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cool_hand_luke
Given the fact that elite offenses throw the ball in less than 2.5 seconds now, I believe elite coverage is better for winning than elite pass rush. Something to consider. Five years ago I would have said pass rush all day. But one coverage liability gets exposed brutally now a days. See 2018 Jaguars.
That's something to consider for sure.
I think we can agree that between the three qualities of pass rush, coverage, and run defense, run defense is the lowest priority.
NFL pay checks also reflect this reality.
Personally, in a general sense, I think I would still opt for elite pass rush being the most critical followed by coverage. Especially in my rush OLB.
But when specifically factoring in what our team needs, I feel pass rush jumps out like a blinking sign. AD literally got no help from the edge last year. And as we saw in the playoffs, great teams can scheme around taking him out the game. There is something drastically wrong when you can triple team him and no one else makes them pay.
Fortunately with Houston we wouldn't have to choose between elite pass rush and good coverage. He's not an elite cover guy but he is pretty good.