RDE:
We seem to have four likely suitors at the position, with Charlton and Lawrence the most likely to win. Two dark horses behind them are Tapper and Mayowa, our 2016 sack leader. Lawrence is the most accomplished rusher at the moment, and notched an 8 sack season in 2015. However that was on the left side of the line. Charlton will likely get every opportunity to win the job in TC and preseason. There is alot of intrigue in Tapper as he tested through the roof at the combine and looked good in OTA's last year before being diagnosed with Pars defect. Mayowa is a deep sleeper as he finished very strong last year, but that is also after he got benched. He will have to show alot of growth in TC and preseason to get in the fight to be the starting RDE. He may be more valuable to us as a rotation player. I would not be surprised one bit if Charlton beats out the field and is our opening day RDE
Nolan Carroll VS. Rookie CB's:
Im going to leave the top 2 (Brown and Scandrick) alone for right now. Carroll based on experience is the early favorite as there can often times can be a steep curve for rookie DB's in particular CB's. The prevailing thought is that Carroll will be a more effective CB in a zone system. We shall see. The two day 2 picks are going to push very hard for that 3rd DB spot. Awuzie is more then likely a bigger threat than Lewis as both Awuzie and Carroll are boundary CB's whereas Lewis thrives more in the slot. However you also have the thought of putting your best players on the field, and if Lewis is clearly the best of the three, they could always find a way to make it work. Could be much ado of nothing with more of a committee approch and no clear #3. We shall see.
Robert Blanton VS Young Safeties
Small potatoes yes, but I believe Blanton doesn't get a roster spot if he isnt the 3rd Safety. Awuzie's ability to play Safety may allow us to go short at Safety. That could mean a roster spot for Brown or White, two intriguing late round picks who might not make it through waivers. Blanton at this point is what he is, but Frazier and/or Woods have to make them feel comfortable about putting them on the field on defense. This could very well change with our depth at CB, but our 3rd Safety got a good volume of snaps last year. Probably more than our 4th CB ( not counting time spent in the starting lineup due to injury by Wilcox and Brown). I dont see them cutting Woods who they had rated in their top 68. Frazier, who they had highly rated last would, would likely have to completely bomb to get cut. Small potatoes, but being able to move on from Blanton may allow us to not have to expose a talented developmental rookie to waivers
