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Message: <blockquote data-quote="HardRightEdge" data-source="post: 879362">That's a pretty tortured perspective on the meaning of "value".  But let's set that aside.There's a perspective that Gary was a luxury pick after signing the Smiths, not an area of need, and therefore he must have been perceived as the best player avilable by the people who drafted him, irrespective of the other needs.Not so fast, in light of the following:1) The Smiths took too many snaps last season, both at 84%.  75% is a better number to keep from getting gassed and faking injuries to get a time out which we definitely saw on a couple of occasions.2) Even with those high snap counts from the Smiths, Facrkrell and Gary still combined for 64% snaps.3) The snap counts for all 4 players totaled about 230%.  That means on average three of them were on the field for 30% of the snaps, a Pettine preference, stated a couple of times.  It would have been more than 30% if Gary had played more like a #12 pick, but that's besides the point in assessing need.4)  When you look at who's on the roster other than Clark and Z. Smith who can bring pressure from 3-tech in nickel/dime being run 75-80% of the time, you're left saying, "uh, uh, uh...."  I would not have surprised me if Z. Smith took as many snaps at DT as OLB, whether standing up or hand in the dirt, if Gary was up to the task on the edge.  Pettine also discussed Gary playing that DT position eventually where you would see him and Z. bouncing in and out of that spot.5) And yet, even with only a 30% snap count with the hoped for three-headed monster going forward as the core and defining character of this defense, that's a 75% snap count for each of the Smiths and Gary with a little chip in from the #4.  More than 30% with all three on the field?  Then more chip in from the #4.  Fackrell was supposed to be that #4, not the other way around.Drafting Gary was not about having a rotational guy, injury backup, or simply "the best player available"--the Smiths and Gary were all intended to be in essence starters at those 75% snap counts, give or take.  That's a bit of a high count to expect from a rookie edge.  Many first rounders at the position are not 3-down players as rookies.  But you would have expected at the time of the pick that you'd get that in year 2.  Whether Pettine expects that now is TBD.These three guys, together with Clark, were intended to be the engine of this defense, playing aggressivley up front.  Yeah, from Pettine's perspective, the need quotient was pretty high with this pick.  It was intended to buy, in essence, a nickel/dime pass rushing DT with Z. Smith or Gary, not some backup.</blockquote>

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