Julius Peppers

[Oslo Oildrillers]

I was following Peppers quite closely for the early part of tonight's game and I thought he looked very impressive. He has been listed on the depth chart as CJ's backup, and Addison starting on the weakside, and on the first drive he only came in as a rotational strongside end. However on the next few drives he got plenty of playing time over CJ, and he also played a snap at 3-tech on a third and long. CJ rotated back in later so it didn't look like they pulled him.

More importantly Peppers looks much more dynamic and powerful than CJ or Addison and he does a fantastic job of setting the edge. CJ looks fat and slow with zero range in comparison. Just in the first quarter he had two really nice penetrations on running plays where he got into the backfield straight off the snap, another one that he jumped around and chased down from the backside, and a passing third down where he chased Mariota and forced him to bail on the play. His role might be kept as a rotational player but I have to think that they will get him a fair share of snaps, camp buzz around him has also been super positive, and if CJ or Addison misses time...$$$. He's sitting on waivers in most leagues so if you need some DE depth, particularly in deeper leagues, I think he can be a useful player.

[lukkynumber13]

Nice thoughts! Thanks Oslo.

Speaking of aging edge-rushers on new teams, do you like Dumervil as a possibility to start at DE for San Francisco?

[Oslo Oildrillers]

Nice thoughts! Thanks Oslo.

Speaking of aging edge-rushers on new teams, do you like Dumervil as a possibility to start at DE for San Francisco?

Actually the free guy I've been picking up in SF this offseason is Aaron Lynch. With Dumervil I don't really see a way of him being anything more than a sub-package guy, and even in sub there's a ton of competition for snaps. Lynch has struggled with his weight, he got suspended for substance abuse last year, and he has been a disappointment based on how SF has always seemed to have a big role in mind for him.

But he's a talented player and he's largely forgotten in IDP as he has always been an OLB. He is now around 270-280, after being around 250-260 as an OLB but ballooning up to 300 last year, and he's a more natural fit for the LEO if the Arik experiment doesn't work out. In the first preseason game Lynch had two sacks, two QB hits and a batted pass. Lynch has always been viewed as a player with character concerns, primarily in terms of effort and motivation, which is why he dropped to the 5th round, but he's already shown that he can be an effective NFL player - and if he matures a little and things go his way we may get to see that with him as a DE.