Resign:
OT/OG Tyson Clabo- He definitely should be kept for depth. He isn’t a starting quality OT, but I would be very comfortable with him as a backup. 3 years 8 Million contract
OG Harvey Dahl- Dahl is very similar to Clabo. Neither are very good long-term starters, but can be EXCELLENT backups. I think Dahl might could play C and could take a few snaps there if need be. 3 years 8 Million contract
RB Jerious Norwood- Even though he has some injury concerns, I just do not see us letting him go. He is too valuable when he is on the field. 4 years 14 Million Contract.
CB Brent Grimes- Grimes is not a great player, but he is solid depth and could be a good NB.
3 years 3 Million contract
FA Acquisitions
DE Aaron Kampman- It is very unlikely that the Packers are going to hold onto Kampman after this year. Because he is older, he won’t be affected by the CBA problems either and can become a UFA. Kampman just doesn’t fit the Packers’ new 3-4 Defense and I don’t see the Packers trying to keep him. A Rookie DE is not going to improve our pass rush immediately. Kampman/Abraham can give us at 2-3 very good years of consistent play.
His ultimate job on this team is to give us immediate contributions while helping to develop the trio of JA98/Biermann/Sidbury.
3 years 23 Million
CB Dunta Robinson- I didn’t know this, but Robinson actually can become a UFA no matter what happens with the CBA too. He obviously is not happy in Houston and it is a chance he will be with another team next year. With Demeco Ryans, Andrew Walter, and Owen Daniels all needing new contracts, it may be tough to resign Robinson. The Texans cannot afford to use the Tag on an uninspired player who wants out that badly. If the Texans can’t negotiate two long-term contracts for 2 of the 3 other Houston players, Robinson has a very good chance of leaving.
It is his 6th year, but he is still only 27 years old. Robinson would definitely solidify one starting spot and we still would get a young player who can give us multiple years. We might have to shell out a few bucks for him, but he would definitely be worth it.
5 years 44 Million
OLB Thomas Howard- This is more of TD signing. He won’t cost very much, but still should be very productive. He is one of the fastest LBs in the league and is great in coverage. I think he would come in and move Peterson over to SLB. He is also very young and can give us multiple years.
3 years 14 Million
Assuming we get 4th and 5th round picks for Foxworth and Boley
Trade: We Give: S Erik Coleman + DE Chauncey Davis + CB Chris Houston + 2010 5th rounder + 2011 3rd rounder.
We Get: 2nd rounder
Draft
1. OT Anthony Davis Rutgers 6’6 335- A lot of you may not have heard about Davis, but he is a very rare talent. At 6’6 330 he has a rare combination of size, strength, and quickness. He is great in both pass protection and run blocking and surprisingly has GREAT feet. He also has some experience at G. Davis would definitely be an upgrade to our offensive line and should start right away at RT. He is a little raw, but is MUCH more talented than Clabo in all facets of the game. Boadreau will finally have some legitimate talent on the line and we should definitely see some improvements. He could move up into the Top 10 by the end of the season, but for now, I have him as a late 1st/ early 2nd round prospect.
The main problem with our offense has been our offensive line’s inability to play at a high level against respectable defenses. I am not extremely surprised that we have not been very good on offense this year, because we had the same problem last year. I really believe that Michael Oher would have been the pick if the Ravens hadn’t jumped in front of us. We need to get more talented on the offensive line and Davis is the ideal fit for the RT spot. If we continue to build around Matt Ryan he will become a great QB.
2. CB Trevard Lindley 6’0 190 Kentucky- At this point, I will be happy with either Lindley or Cox in the 2nd, but I like Lindley just a tad bit more because he is more of a playmaker. The most valuable asset that Lindley will bring to our defense is the ability to be left on an island without much safety help. He matches up against the best WRs in the country and consistently plays well. He also would have that size that no CB on our roster really has. Dunta Robinson/Trevard Lindley/Chris Owens/Brent Grimes will change our CB group from one of the least talented groups to one of the most talented groups.
He is injured now and has missed a large chunk of the season. That is why I think he will end up in the 2nd round come draft day. It would definitely be good to have a 3 man competition for that last starting spot. The reason I go CB is that I still feel that it is a long shot for Owens to become a starter and Grimes is still not a starting caliber CB imo. Both are undersized and may have trouble against bigger WRs. Lindley is 6'0 with an extremely long wing span and should be able to match up better against bigger Receivers.
3. WR Dezmon Briscoe 6’3 202 Kansas- If we continue to build around Matt Ryan, he will be great. Briscoe combines size, toughness, great hands, and intelligence at the WR position. If he ran a better 40 he probably would be considered one of the top prospects in the nation. He is faster on the field and is GREAT at getting YAC. He uses his size to his advantage. Briscoe pretty much does everything well that Jenkins does not. He is a junior, but will probably come out because he will lose his QB next year. If you have watched Briscoe play, you would be ecstatic if we got him on our team.
4. OT/G Chris Scott 6’5 341 Tennessee- You would think that a 341 lb lineman would have slow feet, but just like Anthony Davis, Scott has very light feet. He is playing LT right now for Tennessee, but he has experience at almost every position on the offensive line. I believe that Scott could really push Dahl for the starting RG spot. He just throws D-Lineman around and plays with that same nasty streak that Dahl does. He is just much more physically talented and could really be a force on the interior line similar to the way Carl Nicks has been with the Saints. Once again, if we build around Matt Ryan, he will be great.
4. C J.D. Walton 6’3 305 Baylor- Walton is an extremely physical C and would be perfect in our offense. I like that He has much better size than McClure and is more equipped to handle bigger DTs. He would learn from for a year or two and take over in the future.
5. TE Dedrick Epps 6’5 253 Miami- He doesn’t get the attention that other TEs do, but he is a very good player. He is already in a Pro style offense and knows how to block. His learning curve will be much easier than say a Dennis Pitta or Jermaine Gresham. Chase Coffman is really having problems in the NFL because it almost like he has to learn how to play a whole new position. Epps won’t be completely clueless and he would have the best TE ever to learn from.
Offseason outlook: I really get the feeling that we will be a bit more active in FA this offseason. Our defense would improve DRAMATICALLY through the additions. Dunta Robinson, Aaron Kampman, Thomas Howard and Trevard Lindley give us 4 potential starters and 3 long-term players. We improve every layer of our defense. The biggest thing is that we add Kampman to help mentor Sidbury/Biermann/Anderson. Him and Abraham should have a major influence on those guys and help them to grow into better players.
On offense, we revamp our offensive line and get a premier OT to protect Ryan. We get a versatile OT/G in Chris Scott, who I believe would take over for Dahl. We also get a very good WR to come in and push Jenkins a little more. It would really be a battle for that last RG spot between Scott, Dahl, and Clabo that should bring out the best in all 3 of them. We would have GREAT depth on the interior line.
With this offseason, DE may be our only huge need going into 2011.
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