IDP Winners and Losers – NFC East

Mo Brewington

Winners

Su’a Cravens, LB/S? WAS

It’s difficult to project where Cravens fits in at the next level. While he posses a lot of the attributes needed to be an effective defender, exactly where he will line up is a question that remains unanswered. At USC, he played linebacker, both inside and outside. At only 230 pounds, he did an admirable job standing his ground in run defense without getting bulled over by larger blockers, he wasn’t a difference maker defending inside runs, but showed a ton of discipline and instincts protecting the edge while lined up outside the tackles. He has some cover skills, and was split out wide a fair amount, but in the NFL, I think you’ll want to limit his exposure to covering tight ends and slower receivers. His combination of instincts and ability should help him fair well in zone coverage. As cliché as it may sound, he would be well served by a role similar to Deone Buccannon, of the Cardinals. The type of versatility Cravens posses is highly coveted in today’s NFL. Terms like “Big Nickel” package, and “Dime Linebacker” play a larger role in the base scheme of defenses looking to level the playing field in a league, where the rules of play favor the passing game, and protecting quarterbacks and wide receivers. Players with Cravens’ skill set have a future in the game, increasingly in a three down role. Even if they can’t be clearly classified as either safeties or linebackers.

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Owamagbe Odighizuwa, DE NYG

There was some pre-draft speculation the Giants would look to bolster the defensive end position early in the draft. It never happened. With their six total picks, the team selected three defenders, two defensive backs, and a linebacker. Former Dolphin Oliver Vernon signed a lucrative free agent contract to join the G-Men this spring, a move that could go a long way toward improving a non-existent pass rush. The team hopes former star Jason Pierre-Paul regains the dominance that made him worthy of the franchise tender in 2015. In eight games last season, Pierre-Paul managed only one sack and 21 tackles despite logging 502 snaps on defense. He may be nothing more than a role player at this point in his career.

The biggest winner of all could be “Double-O.” Entering his second year, Odighizuwa will find himself entrenched in the rotation at defensive end, and at worst, a snap away from the starting role. At UCLA, OO was a disruptive force. Playing opposite Vernon should afford him one on one match ups, and chances to get in the backfield. Clearly GM Jerry Reese and the staff feel comfortable enough in his progress to spend their draft capital elsewhere, and enter camp expecting Odighizuwa to be a producer right now. Fantasy owners looking for a sleeper should consider Odighizuwa a late round stash. With no guarantee Pierre-Paul will return as a dependable three down player, Owamagbe could become a household name in the near future, despite how difficult it may be to pronounce.

Darian Thompson, S NYG

One of those two defensive backs drafted by the Giants was Boise state’s Darian Thompson. After years of struggling on the back end with the likes of Cooper Taylor, and Nate Behre, players whom the team’s professed confidence in never materialized on field, the Giants took Thompson with the eighth pick in round three, in hopes of stopping the carousel of disappointment. With Taylor and Behr’s inability to stay on the field, Thompson will have a good chance to earn the starting role in year one. Together with Landon Collins, the duo could give New York stability at both safety positions for the first time in ages. While Collins strength is playing nearer to the line of scrimmage, Thompson excels at playing the ball. His tackling is effective enough, but certainly not a strength of his game. The 17 interceptions he compiled in four years at Boise attest to his ability as a ball hawk. He should find himself starting for Big Blue in the near future, if not day one.

Losers

Marcus Smith, DE PHI

The 2014 first rounder has struggled to see the field in his first two NFL seasons. With the Eagles conversion to the 4-3 underway, Smith is staring down a make or break training camp this summer. The selection of Florida defensive end Alex McAllister increases the logjam at edge rusher, where veterans Connor Barwin, Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, and Vinny Curry are certain to see a majority of the snaps throughout the season. The addition of McAllister narrows Smith’s path to a roster spot, as the two players bring very similar builds and playing styles to the table. Working in Smith’s favor is the fact he was drafted by the once former, and now again, de facto General Manager- Howie Roseman, who likely isn’t eager to admit failure on a first rounder who he hand-picked. Barring a miraculous turn of events leading to a complete transformation of his physique and playing style, Smith could find himself looking for employment by the end of August.

Chris Culliver, CB WAS

First, Washington broke the bank to the tune of five years, $75 Million, and brought in All-Pro Josh Norman to be their new No. 1 cornerback late in the free agent season. Next, they spent their third round pick on Kendall Fuller from the football factory known as the Fuller Household to compete for a spot in the secondary. Now Culliver, in the span of only eight days, has gone from being the team’s number two cornerback, to becoming a potential cap casualty. Despite the signing of Norman, Culliver still has the fourth largest cap hit on the team at $9.25 million in the second year of his four year, $32 million dollar deal.

The $16 million initially guaranteed in the contract was structured in such a way that only $2.5 million will be owed to Culliver after 2016’s $8 million base salary, and $1.25 million of the prorated signing bonus are paid this season. Cutting Culliver after this season could save the Redskins $16 million dollars in cap room for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. When you consider how poorly he performed in Year One of the deal, combined with the prospect of Fuller growing into a more dependable, and exponentially cheaper option than the veteran, the odds of Culliver being on the roster beyond 2016 seems very unlikely. For his part, Fuller has been called by some the most talented of the four Fuller brothers, each of whom attained varying levels of NFL success. If you are currently rostering Culliver on any of your dynasty rosters, and haven’t divested already, you may want to open your league page in a separate tab and take care of that….like, NOW!

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mo brewington
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