Chris Ash's defensive scheme thrives best when you have plenty of developed, talented depth at the defensive line, so your starters don't get beaten down.

This becomes even more important as the year progresses, especially for the nose tackle.

This year, we actually have that depth, and when playoff time comes around, it will be nice to have starters who are as close to 100% health as they can be for that time.

In 2024 and 2025, we didn't have that depth, and were frankly, quite fortunate that Howard Cross was one very tough guy (he was only at about 85% strength during the playoffs) who played through a Hell of a lot of pain during the playoffs, and that Donovan Hinish punched way above his weight class in 2025.