In his last year with New England, Wilfork actually played mostly DE, something I talked about when we signed him. I was surprised how much NT they wanted him to play here as he isn't meant to eat double teams anymore. So, if reader works out, perhaps a solution to the defensive line is that against teams who are going to run, or at least on first downs, you run Wilfork-reader-watt as your front. I could envision a lineup against Minnesota that is clowney-Wilfork-reader-watt along the front line to stop the run.
I like the idea, we'll probably see it used in limited situations. I think the draft showed us how much confidence they have in Covington (who I like) and maybe even Pagan
That would make it REALLY difficult if not impossible to run up the middle, but you don't want Wilfork and Reader on the field for a long time so a team could go hurry up to keep them out there. Once they get tired, the defense would get gashed. I'd like to see it in small doses though.
Well on one side you'll have Clowney who is really good at setting the edge, but the other side you have Mercilus and that's not really what he does. If you were going with the Wilfork and Reader in the middle lineup, you'd be against a team that you're not really worried about the pass, like Minnesota.
I think expecting a 5th round pick known for questionable conditioning to step in and be a day 1 NFL starter is a tall order. He has the talent to eventually be a very good NFL NT, but I think they'll need to kick his ass in the weight room and on the training table for a year or two before he's ready. I think the best you should realistically hope for is occasional snaps with Reader at NT and Wilfork at DE. They love to rotate the hell out of D line, as much as any team in the league, and teams are only in base package about 30% of the time, anyway.
