Evaluating Our Needs

So now that the season is over, it’s time to truly analyze what our needs are. We all know this roster is a joke and needs almost a complete overhaul. First, we need to get a complete overhaul of our front office. Literally starting from the very top at President/CEO to GM. We have to get that situation ironed out before any legit HC will be willing to coach here. Hopefully bringing in a new front office means they’ll be willing to make a splash to improve this team. If we retain Ruston and/or Mularkey, we’ll probably be in the same situation this time next year. End rant & on to the roster:

Quarterback: No Need
Signed in ’16: Marcus Mariota, Zach Mettenberger, & Alex Tanney
Notes: Hopefully Mariota takes the next step with a season under his belt. We need a sensational sophomore campaign to get this team out of the dumpster. I believe he’s shown he’s capable of that, regardless of who’s coaching the team.

Runningback: High Need
Signed in ’16: David Cobb, Bishop Sankey, Dexter McCluster, & Antonio Andrews (RFA)
Notes: 28th ranked in rushing yard, with a mobile QB. Partly the offensive lines fault, but we need our RB1. I personally don’t believe any of these guys can be that. We sign or draft a RB1, let the rest of these guys battle it out for the backup spots. Cutting McCluster frees $2.65M. I saw a BleacherReport article predicting key free agent signings, the author had Forte signing a 1-yr deal with the Titans, nothing other than speculation though.
Free Agent Targets: Lamar Miller, Chris Ivory, Bilal Powell, Doug Martin, Ronnie Hillman, & CJ Anderson.

Wide receiver: Moderate Need
Signed in ’16: Kendall Wright, Dorial Green-Beckham, Harry Douglas, Justin Hunter, Tre McBride, & Andrew Turzilli.
Notes: The hope is that DGB turns into the stud WR1, but fact of the matter is he’s still very raw. I think someday he could be a top-10 WR, but probably needs at least 2 more years. Wright is solid, but he seems to always be hurt, & he’ll also be on the final year of his contract. Douglas is average & not the youngest, cutting him would free $3.02M - but he’ll likely stick around for depth. Hunter is a bust, can’t expect any production out of him. DGB is our X & Wright our Y.. but who plays opposite of DGB?
Free Agent Targets: Alshon Jeffery, Marvin Jones, & Travis Benjamin.

Tight-End: No Need
Signed in ’16: Delaine Walker, Anthony Fasano, Phillip Supernaw.
Notes: Delaine Walker is a Pro-Bowler, IMO. Fashion is good depth. No need to carry 35195 TEs.

Offensive Tackle: High Need
Signed in ’16: Taylor Lewan
Notes: Lewan has had his opens and downs, but he’s still one of the better young tackles in the NFL. However opposite of him there’s nobody, we need a right tackle. We’ll need to sign or draft our right tackle, which makes Laremy Tunsil enticing for the front office #1 overall. However, we also should explore day 2 options or a free agent. Potential to resign Byron Bell for LG/RT/depth.
Free Agent Targets: Cordy Glenn, Bobby Massie, Riley Reiff, Russell Okung, & Joseph Barksdale

Guard/Center: Moderate Need
Signed in ’16: Chance Warmack, Jeremiah Poutassi, Brian Schwenke, Andy Gallik, & Quinton Spain.
Notes: Need better play from Warmack, it’ll be his contract year so hopefully he shows up. Giant hole at LG, unless Poutassi has a great summer. Center could probably be upgraded, but with so many other needs I wouldn’t be surprised to see Schwenke get the start.
Free Agent Targets: Kelechi Osemele, Jeff Allen, Stefen Wisniewski + multiple others

Defensive Line: Low Need
Signed in ’16: Jurrell Casey, DaQuan Jones, Angelo Blackson, Ropati Pitoitua, & Karl Klug.
Notes: Casey is a pro-bowler IMO. DaQuan Jones has had a solid year, he’s a serviceable starter and still has upside. Angelo Blackson in his limited minutes has shown some legit potential as well. Klug is a situation pass-rusher, worth his salary. Pitoitua being cut would free $3.25M. I could also see Bosa being an option, although his fit in our scheme would be weird (if we stay 3-4?). Although we have serviceable depth, there’s always room for a playmaking pass rusher.
Free Agent Targets: Muhammed Wilkerson, Derek Wolfe, Kendall Reyes, Olivier Vernon, Haloti Ngata, BJ Raji, Kendrick Ellis, & Nick Fairley.

Linebacker: Moderate Need
Signed in ’16: Brian Orakpo, Derrick Morgan, Wesley Woodyard, Avery Williamson, David Bass, & Deiontrez Mount.
Notes: Depth is needed at OLB. Morgan & Orakpo are great, but could use some help after that. Williamson I really think can be good & Woodyard is an okay vet, but could be upgrade; he also would save $3.25M if cut. I wouldn’t mind seeing him upgraded, but there’s only so much you can do in one off-season.
Free Agent Targets: Von Miller (kidding), Vinny Curry, Rolando McClain, Danny Trevathan, Derrick Johnson, Kelvin Sheppard, & Will Compton.

Defensive Back: High Need
Signed in ’16: Jason McCourty, Perrish Cox, Michael Griffin, Da’Norris Searcy, Blidi Wreh-Wilson, Maruqeston Huff, & Damion Stafford.
Notes: Griffin better be cut, it saves us $6.5M & he’s awful. McCourty is a solid CB1, but we could use an elite lockdown corner. Searcy & Cox were solid signings. BWW probably sticks around for cheap depth. So we need basically need two starters, FS & CB (Cox to NB).
Free Agent Targets: Josh Norman, Prince Amukamara, Janoris Jenkins, Casey Hayward, Jerraud Powers, Mo Claiborne, Sean Smith, Rashad Johnson, Tashaun Gipson, Eric Berry, Walter Thurmond, & Eric Weddle.

So out of the 9 positional categories, there’s 2 “No-Needs”, 1 “Low-Need”, 3 “Moderate-Needs”, & 3 High-Needs”. Great, so we basically need to overhaul our team. With the right cuts (Griffin, McCluster, Pito) we’ll have $34.4M of cap room & no expensive FAs that we’ll have to worry about resigning. Remember the majority of these free agents will resign with their teams. But for those who don't, we got some money to spend, hopefully the front office has the balls to spend it. Also, if there’s potential to trade down, we have to pull the trigger… we need the picks.

Personally, i'd focus first on the offensive line. We have to protect Mariota. This doesn't necessarily mean drafting Tunsil #1 overall (although we likely will). I would target Cordy Glenn, signing him gives us a legit RT. Resign Byron Bell for cheap, him and Poutassi battle for LG. Drafting a new center. Then we still will have $25M+ still left to spend after Glenn. Could target another key member to the secondary, a legit ILB, pass rusher, beef up front, endless possibilities. Spend some money in free agency, followed by the right draft... say, 1st: Jalen Ramsey (DB, Florida St) 2nd: Scooby Wright (ILB, Arizona) 3rd: Nick Martin (C, ND) 4th: Sterling Sheppard (WR, OU). That draft & off-season would have us fighting for the AFC South title.

 

Cliff notes: We need help at every position. But don't worry, we have $$$ to spend in free agency & high draft picks.

Now if only we had a competent GM...

 

Sounds like you need to jump on the Jalen Ramsey train then.