Shanahan wants a 3-4 Defense

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As we survey the NFL draft landscape following an eventful college football season one of the biggest storylines is the overall depth of the defensive tackle class. The 2009 draft saw six defensive tackles taken in the first two rounds but this year there could be as many as eight, making defensive tackle perhaps the top position in the draft.

Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh and Oklahoma's Gerald McCoy are the top-tier players in the class, ranking Nos. 2 and 3 on our overall board, respectively. Suh's powerful upper body, athleticism and versatility to play anywhere on the line in a 3-4 or 4-3 scheme give him all the tools to succeed in the NFL, while McCoy's elite explosion and quickness make him a disruptive force on the interior. Both will be high-first round picks.



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Fernando Medina/US Presswire

Jared Odrick can bring down quarterbacks in a variety of ways.
The second tier is made up of three tackles who also grade out as first-round talents after film study: Tennessee's Dan Williams, Penn State's Jared Odrick and UCLA's Brian Price.

Williams is a big, two-gap nose tackle prospect who can take up space and reminds us a bit of Baltimore Ravens NT Haloti Ngata with his anchor and athleticism. Price is a one-gap penetrator who uses his hands well to control and shed blockers, while Odrick developed into a very good pass rusher this season and would be a nice fit as a 5-technique in a 3-4 scheme.

With the value the second tier of defensive tackles presents late in the first round don't be surprised to see teams with more pressing needs take a defensive tackle simply because the return on the investment would potentially be much greater than at other positions.

The Ravens, for example, need a big-play wide receiver and help in the secondary, but late in the first round those positions will be thin on impact players and someone like Williams would give them a dominant combination in the middle for years to come.

Teams like Cincinnati, San Diego, Arizona and Minnesota also fit that mold, and we could very well see teams with early-to-mid second-round picks and need at defensive tackle trading back into the late first round to get someone like Odrick or Price.

The third tier is made up of two interesting prospects, both of whom have first-round talent but will likely end up in the second round because of other factors.

Syracuse's Arthur Jones dealt with a nagging hamstring issue this year before suffering a season-ending MCL injury in October, but we have talked to scouts who rave about Jones's junior film, including one NFL scouting director who said Jones's performance in the 2008 win at Notre Dame is one of the most impressive individual efforts he has seen in recent years.

Jones has an elite punch to jolt blockers, is hard to move inside and moves well for a 300 pounder. The injuries will keep Jones out of the first round but he will offer great value early in the second as a one-gap nose tackle in a 4-3 scheme. .

Then there's massive Alabama NT Terrence Cody. At 360-plus pounds Cody has the potential to become an elite run stuffer at the next level and he is surprisingly nimble for his size.

He's no ballerina and his motor runs hot and cold because of his considerable girth, but big bodies like his don't come around often and if used properly Cody will be an effective space-eater in the NFL. He will also offer tremendous value in the second round.

Finally, Louisiana Tech's D'Anthony Smith currently grades out as a fringe second-rounder but could move solidly into the second with good performances in all-star games and workouts. Smith is another big, one-gap penetrator but his strength is rushing the passer. He is still learning to play the run but flashes the ability to be stout in the middle, so look for his name to enter the second-round discussion