Offensive Depth Chart

I was thinking...where do we sit right now in terms of roster. Where will our holes be on NEXT year's team? What will we be looking to draft NEXT draft? I figured I would put together a 25 man projected roster for offense. Let me know what you think....

QB: Ben, Grad, Landry
RB: Dwyer, Bell, Batch, Stevens-Howling
FG: W. Johnson
TE: Miller, Spaeth, Paulson (I expect D. Johnson to start out the year on roster if Miller is on IR Reserve list)
WR: Brown, Sanders, Cotchery, Burress, Wheaton
OL: Adams, Foster, Pouncey, DeCastro, Gilbert, Beachum, Malecki, ???, ???

So camp battles going into the year:

1. Dwyer vs. Redman...I doubt they keep both.
2. Burress vs. Gilreath....I expect Burress due to his size wins this battle.
3. Johnson vs. Johnson....Will played great last year...why make a change?
4. 2-3 Open Oline spots. Malecki is listed, but I don't think his spot is secure by any stretch.

Draft Needs 2014

RB depth - If Bell is eventually going to be the starter, you are looking for role players, not a starter. Makes this a later round pick.

OLine Depth - Some of this comes down to how the young guys develop and who makes the squad, but there are some spots here. I don't think we are looking at starters, but you never know.

WR - Is Sanders extended? Do we want him to be? Did Wheaton step up and show starter potential? Could be a top 3 round pick.

Comments....?

 

If the reports about trying to trader Dwyer are true I'm betting he will be the odd man out.

rb- Bell, Howling, Redman, Batch, W.Johnson(please don't carry 6 again this year)
wr- Brown,Sanders, Plax, Wheaton, Gilreath,Brown(Either Cotch or Plax is gone)
OL- Starters-Gilbert, Foster, Pouncey, Decastro, Adams OL backups Beachum, ????? I don't see malecki making the team. He's been on 4 or 5 squads already and couldn't beat out legursky. I could see them signing Caldwell(texans) after 6/1 if available which would move Foster to a backup role alongside Beachum.
TE- Miller, Spaeth, Paulson(Johnson if Miller starts on PUP or IR)

 

I think Paulson beats out spaeth for the number two TE and I think the wrs will be brown, Sanders, Wheaton, cotch, and brown. Burress brings nothing other then being a red zone threat to the table.

 

the area on offense they need the most help in. Burress isnt going anywhere.

 

If you're talking 2014, no I don't think Sanders will be here

 

I'm just going by last year and other then gilreath burress was the most inactive wr and I think that is because he only brings one thing to the table and as the fourth or fifth wr you need to do more then just play in the red zone. He may be on the team and a full off season and training camp may change a lot of things but that's how I'm looking at it.

 

Yeah... I had been thinking of Redmen as our short-yardage guy but honestly I don't recall his stats/success n that role.

 

Unfortunately, next year's draft needs will likely be determined by injuries this year. However, to play along in the conversation, I expect to draft for the O-line, WR, and RB. Whether these be for depth or needs, I say you take the best players at those positions versus purposefully drafting a backup. Competition is "a nice problem to have"

 

is batch eligible for the practice squad still? don't forget mcneal from USC at RB either.

there will be some battles at WR. woods from wvu ain't bad either. brown has some redzone height and so does moye and spaeth. i don't think buress is a lock by any means and maybe not cotchery. it depends if the team wants to move on with the youth movement at wr knowing we could lose 3 guys after the season. it also means we could lose some good young talent off the PS or have to cut.

that leaves us without a vet but sanders and brown are 4th year guys and we now have a very veteran coach at that position.

O-line is wide open. we have alot of young talent in house right now. ebernate,madsen,wade,ferrell,hubbard,malecki(i like him), golic, long,cheadle,beachum. we will see some battles at G and C and if ferrell or long show anything he could stick as a 3rd or 4th T.

 

For what it's worth, Dwyer has said a bunch of stuff on twitter about how he's been working out this offseason. He sounds like he was in the right state of mind to take over the starting RB role... So we'll see.

 

he said and did the same thing last year. he went to ike's guy and worked out 1 month before camp. big whoop. most guys that are starters and highly productive players do more then a month of work to be the best they can be. the job was his for the taking and he failed to take it. redman is the better receiver,short yardage runner and is a good blocker in pass protection. he also had a better average per touch last year then dwyer by almost a full yard. bell,redman,LSH,mcneal,will johnson, and batch to the PS.

 

if bell pan out i prefer redmann to be a bu because is more a sure thing , dwyer is already lazy if he becomes again a back up he will be more demotivated , and btw i like redmann

 

i think golic jr gets one spot on roster. not because of who he is. i dont think that carries any weight but he can play. i also think he can play some center

 

It may be because he was a mid-season pick-up and didn't have a grip on the total offense (i.e. have a whole comap to pick-up on the system)

 

He's a wr and a route is a route us know what I mean. If he couldn't get a grip on the offense within a few weeks then that's his own fault. The only thing I could see is if him and Ben couldn't get their timing down I would think that should come in the first few season.