[GTripp0012]

The main issue with a guy like Gholston at 265 pounds is not that he's any worse of a player because he's light in the ass. The best pass rushers in this league are grossly undersized. The issue is when you look at the defensive line as a unit, and as a unit it's small, then you've created a monster weakness for offensive coordinators to exploit.

Look no further than the Raiders for proof of this. The Raiders DL in 06 was on the small side, but mostly it was just good. Warren Sapp reports to camp as a 270 lb DT the next season, and all of a sudden teams have no reason to ever throw the ball against the Raiders.

The Raiders pass defense was still pretty good this season, but it did not matter because they were so terrible against the run. And like us, their LBs are pretty darn good.

The main point is that we are already playing with one 260 lb DE (who admittedly has improved against the run), and it would be beneficial not to have to play with a second.

Gholston is probably a better player than Andre Carter would ever be, but you couldn't have defensive success with Gholston and Carter at the ends. It would have to be one or the other.

With Calais Campbell, that wouldn't be an issue. Even at 280, Campbell is probably a much better pass rusher than a run stopper. But you can line him up at LE, and not give the opposition a clear weakness on the DL. The other thing that move does is allows Carter to continue to play the RE, and not have to be the main pass rushing threat.

I want to be clear here: I'm not advocating the use of the selection on a guy who can stop the run and not rush the passer. We need a guy who can rush the passer off that left end, and one who can be the primary pass rushing threat. Think Mario Williams. The key is to not create a glaring weakness that we would have to compensate for schematically.