Nice article JR. Without any question, Lewis and Johnson were, far and away, UK,s two best DLs. JMO of course but a few additional observations and comments...
NT...Elam MUST come in in MUCH better playing condition than last season (I.e., 330-ish) if he is going to be a meaningful player. Despite his size, he is simply not effective as a 2 gapper and when in a 1 tech is often handled 1 on 1 by the C. FWIW, I believe his height works against him at this position.
DTs...I have long maintained that the 3-4 front is REALY a 3 DT front as all 3 DLs are never any wider than a 4 tech. So even if you call one of the DLs a "DE" he is really playing a DT position. The point being all 3 DLs need DT size and strength. And 4-3 fronts very frequently employ a "NT guy" playing a 1 tech.
ALIGNMENTS...sideline camera angles make it pretty difficult to distinguish alignments (I.e., techniques) but I suspect UK plays a lot of single gap 3-4 front. While this lessens the load on the DLs it adds to the "complexity" of the LB play especially when coupled with "hybrid" play of the JACK.
As far as pass rush goes, 3-4 teams usually put in rush package on passing downs but can be at a rush disadvantage against the pass in "50/50" situations. As I noted in another thread, this staff comes from strong 4-3 roots and there are some big differences in front 7 play between these two schemes. All in all, I think there is still a 3-4 coaching learning curve going on. All of course, JMO.
Peace
