Bethune made the most of Fred Warner missing time. He went from seven tackles as a rookie to 94 last season, starting eight games and adding a sack with four pass breakups. He is around the ball a lot, trusts his read and finishes tackles instead of waiting for someone else to clean up. Now he goes back to being the backup MIKE, but that is much better depth than the team thought it had a year ago. He still has to prove he can create turnovers and hold up in tougher coverage matchups. I have him at a six because he already showed he can step in and keep the defense functioning.
Strengths: Bethune reads the run quickly, pursues with good effort and consistently arrives in position to finish. His 94 tackles in 14 games show real involvement, and the experience calling parts of the defense during Warner's absence should make him a more reliable backup.
Weaknesses: Turnover production is still missing in regular-season games, and quicker receiving backs can test his change of direction in man coverage. He also needs to become more decisive taking on blocks instead of getting caught in traffic on inside runs.
