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RockRam
Despite the hype, no one player elevates an entire team.
The exception might be for a generational QB like Brady.
And I absolutely do not think that DTs elevate their entire team.
Nevertheless, there is an upper limit as to how much can be allocated to a single player. There's only so many dollars to go around in a hard cap situation when you have 53 players that must be paid.
Therefore, if you are able to draft an AD, then use the CBA to your advantage, thank your lucky stars for the 7 or 8 good years that the rookie scale, plus extension, plus a couple of years of the TAG, and then move on and let somebody else mortgage the farm for the guy.
This is hardball. And if the player decides that his leverage is never to earn a paycheck again if he's not paid what he wants, then so be it.
I agree that no one player elevates an entire team. I'd say only an elite QB and a great HC can do that.
That said, I absolutely do not think that categorizing AD as a "DT" is an accurate assessment of his impact. He's the best pass rusher in the game. Period. That can elevate an entire defense and I think we saw that last year.
Also, I absolutely think that the traditional notion of DTs - and what I know to be your view - is an obsolete concept. Interior pass rushing has been proven to have the most impact on a defense. There are metrics that back that up.
Moreover with AD, we're not talking about just a great player. We're talking about a historically great player.
You don't give that up after 7-8 years because you're worried about paying other players that are NOT difference makers.
To answer your question, here are players that are unaffordable to me: 1) aging stars, with decreasing performance, at the tail end of huge contracts; 2) average vets that require large salaries but could easily be replaced by cheap youth (think Hav or Brown next year once they get paid); and 3) subpar players no matter their salary.
If I'm looking to trim up the roster for salary cap purposes, I'm looking at those three categories.
But, personally, I mortgage the farm for historically great players providing a vital team need.
