When Gus Bradley was retained as defensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks following the change in head coaches from Jim Mora to Pete Carroll, one of the key personnel changes they made was to move Red Bryant from defensive tackle to defensive end.
Bryant had struggled to find a role with the Seahawks and actually believed the move was a precursor to him being cut by the team. Instead, the move helped anchor the Seahawks’ defensive line as they became stronger against the run and developed into one of the top defenses in the league over the last few seasons.
Bradley could be looking to find the same success again in Jacksonville as head coach of the Jaguars. According to Mark Long of the Associated Press, the Jaguars are going to move former first-round draft pick Tyson Alualu from defensive tackle to defensive end.
With Bradley at the helm, the Seahawks employed a hybrid 4-3 defense that lined up with four linemen and three linebackers, but functioned more like a traditional 3-4 defense in its responsibilities. Assuming the Jaguars use similar principles, the end position Alualu will play will be more focused on stopping the run than to be a pass rushing threat. With Alualu playing defensive end in a 3-4 defense in college, it’s a position he is familiar with.
“I think it works to my strengths: being a bigger body, being able to hold my own against an offensive tackle, being able to hold double teams versus a tight end and just being able to stop the run when I’m out there lined up against defensive end,” Alualu said.
Alualu hasn’t yet been able to live up to his status as a Top 10 draft pick in three seasons with the Jaguars. A knee injury his rookie season also has lingered and affected his play on the field. Nevertheless, Alualu had his best season last year for the Jaguars in recording 45 tackles and 3.5 sacks.