He drafted a 0 Tech. Levi was not a “pressure guy.” He was a 0 tech that had 16 TFL’s over 3 seasons. Then surprisingly Alim was available in the 3rd round and he took him too. Two NT types, both with plus agilities FOR NT’s. He has drafted 1 3t DT in the 6th round, that played as a 3t upfield penetrating 3t in college and that is Mekhi Wingo. Then they get busy trying to see if he can play 5t… Levi, Alim, BroMart all NT’s. FA’s Reader, Jones, Lopez, all NT types as well. It’s a thing.
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I don’t know what to tell you. If you think he wasn’t being drafted for what he brought as a pressure guy (numbers be damned), then I’m just banging my head against a wall. Never mind that every analyst called him a pressure guy. Never mind that Brad himself said it was WHY he drafted him.
I mean he was 6’3, 290! You don’t draft guys like that for their prowess against the run (though he was very good for his size, which is why he had to play inside so often).
A sampling of scouting reports from the biggest sites:
Mainly responsible for interior penetration that stemmed from his speed and burst with ability to twist and turn his body.
An explosive first step provides early momentum into the neutral zone, but he failed to post the high-end production that is usually associated with that interior trait. He’s light on his feet but heavy with his hands, and that combination should lead to continued improvement as an NFL pass rusher.
He has excellent overall athleticism and demonstrates good body quickness as a pass rusher.
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One of the most explosive defensive tackles in the country. Can fly off the line.
Onwuzurike fires off the snap and consistently makes plays away from his gap due to his effort and athleticism.
The fact that he was forced to line up as a 0T even takes away the best argument against him, that he didn’t put up big numbers. Well, he had to play assignment football and take on double teams. But the whole footballing world called him an NFL 3T, and his pass rush juice is literally the first thing everyone lists about him. It flies in the face of the narrative you insist on pushing over and over again. Brad DOES draft guys who are supposed to get pressure from inside.
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You nailed it…and I’ll point out…
Levi also moved around to several different alignments in college.
He certainly wasn’t lined up at zero tech exclusively…. he also had snaps as a 3-tech and even some 5-tech.
Right. I suspect Brad was such a fan because he was so good against the run FOR an NFL 3T, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that pressuring the QB would have been his primary job, had he stayed healthy.
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I’ll give you Levi. But it WAS a TRAIT based pick as he did not play an upfield penetrating 3t type role in college. I saw the “traits” too and liked him. How many drafted DT’s were upfield penetrators IN COLLEGE?
My argument doesn’t fly in the face of the facts. When healthy, we go into gameday with Alim, Reader, Tyliek and Lopez with Wingo inactive. But you’ll have me believe I’m just ca-razy that there is way more emphasis on stopping the run, than getting guys who can get into the backfield with regularity. Alim “grew” into that sort of. He wasn’t drafted as that. What is he now? Not enough of a 3t in my mind to again ignore spending investments on the role. But the drafting of Tyliek in the first this year sort of bones that idea. I hope they wake up and play Wingo in the middle more. About the best I can hope for.
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For me the frustrating part is we played a lot of big sets on the dline and played a ton of 3 linebacker sets and still couldn’t stop the run. If we are gonna emphasize girth and size at DT over pass rush we better at least stop the run
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