 1 most of the time, which means double teams will go to whomever is hot elsewhere. I say keep him at LDE and get the 8 sacks he would have given you from the committee that will play RDE. I get your point about the best guys int he best positions but Irving has yet to warrant a full time gig between injuries and suspension.

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And this is fine, I guess my thing is, on passing downs, I would stick with a committee at RDE. Hopefully Taco can improve and Tapper can stay healthy. Won't get started on Gregory, but maybe we draft a guy in the mid rounds and Lawrence plays LDE and Irving inside next to him, which is where both can cause the most damage. However, I do think Irving inside in the base defense, is a liability.

Marinelli will have the best lineman play in their best spots and will move them around a bit to get different looks. Overall Law will continue to be the LDE. Taco is young and I wouldn't trust him enough to set and hold the point of attack on the left side. We have seen what happens when guys get washed out of the play, going too wide or blocked down and they get big gains.

Not to get too far off topic but can any of you tell me why Lawrence was t locked up before the season ended? Seems to me you just made his agent the president of the highest bidder club. The way I see it either the team doesn't believe in him (health wise) or thinks he'll give a hometown discount. On both counts it's a gamble.
DEs get top dollar on the open market. There is no chance of a hometown discount. It would have saved the team millions on the backend to have extended him. He is no longer property of the cowboys. His agent is lining up teams to talk money. The cowboys will be the last team he'll talk to because his agent knows how much he is needed in Dallas.
As a negotiating tactic waiting was dumb. They gave the player all the leverage. The plan should have been to lock him up and draft around his position. I can't wait until they write one of those contracts where they have re-dos written in. In a year with Dak due a deal you will be in cap Hell again with Zeke due the next year. Just seems curious....

ghostdog said:

Not to get too far off topic but can any of you tell me why Lawrence was t locked up before the season ended?

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The answer is simple, once the season started, there was no incentive to sign long term. It was obvious early on, that he would be tagged, meaning he's make about 3 times more next season, than he has his entire career. So he's 100% fine with being tagged, so unless you were going to over pay, there's literally no reason for his agent to entertain contract talks.

ghostdog said:

Not to get too far off topic but can any of you tell me why Lawrence was t locked up before the season ended? Seems to me you just made his agent the president of the highest bidder club. The way I see it either the team doesn't believe in him (health wise) or thinks he'll give a hometown discount. On both counts it's a gamble.
DEs get top dollar on the open market. There is no chance of a hometown discount. It would have saved the team millions on the backend to have extended him. He is no longer property of the cowboys. His agent is lining up teams to talk money. The cowboys will be the last team he'll talk to because his agent knows how much he is needed in Dallas.
As a negotiating tactic waiting was dumb. They gave the player all the leverage. The plan should have been to lock him up and draft around his position. I can't wait until they write one of those contracts where they have re-dos written in. In a year with Dak due a deal you will be in cap Hell again with Zeke due the next year. Just seems curious....

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Because any agent worth his salt would never take the first offer from the "home" team especially during a walk year when his client is killing it. Tnk's agent is looking at the numbers JPP got and may even try to float Vernon's number in there as comparable. Dallas will need to pay above market value to get this guy signed long term, most likely, since they will be bidding against teams that have salary floors to get to.

jrumann59 said:

Because any agent worth his salt would never take the first offer from the "home" team especially during a walk year when his client is killing it. Tnk's agent is looking at the numbers JPP got and may even try to float Vernon's number in there as comparable. Dallas will need to pay above market value to get this guy signed long term, most likely, since they will be bidding against teams that have salary floors to get to.

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which is why the tag makes the most sense imo.

Manwiththeplan said:

which is why the tag makes the most sense imo.

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I disagree. Tagging him probably makes the cap situation worse and guarantees more bargain basement FA signings like this year. I think the FO will probably have to slightly overpay for a speedy outside receiver to replace butler, plus find either a 1T, or RDE that can play 3 downs to platoon with everyone not named Tank. I also think they need to draft or sign a 3T Irving as talented as he is the concussion issue is scary. Also the team needs to re-sign Martin, find a starter worthy swing tackle. A lot of holes and not enough pennies to go around if this team has to use FA to offset draft and question marks already on the team. I do not see them keeping Mayowa, too much liability int he run game, if they can get a FA RDE that is able to take over for TCrawford they may not need to get a 3T. There are a lot of fluid pieces right now that give flexibility but tagging Tank with really nothing behind him is a disaster waiting to happen to the pass rush. The only plus I can see is I see Charlton more as a LDE than RDE but giving him snaps in both with accelerate his learning curve. Which may take some of the sting off if they tag Tank and let him walk next year.

The tag may not be the cheapest route, but you have to weigh in if there's any health risks. Long term contracts include guarantees.

Manwiththeplan said:

He has enough athleticism that he should be able to play it, but I think it could do a number of positive things for the team (not necessarily him though). First, it allows us to play David Irving in the base defense. He would still slide inside on passing downs, but he should play LDE imo. Second, it may keep his price down, if he plays RDE and gets between 8-10 sacks, it could save us a bunch AND improve the defense.

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No, go with what has already worked.

He is obviously more comfortable at LDE.