And even though Wharton’s the smallest of those new additions (he’s a squat 280, but has thighs the size of refrigerator doors), he can hold up well in the middle, giving them the ability to mix and match linemen, along with the return of Derrick Brown, and holdovers A’Shawn Robinson, Shy Tuttle, LaBryan Ray, and 2024 draft pick Jaden Crumedy, among others.
Not only is that group suddenly more competitive for roster spots (they generally only keep six when they go to the regular season limit of 53), but the versatility allows defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and line coach Todd Wash to do more with the ones they keep.
“I think what was important for us is versatility inside,” head coach Dave Canales said Saturday. “And having a guy like Bobby Brown, he has played the nose, he’s played all across the front, was huge. Turk, the disruptive way he plays, and more of a compact build, but he’s really sudden. Just having a little bit of a different style of play. It’s kind of the same thing as we were looking at in Cam Jackson’s film and evaluating him. He played the nose. He’s played all across the front, very similar to Bobby.
“For me, it’s the openness for Ejiro and for coach Wash and the defensive staff to be able to let these guys show us what they can do so that we can put them in the best situations possible and find those combinations there. But it gives us a lot of flexibility.”