So how do we think they should approach the offseason?

[Whatever]

(01-08-2024, 12:19 AM)Joelist Wrote: Despite the disappointing end to the season, the team has the resources (in terms of cap money and picks) to do a lot of needed things.

BUT

It is important to get the priorities straight because some of the needs are going to be expensive and they probably don't have the resources to do everything.

So my order of importance right now is:

1) Fix the interior DL room. This is going to be costly because we probably need a major Free Agent here AND a high pick. This is whether we resign Reader and he fully recovers or not. Trey can't be the only source of pressure up front and ideally you want the other source to be on the inside. Fix this and you see an immediate uptick on the defense.

2) Get a savvy veteran Free Safety.

3) Resign Tanner Hudson so that there is flexibility in the draft, especially as they NEED a blue chip DT and this is not a deep TE draft.

4) If both Tee and Boyd leave a veteran good possession WR is a need also.


Obviously the Tee situation has to be resolved early. The problem is his agent is notoriously hard to work with (not just with us either) and will want terms the team cannot perform if they are keeping Chase. So this may be a tag and trade (especially as draft capital is needed).

I was just thinking about player moves and not the higher level things like potential evolving of the scheme on both sides of the ball to fit the player skillsets better.

First, we need to separate the needs from the wants.

Needs

RT-Jonah is an UFA(not to mention he's been bad the past couple of years).  Nobody on the bench shows the promise to be a starter.  It's a terrible FA T, class, but a strong draft class, so that's where we should probably look for a replacement.

WR-Both Higgins and Boyd are UFA's after underperforming this year.  Fortunately, it's both a strong FA WR group and a strong draft class.  The likely best strategy is drafting a replacement for Tee and signing a vet to replace Boyd.

TE-Smith, Sample, and Hudson are all UFA's, while Wilcox is a RFA.  It's a weak FA class and the draft class is horrendous.  We're probably best off trying to retain our own for depth and making a push for a guy like Schultz in FA.

NT-Reader and Tupou are UFA's.  It's a good FA class and an ok draft class.  We definitely need to land a starter in FA. If they bring back Reader, we can probably pass on one in the draft.  If not, we'll need one for depth.

Wants

3 tech- Hill is an average starter, but Carter has been underwhelming his first two years in rotation.  It's a strong FA class and a deep draft class.  Could make a big splash in FA with a guy like Jones or Madubuike or draft a developmental prospect.

RB-Mixon is fairly mediocre and Brown seems to bust a big play or go absolutely nowhere.  Strong FA class and a fair amount of solid mid-round draft prospects.

As far as the secondary goes, they had three starters in their first year as a starter(2 of them being rookies).  I don't see them pulling the plug that fast.