FanPost

Is (effectively) addressing the interior of the defensive line potentially still the biggest regret of 2019?


The Falcons did a masterful job of addressing the previous two regrets that I predicted in the prior two seasons, that is addressing the offensive line, specifically the guard positions and the inability to gain a yard on 3rd or 4th down by drafting drive blockers Lindstrom and McGary as well as drafting a big power back in Ollison. The flipside is that by not drafting for the interior of the defensive line at all, the trust in alleviating the 24th ranked run defense of 2018 rests upon holdovers Crawford, Senat and Jarrett and newly signed Tyeler Davidson and retread Ra'Shede Hageman.

The problem lies in the fact that, Hageman notwithstanding, no real bulk was added to the interior defense. The average weight of the line is just over 300 pounds....without Hageman. Adding his 318 pounds lifts the interior defenders average weight to 305 pounds; still fundamentally a smallish interior and that's with the expectation that Hageman makes the roster. To put it into perspective, Alex Mack at 311 outweighs all of the aforementioned interior linemen other than Hageman.

Some will use the argument that run defense is maintaining gaps and a team effort and this is undeniable yet all too frequently the interior line would be gashed by fatigue and massive offensive lines in 2018...not so in 2017 when 330 pound Athyba Rubin and 340 pound Dontari Poe were paired in games when those huge lines became a factor.

I predicted earlier this offseason that the biggest regret of 2019 would be not addressing the interior run defense. Unless more size is added, we need to hope that Hageman is indeed the force inside that Dexter Lawrence or Khalen Saunders might have been.

<em>This FanPost was written by one of The Falcoholic's talented readers. It does not necessarily reflect the views of The Falcoholic.</em>