Honest Needs and Upgrades

[adam]

Some of this is dependent on who they resign. I am going with them resigning Jenkins for one of the OG positions. With Braxton's injury, the OLine is going to need a new LT, new OC, and a new OG. They need a real TE2, with Allen probably leaving, they will need a new WR3, and they will need a new rotational RB. Depthwise, they will need another OT, OG, and OC. That is 9 spots on the offense at a minimum.

On defense, they need a real Edge2, another DT, a CB2, and another S. Depth wise, they need another DT, Edge, CB, LB, and S. So for the 53-man, that's also 9. 

So I see about 18 spots, at a minimum that need to be filled in FA and the draft. Obviously 4-5 of those are going to be vet min deals. The draft will need to fill 4-5 of those, so 6-7 need to be filled in FA with legit contracts.

[Bears4Ever_34]

100% they have to draft a LT in the off-season. I think they'll be able to sign some interior lineman in free agency. You probably want a veteran center instead of a rookie, ideally, so that could be a direction they look towards. Having too many rookies on the line would also not be ideal. That potential problem is why I think they'll use most of their money on veteran OL and use the draft to target the DL, which is the other area of major need.

Also, if I'm being honest, I really want to trade DJ Moore and Jaylon Johnson for draft picks. I'm so tired of listening to these two clowns yap about the state of the team all year while they quit on their team, as captains, no less. Surely somebody would offer a 2nd round pick for their services, and they could use those picks to further rebuild this roster around players who actually give a shit.

[Stinger226]

10 hours ago, adam said:

Some of this is dependent on who they resign. I am going with them resigning Jenkins for one of the OG positions. With Braxton's injury, the OLine is going to need a new LT, new OC, and a new OG. They need a real TE2, with Allen probably leaving, they will need a new WR3, and they will need a new rotational RB. Depthwise, they will need another OT, OG, and OC. That is 9 spots on the offense at a minimum.

On defense, they need a real Edge2, another DT, a CB2, and another S. Depth wise, they need another DT, Edge, CB, LB, and S. So for the 53-man, that's also 9. 

So I see about 18 spots, at a minimum that need to be filled in FA and the draft. Obviously 4-5 of those are going to be vet min deals. The draft will need to fill 4-5 of those, so 6-7 need to be filled in FA with legit contracts.

The OL, Jones injury is only a 4 month recover and if we can upgrade it would make him a swing T where his play skills should be. Jenkins will be back because until you replace him he is an above average G when playing. He needs competion, rookie, FA, Kiran A moving to guard. Only a few FAs that is an upgrade over Shelton and since Bates is signed for next year also competition. No rookie Cs are rated high buit if we draft a OT that can play center he may start his first year. We need to make it a priorty to get Trey Smith, but a few other vets, young and above average. Robert Jones/Dolphins or James Daniels/ Pitt. 

So resign Pryor, Shelton, Bill Murray (new FA) Trey Smith or other. Draft a OT and OG/OC . The key will be if Kiran competes at LT or moves to LG and if Bates is healthy. If we drafted 3 rookies and started them., that probably would have a learning curve. Nate Davis not wanting to play football anymore started a path of bad play and injuries the OL could not recover from..

On defense we will add a couple of new high pick DL. The back 7 are okay , they played at a high level until injuries to Brisker, Sweat, Gordon, Billings and the Stevenson fiasco. We can stand pat with Stevenson and Edmunds and hope a new coach picks up their play.  You cant replace everyone on a roster because they were injured or had a bad year. Williams, Pickens, Jacob Martin, and even Austin Booker has shown some flashes. Dexter will excel next year and K Walker is a steady player. 

If we bring back Allen a late round WR to develop will do . We havent been throwing the ball to Kmet so Everett is not going to have good stats because of snaps, not because he is a bad player.  If we fix the OL, Swift and Johnson will be mre effective and Ian Wheeler will be back from injury for added depth. 

We can get by with 4 high profile draft picks and a few  high profile FAs plus resigning some of our own free agents. That's not 18 new players . Pickens injuries got him a wasted year. He transformed his body like Dexter but we never got to see the results. Normal progression of young players have to be figured in our plans. We cant write off everyone.

[BearFan PHX]

I dont think they will bring back Jenkins as a starter.

I think we need four new starters on the OL, with at least 2 of them being rookies.

[Stinger226]

7 hours ago, BearFan PHX said:

I dont think they will bring back Jenkins as a starter.

I think we need four new starters on the OL, with at least 2 of them being rookies.

I agree but the line has lots of holes and getting 13 games of high level play is worth keeping around until you replace him. No one is giving him starter money so we can bring him back to compete for the position at bargin rates. Obviously if someone is brought in rated higher, they wont waste the money. If they draft a player with a high pick they may figure he is a vet that can help the rookie adapt to the NFL. It comes down to how they allocate money. 

I figure they prioritize LT with one of the first 2 picks and add a OG in the draft. FAgency additions will determine the priority. There are only a few centers available that played  better than Shelton this yr. One list has him rated 55 in the top 100 FAs. Only Kelly and Dalman are rated higher as centers. Jenkins is rated 19th. Trey Smith is rated 2nd.  They will bring back both and draft a OT and IOL that can play several positions. 

What I would do: Draft Banks at 9, and Wyatt Milum with one of the 2 2nd round picks ( can play several positions) and fit in 2 DL players around the top 4 picks. Sign Trey Smith for RG. A key to this will be where they put Kiran . People try to write him off because of a failed rookie seaso\n but I dont think he was part of the plan this yr. He will get a fresh start whether at LT(why he was drafted) or mover to LG. It  will affect both FAgency and the draft. The way the draft falls will determine the first pick. If Cater or Graham are there that probasbly means Banks and Campbell were already drafted. Campbell is project inside so I am uncertain on his projection as a LT. I dont think they are sticking 2 rookies at LT and LG, that could create more first year problems. 

[adam]

10 hours ago, BearFan PHX said:

I dont think they will bring back Jenkins as a starter.

I think we need four new starters on the OL, with at least 2 of them being rookies.

4 OL, Edge, CB2, S2, and a rotational DT. That is 8 starters at a minimum. So they need to get a min of 4 in FA. 

[Stinger226]

There may only be 3 new starters on the line Shelton will be back here. In a fairy tale world we get 8 first round picks to fill our trenches deficenties. Reality says maybe 3 new players on OL and 2 on defense. They will bring in another CB but it wont be any high assets. To many other holes to fill. Terrell Smith, Blackwell and Jalon Jones will fill in if Steveson doesnt get his crap together.