It's painful to think of how many kids opted for basketball and missed a great opportunity. Even some of those who do excel on the basketball court could be choice ends. A lot of guys who would be defensive ends give up the sport to concentrate on basketball. The days of the linear 290-pound ends are over. Defenses are getting so much faster, but they're also getting smaller.
Linebackers are smaller, and the ends are smaller.
And it's trickling down. The colleges are playing the speed defenses, too, which is why the ends are smaller coming out. The reality is they're blown-up linebackers. That's all well and good, but having a 330-pound tackle lean on you all day can be tough for a smaller end. That might be a big reason why teams are reverting back to more power running.