Also wait to see what the June cuts look like as far as DL/DB help
Saylors and Small did pretty good last year before getting injured. Not worried about an upgrade for RB3/4
Branch and kerby should be very good by the time playoffs roll around. In the meantime,
You have Izein, Clark, Maddox, Harper, Jackson those 5 are all above average. Good enough
I agree they need a vet NT. Maybe closer to roster cut down pick someone up.
Because right now its Williams and a bunch of UDFAs
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I would say they are better than street level FAs but I would not call them above average as NFL starters. In baseball terms I would equate them to O WAR guys. Not negative but not guys that are winning games for us. On defense I just donāt see the 5 WAR guys to make up for it without Branch.
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As of right now safety is my biggest concern. Really hope Branch and Kerbyās recoveries continue to trend upward. Secretly hoping Jackson pans out just because I like the story, but would like to see some more depth there, even though I do feel pretty fortunate to have Maddox as the 3rd safety.
PFF grades yes not bible but general idea
Maddox AND Harper top 15
Clark top 32
So sure worst case average best case above average.
They are fine enough. I dont think there is any way to get significantly better back there with out overspending
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Dang you pretty much nailed my list perfectly. Impressive. I also agree that none of it is currently pressing, or worrisome, more just pointing out potential holes that could become a headache. My ranking of those:
1- DT. The only depth we have is Levi, who is obviously very unreliable. Outside of that I totally get they are going to give the young guns lots of opportunitiesā¦. but I would personally feel better with another big NT type body on the roster
2-RB. I said this pre-draft, but I think we are putting A LOT on the shoulders of Gibbs. Personally I think we need another RB we can give some snaps too during the year that we can trust. Luckily there are guys like Cam Akers and such almost always available.
3-LB. I do think people are minimizing the loss of Anzalone a little too much. I like the rookie we added, and I like Rodrigo, but still I personally wish we had one more year of AA. I think we are underestimating how much weāll miss him this year.
I really do like the roster on the whole. Defense could use a little more juice but itās clear as day we hang our hat on the offense and I respect that.
I agree with most of this but I actually believe Pacheco has become very underrated. Not only on here, but leaguewide. He was lead back of a very good offense, then got hurt and hasnāt been the same since. Well the timing of it makes that not so surprising. IF he gets back to his best, I think heāll AT LEAST be the equal of Jamaal Williams.
I mean we had a badass run game with Swaggy and Swift, I donāt see any reason it canāt be substantially better with Gibbs and Pacheco.
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If Tyleik makes a leap and Alim returns to form, weāll have one of the better units in the league. Itās reasonable to expect both imo, the former is a 1st rounder who started to really round into form late, while weāve already seen it from the latter and he has a good reason he hasnāt been playing as well.
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Saw a good video yesterday that focused on what Chuck Clark can bring to the Lions. This guy is a Ravens fan that also has some appreciation for the Lions, and is a coach as well. He does a pretty solid job breaking plays down.
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I fully believe if Levi is healthy (big if), heās a lock for the roster. They love him and theyāve brought him back despite his injuries. They couldāve let him go like they did with Paschal.
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Paschal will likely unfortunately never play football again.
Levi still can and wants to.
But yes. BIG if. If he can play well and stay healthy thats a big boost.
Maybe Wingo FINALLY develops year3.
But both of those guys are more of a 3tech.
Williams is the only real nose tackle.
Even elite NTs only play 60% of snaps. They need another competent body to rotate him with.
They had Reader and Lopez last year.
Sure williams will take a step forward. And levi does something.
Still need one more proven body.
Odds are cap cut casualty
Yeah, Iām not sure the backup NT-type guy is on the roster. Weāll see though. I donāt have a ton of faith in Smith or the UDFA guy.
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If the Lions agree with us (1 more run stuffer veteran DT needed) there are a number of solid options out there still.
Alim, TyLeik, Levi, Wingo, Skyler Gill-Howard and Chris Smith as well as others including rookies.
Chris Smith might be a guy worth paying attention to at this point. 6ā1ā and 315 range. 27 in December. He might finally be ready.
Thereās a lot to like for sure. Obviously same concern about key injuries, especially to TE and S.
Love the attention to the OLine and Defense. Needed talent infusion on the Oline and the Defense needed talent through all of itās units due to the ridiculous injuries our D has suffered the past couple years.
Biggest criticism is QB. Iām still WTFing over Bridgewater being our back up.
The roster looks good especially on offense but there are some real questions about health at safety and who fills the Anzalone role on defense, theyāre also lacking depth at DT, will Alim return to his previous form, can Tyliek make the jump and are relatively unproven at Edge so essentially question marks all over the defense. I do like the depth in the secondary but I have serious questions about the defense even though they tried to fill the gaps through the draft.
The offense looks locked and loaded but Monty to Pacheco is likely a significant downgrade and will LaPorta be healthy. However the offensive line looks vastly improved but, again, just like the defense thereās some unproven guys that they will depend on heavily.
I think we already have enough to stop the run. People keep mentioning Reader and Lopez, well itās not like they helped us much last year. Two years ago we had Benito, Buggs, etcā¦ and were great against the run. Lots of teams donāt have big ārun pluggingā DTs are still good/great against the run.
Last year Jags gave up the fewest yards with a thin rotation of Armstead and DaVon Hamilton. Theyāre both good against the run for what they are, but neither is a NT. The Texans were next with Tommy Togaiai and Sheldon Rankins. The Seahawks and Broncos run 3-4s but their āNTsā weight 310 and 305.
Alim and Tyleik will take the bulk of our iDL snaps, and thatās 630 pounds of manpower, and both are excellent against the run. Leviās good against the run for a 3T, and as mentioned Chris Smith offers something there too.
Would I like a Lopez type? Sure, I guess. But those can be found very, very cheaply, just like Lopez was originally, or Benito/Buggs. Hell maybe Smith is that type already.
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We seriously got younger on offense.
Only 1 starting player, Goff, is over 27.
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Look at the snap counts when everyone is healthy tho. Mac and Williams only 60% each give or take.
Whose taking the other 40% x2? UDFAs? Undersized 6th round pick?
A guy thats been cut and resigned to the roster 5x already?
A guy thats never healthy?
Or the undersized draft pick that was a healthy scratch all season and lost his spot to a dude signed off the couch?
Im not asking for a world beater. Just a competent proven body. Ie lopez level.
see what happens June 1 and how OTAās look in June