Crabtree

[Flyingiguana]

A lot of our need hinges on who walks in FA. Morgan, Rogers, Goldson, and Brooks are all FAs. There's no way they all come back. I'm pretty confident Morgan will. The rest, who knows? I think there's a good chance only one of them returns.

If Rogers walks, CB is a big need. If he stays, I'd be fine going with what we have now.

Goldson is a big hitter and makes good plays on deflected balls, but I don't think he has special range or instincts. In the 20s, we might have a shot at a special safety who would upgrade that position (I've said before that my ultimate preference would probably be to play Goldson at SS and bring in another FS, but that won't happen).

Whether or not Brooks leaves, I think that spot could be upgraded. I like Brooks and he's a good story, but he's nothing special rushing the passer. If we could get two impact OLBs like Harrison-Woodley, Merriman-Phillips a few years ago, or even Ware-Spencer, our D would be downright nasty.

As far as WR goes, I agree that an elite WR is hard to find, but because of that I don't think we'll be in position to take one this year. It's possible, I suppose, and if there is a genuine elite talent, it might make sense. I guess I differ from you in that I don't know how much an upgrade at WR will improve the team so long as we have Smith at QB. I have pulled for Smith from day one, and defended him against the crazies on the ESPN board for years, but I don't know that he has that much more room to grow. It's possible that a dynamic and reliable receiver would push back the blitz if Smith hit him for a few quick strikes that made them pay, but I think that speaks more to Smith than his receivers at this point. If our offense is limited primarily by Smith, I'd rather make the D as good as it can be first and foremost. If value is there at WR, I wouldn't lay off. But I don't think we need to force a WR early by any means at this point.

i'd like to go after grimes even if we resign rogers. we're gonna need the corners with the schedule next year. not to mention to even sniff the super bowl over the next few years we have to go through some nasty passing offenses.

 

[EaseUrStorm]

Strategically my preference is to initially target WR and CB with the same patient FA strategy that got us Rogers. Those are the two positions I would focus on the most even if we are able to keep Rogers. During FA we'll move down the tiers with OLB, NG, TE, G, S, etc. to get good value when/if it comes available. Avoiding big names allows us to maintain depth in the shakeout.

When the draft rolls around it's all about BVA with high upside on both sides without having to bite the bullet on a lower rated player because of glaring need (see Davis, Anthony).

Would lean slightly towards helping our offense if we can't upgrade QB (which is likely). Definitely agree adding another TE could be the difference maker. Prefer a WR though. If it comes down to a higher rated 2nd/3rd tier TE over a similar WR, then that's what we can go with. We can carry 4 WR's and 4 TE's (3 receiving, 1 blocking) in this offense easily.

 

[EaseUrStorm]

Agreed we need all the CB help we can possibly get for next year. Mathieu looks very temping if he's there in the first. Wouldn't hate that particular pick as long as Rogers stays assuming there was a run on CB's before our pick.