NFL DRAFT SCOUT 1/30 mock (Alan Branch, DT)

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by 70Chip

Also, I want to be clear that I respect Carter's speed and athleticism and I think he can contribute, it's just that whenever our opponent needed to get something going, they ran right at him with power. They will do so again next year. I think its unrealistic to expect a rookie DT to cover his gap and the LBer's gap and Carter's gap.

It's not about having a rookie DT play a two-gap. First, this is a move being made for the future. Branch would only be a rookie for one season, and hopefully we'd rotate our tackles (and ends) instead of relying on one guy. He would have time to grow into the role playing intitally behind Salevea, and next to one of the game's best DTs when healthy in Griffin, who may not be here in 2008.

We know that Carter was a player designed to improve our pass rush. The downside, of course, is that he is far worse vs. the run than Wynn was. If you run right at him, he can be overpowered at the point of attack. This is not a unique problem in the NFL, it's just unique for the Redskins who had Wynn and Daniels at end prior to this year.

What a dominant DT will do (if successful) is he will force the running back to bounce outside the gap he was shooting at. If we can get opposing runners going laterally, a player like Carter can be very, very good against the run. He's athletic enough to chase the runner down the line of scrimmage and make the tackle. He's just not strong enough to shed the block of a tackle and make the play head on.

Sure the DT doesn't have to do that to be a successful DT, and if the DT fails to get push and the back goes right inside Carter's gap, Carter is the one at fault. However, when you add an unbalanced talent at the end position who is far better at rushing the passer then stopping the run, the scheme has to account for that weak link against the run. We clearly don't have the horses to do that right now, and that's probably because of some pretty mediocre talent at the DT position.

If I didn't think Alan Branch would fix the problem, I wouldn't be pushing to draft him.