Adding Jadeveon Clowney fleshes out defense, and helps bring roster into balance

"I like to be involved in this, involved with that, curious about things I don't know about," he said. "So being able to sit with the defensive staff for two to four hours just allowed me to take notes, learn, grow, and then really be a part of the personnel side of it. And all those conversations, you know, free agency, really hit me like a ton of bricks. I wasn't prepared for that part of it emotionally, like I didn't even coach the guys that ended up going other places. I didn't even coach them. But I felt the emotional connection after watching a full season and talking to our defensive staff, and I wasn't ready for how that was going to hit me from an emotional standpoint."

At the combine, he said that was a benefit, since he wasn't attached at a personal level to any of these players, which might cloud his judgment. It was harder than he realized after watching a year's worth of tape.

"And then once free agency started to happen, live learning how fast it comes at you," Canales said. "And then all of a sudden it's like here goes and then here's Plan B. Now, Plan B is gone. We got to go to see, and it's just trying to fit all the pieces together, which was really challenging. And I felt like I found myself really up early during the week of free agency. I was just kind of like, OK, where do we go from here now? Or up late, just trying to watch the film and watching, OK, these are the guys that are now available, and feeling myself being so emotionally invested. I did not anticipate that happening that way."

He also didn't anticipate a player like Clowney being available two weeks into the market. A three-time Pro Bowler is rarely available this time of year because the pass-rusher market went fast in the opening days of the market.

So, while Canales said Tuesday he had confidence in the outside linebackers on hand, he also acknowledged it was far from a finished product.

Make no mistake, getting Clowney in was a big part of feeling more comfortable about the work that's been done. He's capable of pass-rush numbers (9.5 sacks last year at age 31), but at 266 pounds, he gives them a solid run-stopper on the edge as well.