What's The Most Important Defensive Position In Football?

sheetskout · Aug 30, 2014

When I think about this I can make arguments for five or six specific positions on the field. To me it's between DT, CB, or MLB, but there have been very successful defenses with, say, the LOLB as the dominant defensive player.

It's a difficult question to answer. I do think that a good DT causes you to play different on the offensive line. The MLB is the featured player in a Cover-2 scheme which has been used with great success in recent years. A shutdown CB allows you to do some other things that wouldn't be possible either.

What do you peeps think?

Not my article but related: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...the-importance-of-each-position-in-todays-nfl

sheetskout · Aug 30, 2014

Another more dated point of view: http://www.nfl.com/kickoff/story/09000d5d80a50113/article/the-most-important-position-on-defense

CFD1415 · Aug 31, 2014

IMO Its The Middle Linebacker. I Will Use My Hometown Panthers As An Example. Before Kuechly Came In The Defense Was Middle Of The Pack Now They Are A Top 10 Defense. Of Course Arguments Can Be Made For Several Positions Though. Plus Linebackers In General Have To Be Able To Handle A RB Or Receiver/TE

tpeichel · Aug 31, 2014

Shutdown corner, especially with the new rules.

gt2590 · Aug 31, 2014

I have never understood why so many teams refuse to spend high Draft picks on Safety.

Especially in today's pass-happy league a great Safety who can both play the run with the tackle and cover the deep ball is beyond valuable. Anybody think all the teams that passed on Earl Thomas, for instance, would take him with today's knowledge?

The whole NFC East doesn't have one solid Safety and their stats, especially vs. the Pass, show it...

sheetskout · Aug 31, 2014

For what it's worth I spent about 30-45 minutes reading articles on this last night and the consensus was "Pass-Rushing Defensive End". The claim is that guys like Robert Quinn or J.J. Watt cause all sorts of problems with an opposing QB's timing, and this is of much importance in a pass-heavy NFL at present.

I think about this during this time of year as Madden comes out, you start Madden Ultimate Team with a bunch of scrubs and then try to improve position-by-position by buying players. In the three years I've played MUT, I've started with different positions first. I will usually default to the shutdown corner or DT first on defense as they help me do certain things in my gameplan.

Really, a rare pass-rushing DT in the mold of pre-injury Geno Atkins is the gold standard for me on defense. The run-stopping DT with the ability to also disrupt a QB's passing timing a la Warren Sapp is what I would shoot for if had my choice of anyone.

Card Magnet · Sep 1, 2014

MLB.

It's often said "the middle linebacker is the quarterback of the defense". A great MLB elevates the entire defense through play and direction.

Posted using Tapatalk...which probably means I'm on the crapper.

lambert58 · Sep 3, 2014

tpeichel said:
Shutdown corner, especially with the new rules.

Based on my screen name is would always say MLB, but he is correct with all the rule changes. Heck, does anyone even plan on running teh ball this year? I mean my smash mouth Steelers have been pass happy the last 10 years!

gt2590 · Sep 8, 2014

"Shefty" 's in my corner:

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/1...w-thinking-safeties-first-adam-schefter-blitz

jbhofmann · Sep 8, 2014

Disruptive defensive linemen.

They're closer to the ball on more plays than any position. Look at where MLBs are drafted to get an idea of how much teams value them.

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