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Just Say No to Dexter Lawrence at DE

Heading into the draft, I wondered about the Nose Tackle position. Dalvin Tomlinson, a 4-3 DT, lacks ideal size for the 0-technique NT in a 3-4 front. While I thought he held his own down last season after the Snacks Harrison trade, I do not believe he truly excelled at the role. In fact, given his lack of scheme fit, I wondered if Tomlinson was a trade candidate. But, with our lack of DL depth and the two low-cost years remaining on his contract, I dismissed the trade thoughts. After all, he's a good player . . . albeit one being asked to play out of position.

Then the Giants drafted Dexter Lawrence, which made sense to me. A younger, cheaper version of Snacks to handle the middle. Sure, we could have simply kept Harrison rather than create another hole on the defense that we needed to fill, but at his price tag and age I understood the idea of trading him. As for Tomlinson, the selection of Lawrence merely confirmed what I thought.

This week, I read multiple reports that they're playing Lawrence at DE and letting Tomlinson line-up at NT. Let me start by saying that it's OTAs and we should not read too much into this. Nor should we over-analyze the suggestion that the move may be backed by the notion that Lawrence may provide more pass rush than Tomlinson.

Let me be the first to say that there is NO WAY that the 342-pound Lawrence should be anything but a NT. The only reason to draft a NT in the first round is -€” wait for it -€” to play him at NT. A run-stuffing 3-4 DE who can occasionally get to the QB is not a first rounder.

More to the point, if Tomlinson is a better NT than 5-technique, so what! If you wanted to maximize Tomlinson's value, then draft a DE or an EDGE Rusher and leave him at NT. While Lawrence may be a better pass rusher than Tomlinson, I'll side with basic physics that a 342 pound man will not pressure the QB as much as an elite athlete 50-75 pounds lighter.

Plus, there will be ample playing time for Tomlinson if Lawrence is the starting NT, whether as the rotational NT (342 pound men should not play 90+% of the snaps) or as a 4-3 DT when we flex out to a modified front -€- not to mention Tomlinson's role as a rotational 3-4 DE. We need only look inside our own division (see Eagles, 2017) to witness the importance of DL depth to know there is a place for Tomlinson. While we are very thin up front, with a bunch of unknowns providing depth, our lack of a starting caliber DE does not mean we should keep Lawrence away from NT.

If Tomlinson is our NT, then drafting Lawrence in Round 1 was an unnecessary, luxury pick that should not have been made by a team with so many holes to fill. Once we drafted Lawrence, we committed to using him properly.


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