Ok so with all of the moves being made the last few days, I was curious as to what holes we had left to fill on the roster. So I figured I'd compile a list of our current starters under contract, and we could take a look at where the biggest holes are. This little bit of research is twice as much as the NFL pundits are doing, since they still mock us going OT at #1.
Here goes:
OL: LT- Branden Albert
LG- Jeff Allen
RG- Jon Asamoah
RT- Eric Winston
QB- Alex Smith
RB- Jamaal Charles
FB- Patrick DiMarco
WR1- Dwayne Bowe
WR2- Jon Baldwin
Slot WR/ WR3- Dexter McCluster
TE- Tony Moeaki
DL: DE- Tyson Jackson
NT- Dontari Poe
DE- Allen Bailey
LB: OLB- Tamba Hali
ILB- Brandon Siler
ILB- Derrick Johnson
OLB- Justin Houston
CB1- Brandon Flowers
SS- Eric Berry
FS- Kendrick Lewis
CB2- Javier Arenas/ Jalil Brown?
K- Ryan Succop
I know that it is possible for a few of these players to lose their spots to a player already on our roster, but this is who I project to be starting if the season started tomorrow. Now we need to look into where our biggest areas of need are. So here are my thoughts, in order of importance, on which positions need addressed through the draft and FA. (keeping in mind we're only talking about starters, not depth)
1. CB2- I have not seen consistent top-level play from Arenas or Brown, and although I think they can both be role-players on this team, I do not see good things happen if either is a Day 1 starter. There are several options in FA and the draft to fill this hole
2. ILB- Many may have DE rated above this for need, but I think it is imperative that we get a suitable ILB to fill the shoes of Belcher. Siler stepped in admirably last season, but he is not a long-term solution. There should be several options in FA and in later rounds in the draft to address this.
3. DE- With Glenn Dorsey and Ropati Pitoitua likely gone, we are thin on the DE position. Bailey is a solid rotational player, but not an upper-level starter. We need a more dominant presence on that side of the DL to help shore up the defense. There are options for this in the draft, but not many in FA, unless we re-sign Dorsey. I just don't see much talent available on the market. (Update: I thought we still had Ropati under contract, but I learned he'll be a UFA as well, so I changed the starter to Allen Bailey)
4. WR2- I believe Baldwin may develop into a solid WR, but until he shows me something on game day, I have to list this as a position of need. We can't go into the season with only one legitimate receiving threat.
5. FB- Not that DiMarco is that bad, but it sure would be nice to have a more dominant FB. Of course, I'm not familiar with how much Reid uses FBs, so this may be a non-issue.
6. FS- Kendrick Lewis is a solid starter in my opinion. However, he seems to be injury-prone, and we can't afford to have our starters out for half of the games next year. I think we can shore this up in FA, but it remains to be seen how much cap space we'll have for a veteran. We may end up rolling with Lewis and some rookies next year.
Honestly, beyond those six positions, I don't see many flaws in this group. Sure, I've got my fan goggles on, and Tony Moeaki nearly made my list, but this doesn't look like a 2-14 team to me. We have options to take care of all of these positions this year, and I think we will. This regime looks like it wants to win now.
167 votes total
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Arrowhead Pride's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Arrowhead Pride writers or editors.
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