Is next year when the D finally drops off?

C

CP87

Well-Known Member
We have watched high-level talent move onto the NFL for quite a few years now, and somehow the D never seems to lose a step.

2016 20th ranked D (according to PFF D efficiency)
Lost Jaleel Johnson and Desmond King to NFL

2017 18th ranked D
Lost Josey Jewell and Josh Jackson

2018 5th ranked D
Lost Anthony Nelson and Amani Hooker (at this point we were wondering if Cash was here to stay, or if it took a skillset as unique as Hooker's to pull it off)

2019 10th ranked D
Lost AJ Epenesa, Michael Ojemudia, and Geno Stone

2020 8th ranked D
Lost Chauncey Golston, Daviyon Nixon, Nick Niemann

2021 5th ranked D
Lost Dane Belton, ZVV

2022 2nd ranked D

Next year we probably lose Evans, Shannon, Campbell, Benson, Moss, and Merriweather. Do we finally see a step back, or do they just keep reloading?
 
CP87 said:
We have watched high-level talent move onto the NFL for quite a few years now, and somehow the D never seems to lose a step.

2016 20th ranked D (according to PFF D efficiency)
Lost Jaleel Johnson and Desmond King to NFL

2017 18th ranked D
Lost Josey Jewell and Josh Jackson

2018 5th ranked D
Lost Anthony Nelson and Amani Hooker (at this point we were wondering if Cash was here to stay, or if it took a skillset as unique as Hooker's to pull it off)

2019 10th ranked D
Lost AJ Epenesa, Michael Ojemudia, and Geno Stone

2020 8th ranked D
Lost Chauncey Golston, Daviyon Nixon, Nick Niemann

2021 5th ranked D
Lost Dane Belton, ZVV

2022 2nd ranked D

Next year we probably lose Evans, Shannon, Campbell, Benson, Moss, and Merriweather. Do we finally see a step back, or do they just keep reloading?
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When Iowa loses two stud linemen or two stud linebackers they typically take a step back. Benson and Campbell are two greats, they will be hard to replace and Iowa defenses historically fall off when we have losses of that caliber within the same LB unit.
 
I would say the problem with replacing stud DL has partially been solved by Iowa going to 8-man rotations the last few years. This helps avoid building up a reliance on star players that leave. Plus this way Iowa always seems to have DL returning with experience.
 
guffus said:
I would say the problem with replacing stud DL has partially been solved by Iowa going to 8-man rotations the last few years. This helps avoid building up a reliance on star players that leave. Plus this way Iowa always seems to have DL returning with experience.
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This is truely amazing to have that much depth. Meanwhile on the Oline.... cattle are grazing.
 
LB depth has been hampered by Justin Jacob's getting hurt early in the year. I thought Jacobs was going to have a break out year this year. Hopefully he can come back healthy which will help. It's not going to be easy to replace Campbell and Benson though.
 
CP87 said:
We have watched high-level talent move onto the NFL for quite a few years now, and somehow the D never seems to lose a step.

2016 20th ranked D (according to PFF D efficiency)
Lost Jaleel Johnson and Desmond King to NFL

2017 18th ranked D
Lost Josey Jewell and Josh Jackson

2018 5th ranked D
Lost Anthony Nelson and Amani Hooker (at this point we were wondering if Cash was here to stay, or if it took a skillset as unique as Hooker's to pull it off)

2019 10th ranked D
Lost AJ Epenesa, Michael Ojemudia, and Geno Stone

2020 8th ranked D
Lost Chauncey Golston, Daviyon Nixon, Nick Niemann

2021 5th ranked D
Lost Dane Belton, ZVV

2022 2nd ranked D

Next year we probably lose Evans, Shannon, Campbell, Benson, Moss, and Merriweather. Do we finally see a step back, or do they just keep reloading?
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That's a great question. It's not always about what you lose but who you replace them with. For example, VanNess, Lee, Black, Craig, Graves etc can make a really good DL. Higgins has looked good when he's played. Jacobs will be back. Xavier, Cooper, Castro can play cash. Cooper, Hall, Harris can play CB. There are also young guys that may step up that we haven't seen a lot of yet. Our 2 deeps have an underclassman at every position. The other guy we have back (I hope) is Phil Parker.

Now, will they be as good as the people they're replacing? In some cases yes. Better than Campbell? Yeah right. Maybe I'm being too optimistic, I don't know.
 
NCHawker said:
This is truely amazing to have that much depth. Meanwhile on the Oline.... cattle are grazing.
Click to expand...
I don't want to speak for Phil Parker, but I always thought the 8-man rotations was a conscious effort by Parker to keep his lineman fresh. Ultimately I believe he decided playing the 2nd string guy who is not tired is better than playing a 1st string guy who was tired.
 
99topdawg said:
That's a great question. It's not always about what you lose but who you replace them with. For example, VanNess, Lee, Black, Craig, Graves etc can make a really good DL. Higgins has looked good when he's played. Jacobs will be back. Xavier, Cooper, Castro can play cash. Cooper, Hall, Harris can play CB. There are also young guys that may step up that we haven't seen a lot of yet. Our 2 deeps have an underclassman at every position. The other guy we have back (I hope) is Phil Parker.

Now, will they be as good as the people they're replacing? In some cases yes. Better than Campbell? Yeah right. Maybe I'm being too optimistic, I don't know.
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I suppose also a possibility they lose Van Ness (he is draft-eligible, and sounds like teams love his length and athleticism).

On the flip side, Benson and Merriweather have COVID years available.

If they roll next year with Jacobs, Higgins, and Fisher as their available LBs, I would feel very good about that. But I would be very worried about an injury.
 
CP87 said:
I suppose also a possibility they lose Van Ness (he is draft-eligible, and sounds like teams love his length and athleticism).

On the flip side, Benson and Merriweather have COVID years available.

If they roll next year with Jacobs, Higgins, and Fisher as their available LBs, I would feel very good about that. But I would be very worried about an injury.
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I've heard the same on VanNess. It's kind of weird that I read a draft guy that said he could use another year of college yet also said he could end up with a 1st round grade. Tough to say on him. Either way, he is a key in determining the strength and depth of our DL.
 
guffus said:
I don't want to speak for Phil Parker, but I always thought the 8-man rotations was a conscious effort by Parker to keep his lineman fresh. Ultimately I believe he decided playing the 2nd string guy who is not tired is better than playing a 1st string guy who was tired.
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A big reason for the rotations is out of pure necessity. Because our O sucks monumental shit, our D is out there WAY too long.

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99topdawg said:
I've heard the same on VanNess. It's kind of weird that I read a draft guy that said he could use another year of college yet also said he could end up with a 1st round grade. Tough to say on him. Either way, he is a key in determining the strength and depth of our DL.
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Black seems very much like a Jaleel Johnson or Daviyon Nixon...take awhile to figure out how to play with leverage and consistent motor, and then just absolutely dominate. We are already seeing Deontae Craig ascend. Graves flashes already, and Logan Lee will take the baton from Shannon as the leader whose contributions are so much greater than the stats could ever show.

I am very curious about the DBs. I think in a perfect world, DeJean is at Cash. I think he can have the most impact at that position, and you would have 3 legit coverage guys out there at all times. But Castro has been strong (even if targeted in coverage at time). If Roberts and Harris come back healthy (and Roberts uses his COVID year), those 2 outside, DeJean at Cash, and Nwankpa and Schulte at safety would be pretty salty. But if we don't have Roberts back, maybe DeJean stays at corner and Castro stays at Cash?

A lot of talent back there, I am sure Parker will figure out how best to deploy them.
 
CP87 said:
I suppose also a possibility they lose Van Ness (he is draft-eligible, and sounds like teams love his length and athleticism).

On the flip side, Benson and Merriweather have COVID years available.

If they roll next year with Jacobs, Higgins, and Fisher as their available LBs, I would feel very good about that. But I would be very worried about an injury.
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Replace Fisher with Castro
 
Fryowa said:
Replace Fisher with Castro
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Like as a WILL, or like as a Cash? The latter is status quo...the former is intriguing.

When I said LBs, I wasn't really thinking of Cash as a LB, but rather more like a DB. I was thinking of the inside guys as LBs.
 
CP87 said:
Black seems very much like a Jaleel Johnson or Daviyon Nixon...take awhile to figure out how to play with leverage and consistent motor, and then just absolutely dominate. We are already seeing Deontae Craig ascend. Graves flashes already, and Logan Lee will take the baton from Shannon as the leader whose contributions are so much greater than the stats could ever show.

I am very curious about the DBs. I think in a perfect world, DeJean is at Cash. I think he can have the most impact at that position, and you would have 3 legit coverage guys out there at all times. But Castro has been strong (even if targeted in coverage at time). If Roberts and Harris come back healthy (and Roberts uses his COVID year), those 2 outside, DeJean at Cash, and Nwankpa and Schulte at safety would be pretty salty. But if we don't have Roberts back, maybe DeJean stays at corner and Castro stays at Cash?

A lot of talent back there, I am sure Parker will figure out how best to deploy them.
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I would like to see Cooper at cash as well. He can cover and tackle. He leads us in PBU's Int's and solo tackles. I worry that keeping him at CB would hurt his NFL chances, because there's no doubt he's an NFL player, and he can help us in so many ways at safety, cash, or OLB. He'd be a helluva corner, but I'd like to see him elsewhere.
 
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Fryowa said:
A big reason for the rotations is out of pure necessity. Because our O sucks monumental shit, our D is out there WAY too long.

View attachment 9496
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Illinois 31:05
Iowa 28:55

That said all things considered, the numbers aren't too bad. Going into the Iowa game IL was average about 35 min for what ever that is worth.
 
Jacobs will likely come back and replace Campbell in the middle. He is the most athletic LB in that room and can play all three positions. Need him healthy next year. The secondary and LB should remain salty. The DL has a lot of guys coming back too. Next man up. They will still be very good.
 
Three of our best defensive players have played little or not at all this year.

Jestin Jacobs, Terry Roberts, Jemari Harris.

We have lots of experience coming back on the DL, and the kid coming from Iowa Western looks intriguing.

Xavier Nwampka should be solidly in the defensive backfield mix and between him and J Harris they should be able to replace Merriweather and Moss.

And the most importent defensive linchpin isn’t going anywhere.

The coordinator.
 
Todd McShay just released his 1st mock draft and he has Van Ness at 29th, but says that if he falls that far he would be a steal.
 
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