Roster holes
 

so after the draft it looks like we have some holes to fill.


1) RG- I assume we are just going to put Goncalves there. Really not ideal to go into the season with guard depth being this bad.


2) LB - Franklin is garbage. Carlies may be ok but who knows. Need to bring in some guys here. Hopefully a vet to challenge for time.

3) DT - behind Grove and buck we have nobody. hate relying on a rookie to back up grover. seems like a bad idea.

4) S - need to bring in somebody here. this shouldn't be hard to find depth out there cheaply


what else am I missing

I agree with those 4 positions still being needed, hopefully one or two of the UDFA's will surprise the coaches in training camp, and have a shot at making the 53.

But it would definitely be nice to see a couple more regular free agent signings to solidify the depth before OTA's and training camp, like at LB and S.

I think you pretty much covered it Omaha.

What sucks is that we could have filled DT/LB/S with our 3rd rounder. There were also some LBs and OGs that went in the later 6th/early 7th where we could have at least added some depth there instead of throwing away a draft pick on Riley Leonard.

After seeing some of the post draft analysis and looking at who we could have taken I really wish we would have either traded down in the 3rd and taken (or just outright taken him) is Ty Robinson DT NEB. Based on his write up, size, and production in college I think he would have been a good backup for Defo.

The only pick that I hate is the Riley Leonard pick. He was actually a better QB at Duke then he was at ND.

Is ND the place that QB's go to die or what?

Anyway Leonard was a complete waste of a pick. Who drafts a guy who's performance has deteriorated in the last 2 years?

I think it's DT depth by far. Our starters are an upper echelon duo, and we have one of the steepest drops when either goes out, especially Grover.

RG doesn't worry me that much. I really like Goncalves (and I think Sporano loves him), so I expect him to on the right side with an outside (low) shot of he and Smith swapping. Between Tucker and Pinter, I'm not panicked. They add guys, too.

Same with LB. After like Schwesinger... I wasn't all that interested in the class. They also mentioned that Anarumo eliminates the third LB spot. And they've clearly indicated they're ready for Carlies and I'm ok deferring since they've put out a pretty steady stream of LBs over the years.

DT is bigger

I am comfortable with Lewis, Adebawore, Gallimore, being able to spell Buckner to some extent without the level dropping off too much. But we need production from Gallimore and the new 6th rounder when they are stepping into Buckners role and this is where i suspect we will still see a big drop off.
We should expect to see some drop off, you can't have the level of talent that Stewart and Buckner have as depth, but they need to be able to hold their own.

Don't disagree that DT depth is a need, but I think LB is more of a need. Even if Franklin rebounds and Carlies is ready to take over as the off ball LB, our depth there is horrific. Looking at the depth chart now and behind Franklin and Carlies we have 7th round rookie who's being converted from S and a handful of PS guys. At DT we have Gallimore, Ade Ade, and now Tim Smith. Not great by any means, but better than PS guys.

Edit: Forgot Lewis can move inside on passing downs as well.

I suppose my thinking is more along the lines of A.) DT being more impactful overall, and B.) ideally, with only two LB spots, depth is less of a concern (not a non-concern) and Franklin/Carlies won't rotate anywhere near as much as Buckner and Grover have to.

And again, I'm good with the track record at LB overall so that plays into it.

Also, you remind me that the lead scout for Tuimoloau basically ID'd him as a Dayo role. So he'll kick inside on certain packages, too.

We could see similar development from Segun Olubi that we have seen from the likes of Franklin, Speed etc in the past. It would not be a surprise to see the Colts acquire Germaine Pratt from the Bengals either.

I'd be a fan of that trade.