I know a lot of people say ILB, but I'm not convinced that Mays and Demorrio couldn't be serviceable if the 3 guys up front consistently did their jobs. The defensive line's job in a Patriots 3-4 is to eat up blockers. Edwards is supposed to take on 2-3 blockers. He can't even eat up 1. Jackson has done it inconsistently. Dorsey a little more consistently. Take hats off of the ILBs, and they'll do okay. DJ's a wildcard who may get it this year, but I just think he's out of position way too often to be relied upon. I think between Mays/Demorrio/DJ/Belcher, while it's not the optimal mix of ILBs, it's not the worst of mixes.
Nose Tackle is easily top priority, but of course, you still have to draft based on positional value (and that's probably the 2nd-4th round). At Safety, it's a huge need for the Chiefs, but frankly, unless you have a playmaker like Berry, that's also a positional value spot. I will again say, though, that a playmaking safety trumps a playmaking ILB in a 3-4 by a mile.
The #2 spot has to OLB. I still think the biggest reason New England's defense has started to slip was losing McGinest. They just haven't been quite the same on the outside ever since. I like Tamba Hali, but I'm not sure he's a difference maker that you need. However, if you line Hali up opposite a guy who can put decent pressure, that's a mix I could be comfortable with.
NT > OLB > Safety > Nickle Back > ILB
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