Does Bradley's Defense change positional value for the Chargers?

[Sgt Schultz]

https://syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/2769316-the-moneyball-guide-to-the-2018-nfl-draft.amp.html?__twitter_impression=true

Quarterbacks are the most important players in football. This draft has a bunch of them, and flawed though each of the prospects may be, the best ones will all be selected near the top of the draft board.

Cornerbacks, edge-rushers and offensive tackles rank next on the Moneyball leverage/marginal value scale. This year's cornerback crop is solid enough, but both the edge-rusher and offensive tackle classes are thinner than phyllo dough.

Running backs, guards, off-ball linebackers and safeties rank at the bottom of the marginal value scale. As mentioned, running back talent is plentiful, while the difference between average, great and all-time great players at the other positions is less visible in the win-loss column than the difference between an average quarterback and a Tom Brady.

But this year's class is overflowing with talent at those low-leverage positions. We've covered the running backs. Notre Dame's Quenton Nelson is one of the best guard prospects ever, and there is depth behind him. Georgia's Roquan Smith leads a tremendous linebacker class. Derwin James and Minkah Fitzpatrick spearhead a strong safety/nickelback class.

Teams that follow the Moneyball "rules" will avoid the top players on the guard/running back/etc. draft lists, even if that forces them to reach or gamble on a second-tier edge-rusher or left tackle.

But teams that follow the underlying principles of analytics will seek the best values. That may mean gobbling up the guards, running backs and linebackers who slip through the cracks (Barkley and Nelson won't be overlooked for long, but Derrius Guice, Will Hernandez and others might), even if that means taking a low-leverage player higher than they are "supposed to."

[Steve]

The catch is, in MLB they draft 50 rounds every year. And MLB players last FOREVER, on a much smaller roster (25). You only need to hit on a couple of players every year to be a successful franchise. The big draft highlighted in Moneyball (book), the one where the A's felt like they had most of the top players in the draft, really didn't pan out that well. It was good draft, but not many of the seven 1st rounders did much for Oakland.

It is far more important for us to get a player .... ANY player who will be on the roster for a long time ... playing a meaningful role....... then to try and maximize their value if it means missing on the pick.

I would rather we draft an impact position, but at 17 I don' think we have any choice in the matter. We don't get the luxury of being able to pick who we want. We take what is left.

If it comes to taking a player who we don't feel fits, it is better to trade down and add less than draft chart value for the picks, then get stuck with a guy we don't really want. The sweet spot for a lot of the best 2nd tier players is in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. Adding an extra pick or two in those rounds to add an extra S, RB, or LB would really help our depth.

[Sgt Schultz]

This is a better article to ask my real question. Does safety rank higher in Bradley's defense than traditionally?

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000503855/article/ranking-each-positions-importance-from-quarterback-to-returner

[bonehead]

This is a better article to ask my real question. Does safety rank higher in Bradley's defense than traditionally?

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300...ck-to-returner

Going by that MLB (Vander Esch) and DT (Hurst) would be a nice 1-2

[Steve]

Maybe.

Those ranks in the article are asking the wrong questions.

SS or FS are both real priorities for NFL defenses IF....... IF the guy can play man to man D in the slot. In today's NFL, the 3rd WR and oversized WR playing TE, you really want to have a S that can walk out and cover a guy in the slot. Last year, we pretty much defaulted back into a zone and canceled our blitzes (not that we blitz often anyway). Adding a S like James means he can walk out and matchup.

If a player is just a big thumper at SS or just a deep zone guy (like Boston), then there are multiple guys like that in every draft. If Boston was a better guy coming up and playing the run or had a little bit better range on the sideline routes, then even he would have been really good. I would still like to see him back. But James is the key. He is that "adjustor" player who we can put around the ball and really disrupt an OC game plan.

Remember how Weddle used to be around the ball taking away some of the best matchups in the box in 3rd downs? I see James like that, only in Bradley's D it's going to be every down.

[charger1993]

I really want us to get rid of liuget, and adrian phillips. Resign Boston. Put boston deep and james in phillips spot so hes playing closer to the line and thumoing people.

[Steve]

Liuget redid his contract a few weeks ago, so he is not going anywhere. If they had wanted to get rid of him, he would be gone. His cap number is about half what it used to be, and the structure of the deal makes it painfully obvious he is gone if he doesn't produce.

[blueman]

[Steve]

It depends which S spot James is going to play. I know James can play FS, but I see his better spot as a LB/SS type in the Cam Chancellor role. James is a little different than Chancellor, but he is really at his best up close to the line. Remember, we use S instead of LB in the run support and short coverage. James is ideal in that role, plus it keeps him in play as a blitzer.

If you can get a FS who can play some man coverage and come up to tackle from the deep middle, and tackle better, we would be better off than with Boston.

I still think bringing Boston back to play FS makes sense if the money is right. At his point, I think the S who really add something new are probably gone in the draft. There are still a couple similar types of players, who have some troubles tackling and with coming up hard in run support. But we already have that in Boston.

Right now

SS- James
Dime LB - Phillips
FS - Addae

bring Boston back
SS - James
Dime LB - Addae/Phillips (Phillips is better in man coverage)
FS - Boston

Maybe bringing Boston back doesn't make us a lot better, but it does make us better.

The other wild card is how much will King and/or Jenkins develop. Jenkins didn't play much last year, but he does explode out of his breaks and can disrupt short passes, which is the real weakness of our D. Jenkins needs to learn to read routes. Maybe he is ready to push Phillips and /or Addae for playing time at the dime LB spot.