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Rebuilding must start with D-line
We've got the next two weeks — it will just seem like two months — to compare the Patriots to the Giants. So what do you say we take a minute today and compare the Super Bowl combatants to the Broncos?
For all the differences between those teams and the Broncos, there's one that's more glaring than all the others. No, it isn't at quarterback or wide receiver or any other, quote, unquote, sexy position.
It's in the pits. Specifically, on the defensive line.
Look at the New England and New York defensive lines. Richard Seymour, one of the best D-linemen in the league. Michael Strahan, future Hall of Famer. Vince Wilfork, monster run stuffer. Osi Umenyiora, your basic monster coming off the corner.
It's no coincidence the Super Bowl teams have two of the three best D- lines — along with Jacksonville — in the league. In today's NFL, defense starts with pressure, and you can't apply it without a quality D-line.
You can't have enough quality defensive linemen in the NFL of the 21st century. That's why, assuming there will be one available and worth taking, the Broncos need to use the 12th pick in the first round on another D-lineman.
If not, they should draft a linebacker No. 1. But if they do, the kid had better be something special. Because, in the immortal words of every defensive back whose job depends on a pass rush, it starts up front.