Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley hints at playing a 3-4 defense in 2025
I knew it! As soon as we drafted DE Oliver, I was like, this makes no sense, UNLESS we're using 3-4 principles...
Not saying it's good to be a 3-4, but at least some 3-4 principles brought into it.
At the start of last year, Hafley attempted to run his old 49ers stuff, which was basically Cover 3 and inverted Cover 2 which the 49ers stole from the Seahawks Legion of Boom teams.
But over time those Seahawks teams also ran two different scheme up front, a standard 4-3 and a 4-3 with 3-4 principles.
In the 3-4 principles, they had the standard 2 DTs and 1 standard dominant DE... BUT the other DE, a large DE that I believe was basically 300lbs, lined up as a DE BUT played more like a DT run clogging and keeping the LBers free, with a pass rushing OLB to contain the edge.
So it looked like a 4-3 and could play like a 4-3, but it could also play like a 5-2 (3-4 with the DL and OLBers all going forward). It could do either on any given play.
Now, that Seahawks 3-4 principles had both DTs and large DE playing two gapping, which has sort of declined in the NFL and seems like Hafley very much preferred penetration over two gapping... which is good, because we don't have the two gappers on the team. So I assume those DTs will be asked to penetrate instead.
But while I still would of preferred some sort of off-season upgrade at DT, I think the Packers have the large power DEs already in Enagbare, Van Ness, Brooks and Wooden whom all have played at least part time DT roles in college or the NFL. They should have no problem with large DE roles.
The pass rushing OLB is more what they lacked, as they had Mosby who has always been as DE/LB tweener, but they lacked more options, and I think that's where Sorrell and especially Oliver might come in.