Quote:
Originally Posted by jjchieffan
I wonder a lot how much pull the defensive coordinators have in the draft. I mean, Veach did have a bad first draft but a great second draft. Was Bob Sutton pounding the table for Breeland Speaks and Dorian O'Daniel insisting that they would be a boost for his defense? I think that most of the rest of the people involved in the draft were relatively unchanged to the best of my knowledge. Defensive picks were overall bad during the entire Reid era until Sutton was replaced by Spags. Is it a coincidence?
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I suspect strongly, and I say STRONGLY that The Chiefs were planning on letting Sutton go, and had decided to go to a 4-3. I think they didn't want to blow up both sides of the ball in one offseason, opting to keep continuity on defense for a year since we were handing the offense to a then unproven 2nd year QB in Mahomes. Pat was better than anyone dreamed, and so here we are.
Speaks is not a known quantity right now. He was miscast as a 3-4 OLB, but not as a 4-3 down lineman. He's been injured this year, and so we don't know what he is, really. I think Speaks was a pick for the future; for Veach and Andy's move to a 4-3.
O'Daniel should've been Sorensen's replacement; basically your big safety/coverage backer. It doesn't seem that he's developed of course. But he's not a better fit in a 3-4 than a 4-3 skillset-wise.
I think they were looking at skillsets in a general way in the '18 draft; I think the numbers favor a 4-3 IF half the league is running a 3-4. I don't think they knew exactly WHO yet or what sort of 4-3 they'd go to.
This offseason, Spags was in pre-draft, and so I'm sure had some input on the shopping list. So it was a more targeted approach. It makes sense that it would be more successful.
In short, I'm saying Sutton was a lame duck, they didn't draft anyone that last season for his 3-4, they drafted in a general way for a switch to the 4-3.