Stampede Blue
Much of the time, when discussing needs after a season, there is somewhat of a consensus as to which position is the biggest need. Or we are at least split on two positions. I think that directly after the season last year, cornerback and quarterback may have been number one with a bullet, which saw both addressed in free agency. That meant that going into the draft, TE took over as the new squeaky wheel for most, with a few (including myself) looking for another difference maker on defense. After free agency and day one of the draft, I would say that most fans would claim that they were happy with the needs that were filled, even if not with the players they wanted.
You know that you didn’t do a great job of filling a need, if you have to fill it again the following year. I don’t think that we are in too bad of shape on that front. If we start at CB, I think most would say that we are good, as long as Ward does not retire and Walley is as good as his draft position suggests he is. QB may still be a need, but I doubt that anything more than bringing back D. Jones is feasible? We have limited draft collateral and I think I’d take AR and Leonard over the QBs on the free agent market. We nailed the TE, so it looks like we need to look elsewhere for our primary needs.
In my humble opinion, our new needs would include a pass rusher, coverage linebackers, pass rusher, right tackle, WR, RB, and did I mention pass rusher? At the Edge/DE position, only Latu, JTT, and Nchami are on the books for next year. Paye and Ebukam are free to go and Spotrac places Paye’s value at nearly 18 million. They say Ebukam could be had for 3 million . In short, I wouldn’t pay Paye, but I’d give Samson that contract, contingent on him making the team. It is not a star studded free agent class and anyone that you might want, will come with some sticker shock, provided they actually make it to free-agency. I was wrong about Hendrickson when the Bengals paid him the first time and I may be wrong again, but I think I’d let someone else take that chance.
If we can agree that pass rush is our most pressing need, how can we add at least one? The draft has not been that good to us, as we got first crack at it in 2024, taking Latu. How upset would you be if we had taken Verse? Turner? Robinson? Paye was about as good as we could do, back in 2021. You could say that we have done okay at best and that is using a first round pick to find that dawg. The 2nd round picks have also not added to our success, as Dayo and now JTT have not lived up to...
