Armon Watts and James Lynch
Watts received a bigger opportunity with Minnesota after Joseph went down with an injury last season.
Similar to Johnson, Watts is a big defensive tackle who can play the nose, but probably would be more of a threat to shoot gaps and pressure the quarterback than Pierce would have been. That said, Pierce would have presumably been better in defending the run. Watts could be a dark horse candidate to start now that Pierce is gone.
The player alongside him in this scenario is a rookie, but one that analysts have tabbed to take the three-technique position.
James Lynch is an enticing first-year player who could be a good fit for the three-technique. Lynch was the Big 12 defensive player of the year this past season.
Lynch had 13.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss in 2019, so he certainly projects as a player who could bring a nice pass rush in the three-technique. We’ll see if he wins the spot this offseason.