Wide Receiver (4/5): Despite concerted efforts to upgrade this position in the last several years, the Falcons still have a highly inconsistent receiving corps. Part of this is due to the nature of the Falcons offence. Despite all the garbage heard on TV last season about Michael Vick settling down as a West Coast passer in Greg Knapp’s offence, Vick was, is, and always will be a scrambler who, in the crunch, will rely on his transcendent athleticism before his arm (see last season’s classic game-winning score against the Panthers). And why shouldn’t he? After all, his legs carried the Falcons to the NFC Championship game last season, and the potential is there for them to return this season. Yet Vick’s quarterbacking style should by no means be used to exculpate the inconsistency shown by the Falcons’ receivers. Last season, the top 4 Falcon receivers, Peerless Price, Dez White, Brian Finneran, and Michael Jenkins, combined for a total of 1322 yards and 7 touchdowns. Four receivers single-handedly generated more receiving yards than the entire Falcon unit, and twenty receivers single-handedly caught more touchdown passes than the entire Falcon corps. Indeed, tight end Alge Crumpler came one touchdown away (6) from tying the entire Falcon wide receiver scoring output. Peerless Price has been a model of inconsistency since arriving from Buffalo in 2003, and Michael Jenkins had a very disappointing season and needs to bring his game up to another level this year. Jimmy Farris, a special teams contributor, is 5th on the depth chart.
Left Guard (3/5): Roberto Garza has left to join the Chicago Bears. Atlanta’s offence has a heavy run-first orientation, and thus this is a critical position of need. There are three replacement candidates on the roster, none of whom should inspire much confidence. Journeymen Steve Herndon, Mookie Moore, and younger Matt Lehr form an uninspiring combination of potential starters. But it is the hallmark of an Alex Gibbs-influenced unit to take reclamation projects and turn them into deadly cutters in the zone-blocking scheme. In this respect, Steve Herndon might be the best fit, given that he has experience in the scheme from his time in Denver. If the Falcons rectify the need in the draft, do not look for them to do so with a high pick. All of the Falcons homegrown starters, Kevin Shaffer, Kynan Forney, and Todd McCLure, were seventh-round selections.
Defensive tackle (3/5): A more pressing need than safety purely because of lack of depth. Defensive coordinator Ed Donatell uses his tackles to attack specific gaps rather than to neutralize blockers at the line. In doing so, he generates an extreme amount of pressure. Rod Coleman was exceptional last season, posting 11.5 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, and 3 forced fumbles. Ed Jasper chipped in with 2 sacks, 3 tackles for loss, and 2 forced fumbles. But Jasper was a cap casualty this offseason. Chad Lavalais stands to inherit his starting job. Lavalais, 6’1 293 lbs., is undersized for a tackle. Although he has shown natural pass-rush skills, he may be a liability in run defense. Pairing him with Coleman would mean that both starting defensive tackles would be under 300 lbs. for the second straight season. Reserve Antwan Lake has better size (6’4, 308 lbs.), but lacks the ability to start. It would be wise for the Falcons to beef up in the interior defensive line, at least so they can match up well against run-heavy teams.
Other needs: Free safety, defensive end, tackle.
Carolina Panthers
Defensive tackle (4/5): Kris Jenkins’ season was cut off by injury, just as he was coming into his own as the most dominant one-gap defensive tackle in the league. He will return this fall, and there is every reason to expect that he will regain his former as a tremendously disruptive interior force. The Panthers should begin thinking of an upgrade over Brentson Buckner, however. Buckner has had a long and proud career, but he will be 34 this fall and age is overtaking him. Carolina’s defense allowed a very un-Panther like average of 119.0 yards per game on the ground last season. Kindal Moorehead and Jordan Carstens combined to patch up the interior in the absence of Jenkins; Moorehead produced an impressive 7.5 tackles for loss. But because he is undersized, Moorehead is a poor fit to replace Buckner. The Panthers could best use Moorehead to spell Jenkins. They need to add a more bulky, gap-clogging tackle, however, to begin taking playing time away from Buckner. Buckner is still very capable of contributing, but the Panthers should look to diminish his snaps progressively. Cleveland Pinkney and Eddie Freeman are at the bottom of the depth chart at this position.
Running back (4/5): On paper a very deep unit, but the pall of injury hangs heavily over it. The bounty the Panthers felt assured they had on opening day last season dwindled as Stephen Davis and Deshaun Foster were felled in injury. Even the venerable “He Hate Me,” Rod Smart, was felled by injury. Desperation led the Panthers to start FB Brad Hoover in the backfield. Mercifully, unknown situational back Nick Goings stepped in at mid-season and performed ably, gaining the tough yards when necessary. The Panthers should not be content, however, with Smart, Hoover, and Goings as insurance policies if Foster and Davis are not healthy. While it is true that with a healthy set of runners, the Panthers have one of the deepest backfields in the conference, the uncertainty surrounding the top two players on the depth chart means that the Panthers need to provide themselves with a more explosive insurance policy than Goings.
Left Tackle (4/5): Jordan Gross will likely move back to right tackle, a position at which he performed brilliantly in his rookie season. This leaves the Panthers with three options for replacing him. They can slide second year man Travelle Wharton, who filled in ably at guard last season, out to the tackle position and rely on him to hold down the weakside blocking position. Alternatively, they could slide newly acquired Mike Wahle out to left tackle, where he has some experience playing in the past. The third strategy, and likely the wisest, would be to draft a left tackle outright, with an eye perhaps to selecting athletic FSU tackle Alex Barron in the first round. This would allow Wahle and Wharton to form a quality guard tandem, and would further give the Panthers an excellent young pairing at tackle.
Other needs: Wide receiver, safety, tight end.
Defensive tackle (5/5): Weakness at this position forces defensive end Darren Howard to move inside for much of the 2004 season. Howard responded well in terms of sack production, notching 11, but was unable to prevent opposing teams from averaging over 140 yards per game on the ground. The Saints will likely deal Howard to either the Cowboys or the Raiders by draft day. This would force the Saints to employ Howard Green and undersized Brian Young as their starting tackle pairings. Clearly, an upgrade is needed. Willie Whitehead has long been a productive wave player, but he failed to register a sack last season and, at 32 years of age, his play is slipping. Rookie Rodney Leisle only saw action in one game last season and he will likely never mature into a starter. And Kenny Smith departed to Oakland in free agency. Many of the problems associated with this position stem from the fact that former top ten selection Johnathan Sullivan has been utterly incapable of nailing down the starting job. In his two seasons, Sullivan has only started 16 games and generated a mere 1.5 sacks. The Saints may very well be forced to give up on Sullivan, consign him to the bust category, and move forward by using a high pick on a talented tackle.
Weakside linebacker (4/5): Derrick Rodgers and Colby Buckwoldt are the two most likely candidates to start. Buckwoldt exceeded expectations in his rookie season, notching 37 tackles and a sack, but it is far too early to give him the starting job. Rodgers will be 34 this October and, while be possesses a great deal of experience, he is not known as a playmaker. Last season, he registered 0 sacks and only 0.5 tackles for loss. Ideally, the Saints would draft a WLB who could be inserted directly into the starting lineup and save Rodgers, Buckwoldt, and recently acquired Levar Fisher for use on special teams. Buckwoldt could also be a situational contributor and perhaps push for starting time on the strongside.
Quarterback (4/5): A disputable need perhaps, but one where the Saints could only benefit from bringing in some competition for the starting job. Make no mistake, Aaron Brooks is talented. His career passing rating is a respectable 81.5 and he has always had a positive touchdown-to-interception ratio. But Brooks just turned 29, has frequently struggled with his consistency, and may never be able to take the Saints beyond an 8-8 record. Indeed, one has to wonder whether Brooks’ potential has capped out. Competition might energize him and furnish him with the will to guide the Saints into the playoffs. Even if competition doesn’t galvanize Brooks, the Saints need to be thinking about the future, because, as mentioned, Brooks will be entering his sixth season and can no longer be considered a young quarterback. Backing-up Brooks is Todd Bouman, who has played in a total of only 10 games in his four year career. The Saints would be in danger if Bouman were called upon to start. The third stringer is Kliff Kingsbury, who has evinced no starting potential and seems doomed to carrying a clipboard and signaling in calls for as long as he lasts in the NFL.
Other needs: Strong safety, strongside linebacker, left tackle.
Running back (5/5): Selecting 5th overall, the Bucs will be in position a franchise-caliber back in the upcoming draft. Reports coming out of the Senior Bowl indicated that Head Coach Jon Gruden was enamoured with Carnell “Cadillac” Williams out of Auburn, a smooth, shifty back with major home run potential. The Bucs will be positioned to draft him if they so choose. Williams is a gamebreaker and a fluid runner, who has bulked up in anticipation of the draft. He would instantly upgrade a rushing attack that average a measly 93.1 yards per game last season. Current Bucs starter Michael Pittman rushed for 926 yards and 7 touchdowns last season, and is still a valuable asset because of his versatility and pass-catching ability. Veteran Charlie Garner is aging and injury-prone. Youngsters Earnest Graham and Ian Smart are better first as special teamers. Mike Alstott will be retained to carry the short-yardage load, but nothing more.
Wide Receiver (4/5): The Bucs selected a gem last season in Michael Clayton, who instantly brought big play ability to their receiving corps, catching 80 passes for 1193 yards and 7 touchdowns. If they choose to pass on a running back at the number 5 selection, the Bucs will have the option of selecting Mike Williams from Southern Cal. The pairing of Williams with Clayton would solidify the Bucs starting receiving pair for the foreseeable future. Joey Galloway returns from an injury-marred 2004 season. Even when healthy, however, his 2004 contribution was very disappointing. He failed to go over 100 yards even once last season, and only averaged 12.6 yards per reception. Moreover, depth is non-existent here. Veteran Joe Jurevicius was released in the offseason, and Tim Brown and Charles Lee remain unsigned. Brown should be wise and retire. The depth chart now comprises a bevy of untried, untested prospects. These include Edell Shepherd, DeAndrew Rubin, Scotty Anderson, and Adrian Madise, none of whom has ever started more than 4 games in one season.
Guard (4/5): Cosey Coleman and Matt O’Dwyer have departed in free agency to Cleveland and Green Bay, respectively. Matt Stinchcomb is an adequate starter at the left guard position, but an instant upgrade is needed at right guard. If the season began today, second year guard Jeb Terry would be forced to start. Terry saw action in only 4 games last season for the Bucs. His backup would be practice squad journeyman Mitch White. Stinchcomb currently has no backup at left guard. Depth and starting ability must be infused into this unit if the rehabilitation of the Bucs’ ground game is to be successful in 2005.
Other needs: Offensive tackle, strongside linebacker, safety.