Most important positions to recruit Offense/Defense

[Groundswell]

Edit: I mean this list to be hypothetical. Basically, if you are building a college team, what positions do you place the most emphasis on.

I'm taking qb out of it because that position is one everybody says matters most. I'm curious what people think are the most important positions on both sides of the ball. I ask because everybody is so concerned about the TE position, which I think is more luxury than necessity. Anyways, here's my opinion in order of import for any college team, but I'm easily swayed:

Offense:
1. OL (No need to break down by position because they all are most important.)
2. Running back
3. WR
4. TE-Higher than slot for the blocking. I would include with OL, but nobody gets excited about a blocking TE.
5. Slot-I just think guys like this are a dime a dozen. Sure it's nice to get a 5 star like DAT, but major difference makers at the position are rare. Most teams find an effective slot guys.

Defense:
1. DT Gotta control LOS
2. Inside LB Gotta control LOS
3. Corner
4. OLinebacker/DE-I could move this one higher if you make run-stopping a major piece of the argument.
5. Safety

Overall:
1. Defensive Line specifically inside
2. Offensive line (all spots)
3. Inside linebackers.
4. Running back.
5. corner.
6. DE/OL
7. WR.
8. Safety
9. TE


I bring this up because everybody is so worked up about getting a 4-5 star TE. To me, I get worked up at getting 4-5 star guys at almost every other position before a 4-5 star TE even crosses my mind.

[Phenom]

You're too low on EDGE guys. They are #1 on defense, IMO. An elite EDGE guy changes everything.

Too high on RBs, too IMO. Like slot guys, there's a ton of really good RBs.

[duckfan22]

Remember when Haloti was here. He wrecked havoc on the o-lines. Sometimes even triple teamed.
You could put your cb's on an island and the edge guys at free shots at the qb or ball carrier. The last
couple of years we got no push from the d-line. the other teams could use blockers to keep the edge guys
at bay and the opposing qb's had to much time to find open receivers. Gotta have that beef up front. It will
open up the edges.

[Phenom]

Remember when Haloti was here. He wrecked havoc on the o-lines. Sometimes even triple teamed.
You could put your cb's on an island and the edge guys at free shots at the qb or ball carrier. The last
couple of years we got no push from the d-line. the other teams could use blockers to keep the edge guys
at bay and the opposing qb's had to much time to find open receivers. Gotta have that beef up front. It will
open up the edges.

How many Haloti-level guys are there though. Look at the NFL, the best defensive players (Watt, Mack, Miller, Bosa, etc.) are all edge guys.

[duckfan22]

there are not many but i think both should be a priority. We have seen where quality edge guys
in the past have been huge for the defense.

[Duckenstein]

I don't know what Leavitts defense will look like, but IMO, we need:

1 DE
2 OLB
3 ILB
4 DT
5 S
6 CB

On offense priorities:

1 QB
2 OL
3 WR
4 TE
5 RB
6 Slot/TZR


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[srsmiley007]

Overall: - Total of 24 guys.
1(tie). ILB - Assuming Cyrus moves to WILB we only have 3 (Simms, Niu, Isaac S.) for 2018. This would be disastrous. Depth is essential at this position.
Qty. 2
1(tie). TE - Only 2 on scholarship. Mattingly will be gone in 2018. Absolutely need 2. No depth.
Qty. 2
2. Rush End (OLB/Jack) - We need a serious motor guy. We missed on Artis, Need someone for this cycle.
Qty. 2
3. WR - Need taller receivers. We'll be down to Mitchell, Ofidile, Davis, Kane and Johnson by 2018. It's not enough.
Qty. 4
4. DL - Need depth.
Qty. 4
4. Offensive line (all spots) - These guys need 1 year to get acclimated typically.
Qty. 4
5. Running back. - We would be down to 3 RB's for 2018 (I'm not counting Judson).
Qty. 2
6. Corner - Losing a lot of guys after 2017 (assuming they are moving Lovette back to offense). Need real depth.
Qty. 2
7. Safety - One quality big stud.
Qty. 1
8. QB - We likely lose TJ this year, who else might go? We've seen what happens when we miss on QB's we need to keep this up.
Qty. 1

[srsmiley007]

Whoops. My bad.. 3 not 4 WR's in this cycle.

TOTAL: 23 prospects for 2018
1(tie). ILB - Assuming Cyrus moves to WILB we only have 3 (Simms, Niu, Isaac S.) for 2018. This would be disastrous. Depth is essential at this position.
Qty. 2
1(tie). TE - Only 2 on scholarship. Mattingly will be gone in 2018. Absolutely need 2. No depth.
Qty. 2
2. Rush End (OLB/Jack) - We need a serious motor guy. We missed on Artis, Need someone for this cycle.
Qty. 2
3. WR - Need taller receivers. We'll be down to Mitchell, Ofidile, Davis, Kane and Johnson by 2018. It's not enough. We have no idea how Kane, Johnson or Davis will workout.
Qty. 3
4. DL - Need depth.
Qty. 4
4. Offensive line (all spots) - These guys need 1 year to get acclimated typically.
Qty. 4
5. Running back. - We would be down to 3 RB's for 2018 (I'm not counting Judson).
Qty. 2
6. Corner - Losing a lot of guys after 2017 (assuming they are moving Lovette back to offense). Need real depth.
Qty. 2
7. Safety - One quality big stud.
Qty. 1
8. QB - We likely lose TJ this year, who else might go? We've seen what happens when we miss on QB's we need to keep this up.
Qty. 1
9. Slot - We don't need any....Redd, McNeal, Burch etc.

[Groundswell]

I really struggled with what to do about outside edge DE/LB. Honestly, in college, edge rushers matter less. I know the NFL places a premium on them, but I think if you're strong up the middle and have good corners, you can get enough pressure. I'm willing to change my mind on that though.

And, btw, I'm talking hypothetically in the grand scheme of things when it comes to importance of position. Not basing it off what Oregon needs right now. Everybody was acting like Falo was the number one get and the make or break of our recruiting class. He would have been a nice get no doubt, but I would have settled for any number of 3 stars. The real problem for us is depth at that position, not necessarily the need for a highly ranked guy. I would rather have had any number of 4-5 stars at other positions, and arguably Artis was a much bigger miss...though he's a 3 star.

[Duckenstein]

I really struggled with what to do about outside edge DE/LB. Honestly, in college, edge rushers matter less. I know the NFL places a premium on them, but I think if you're strong up the middle and have good corners, you can get enough pressure. I'm willing to change my mind on that though.

And, btw, I'm talking hypothetically in the grand scheme of things when it comes to importance of position. Not basing it off what Oregon needs right now. Everybody was acting like Falo was the number one get and the make or break of our recruiting class. He would have been a nice get no doubt, but I would have settled for any number of 3 stars. The real problem for us is depth at that position, not necessarily the need for a highly ranked guy. I would rather have had any number of 4-5 stars at other positions, and arguably Artis was a much bigger miss...though he's a 3 star.

You're right, in the scheme of things TEs aren't that important unless it's a transcendent player.

When you get a transcendent TE to pair with an effective QB, he can dominate games.

We're fine on offense, for the most part. We need to restock at a few positions for depth and the future, but we have guys.

On defense, it's another story.

We haven't had satisfactory play at multiple positions for years on end:

CB
S
WIL
SAM
MIKE
JACK
NT
DE

We've had holes at virtually every position since Pellum got his shot.

It's not a coincidence that we've had probably the worst defense over the past two-thirds years.

If we want to compete, they need to bring in talent at every position on defense.


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[Duckenstein]

Adding on:

I hope we see several 2017 defensive players see MAJOR time on the field next year.

The guys we've had just aren't good enough.

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[Groundswell]

Also want to be clear that when I'm taking the inside defensive linemen as the most important position I include the 0 tech guys as well as the 5 tech guys (the 5 tech guys are called DE in the 3-4, but conceptually they are DT). If those 3 dudes are top shelf (3-4), and you have some nice depth behind them, supported by awesome inside linebackers, I don't know that the edge pass rusher is as important. I think great corners are harder to find than edge rushers too. Bluntly, the NFL loves pass rushers, but elite edge rushers aren't the difference in college championships. Not even conference championships. Obviously, every team wants a guy coming off the edge who can get you 10 sacks, but I'd rather have pressure from the 5 techs all day long.

[akaTheo]

Also want to be clear that when I'm taking the inside defensive linemen as the most important position I include the 0 tech guys as well as the 5 tech guys (the 5 tech guys are called DE in the 3-4, but conceptually they are DT). If those 3 dudes are top shelf (3-4), and you have some nice depth behind them, supported by awesome inside linebackers, I don't know that the edge pass rusher is as important. I think great corners are harder to find than edge rushers too. Bluntly, the NFL loves pass rushers, but elite edge rushers aren't the difference in college championships. Not even conference championships. Obviously, every team wants a guy coming off the edge who can get you 10 sacks, but I'd rather have pressure from the 5 techs all day long.

Corners and really dominant DT are hard to come by in college football, but an edge rusher can just end a game by themselves. Look at Garrett at A&M. He just shuts games down when he is on. For the Ducks, I would say your list is probably close to what I have, but it is tough past OL on offense. A legit TE like Pharoah was or Dickson just can't really be stopped by the average college team. There are way more Jeremiah Johnson than there are Ed Dickson if that makes sense.

[Groundswell]

Also want to be clear that when I'm taking the inside defensive linemen as the most important position I include the 0 tech guys as well as the 5 tech guys (the 5 tech guys are called DE in the 3-4, but conceptually they are DT). If those 3 dudes are top shelf (3-4), and you have some nice depth behind them, supported by awesome inside linebackers, I don't know that the edge pass rusher is as important. I think great corners are harder to find than edge rushers too. Bluntly, the NFL loves pass rushers, but elite edge rushers aren't the difference in college championships. Not even conference championships. Obviously, every team wants a guy coming off the edge who can get you 10 sacks, but I'd rather have pressure from the 5 techs all day long.

Corners and really dominant DT are hard to come by in college football, but an edge rusher can just end a game by themselves. Look at Garrett at A&M. He just shuts games down when he is on. For the Ducks, I would say your list is probably close to what I have, but it is tough past OL on offense. A legit TE like Pharoah was or Dickson just can't really be stopped by the average college team. There are way more Jeremiah Johnson than there are Ed Dickson if that makes sense.

I hear you. But transcendent/generational players at any position are different than being strong/effective at a position. I understand it's very hard to find good players inside on the defense. Few colleges are going to get the very best guys consistently. What a college has to do--especially out West--is not get stuck in a reach situation every year where the team is taking whatever 300 pounders they can get. Often last minute because they've missed everywhere else. Oregon has a history of this, but many teams do. Course every team loves a Garrett. But the Aggies didn't get very far. I often think we over-value the "sexy/stat" positions.

[akaTheo]

I hear you. But transcendent/generational players at any position are different than being strong/effective at a position. I understand it's very hard to find good players inside on the defense. Few colleges are going to get the very best guys consistently. What a college has to do--especially out West--is not get stuck in a reach situation every year where the team is taking whatever 300 pounders they can get. Often last minute because they've missed everywhere else. Oregon has a history of this, but many teams do. Course every team loves a Garrett. But the Aggies didn't get very far. I often think we over-value the "sexy/stat" positions.

If you just mean which positions are important to recruit at Oregon to be good every year your list would be good. Winning a NC is, in my mind, the goal every year for recruiting, and in that case I think finding a difference maker at OLB/DE, depending on 3-4 vs 4-3, is more important than recruiting ILB. Getting by with solid play at LB is possible if you have guys making a difference outside. Same with DT, especially in the 3-4. If NC is the goal, for me;

Defense (in order of importance): OLB, CB, ILB, DE, NT, S. Offense: OT, WR, G, TE, C, RB

How easy each of those are for Oregon is a whole other discussion