Roster Slot Assessment
As there is a bit of a lull at this point (heh, no kidding), I thought it might be a fair time to go through our current roster, and our current thinking about who is going to make the team (and implictly, how many spots we have yet unfilled).
Code:
POS PLAYERS WHO WILL MAKE THE TEAM BUBBLE PLAYERS SLOTS: NOW/MAX
QB Boner Chesley Ross 3 4
RB Criswell delosSantos Lee 2 4
FB Morimasa Emerson 2 2
TE Rego Lannon 2 2
WR Berkey Meneses Castellano 4 6
Newbury
C Houtz Wallace 2 2
G Cid Shaffer Beaton 2 3
T Tilton Gourdine Boyd 3 4
P/K Embry TBA 2 2
DE Hall Buxton Kershner Welch 4 5
Kleinsasser
DT Bradham Santos Shah Brown 3 4
ILB Watkins Dennis Rice 2 4
OLB Kuykendall Galvan Harrold Hoffman 4 6
Shepard
CB Raab Nave Scanlon McWilliams 4 6
Birkland Kindred
S Carr Plata Kettler Pope 4 6
Hornick Padgett
TOTAL COMMITTED SLOTS: 43
So, if we start out with the assumption that 43 players have “made the team” already, then we have basically ten spots up for grabs. (I am holding the kicker slot as filled, even though we don’t have a guy there at the moment, it’s not like I can use that spot for anything else)
Thinking practically, I will pretty much assume that my four rookies so far will at least make the team – so that bumps the number up to 45, really.
The biggest variable here is the offensive line, where I really haven’t found anyone I wanted to draft. We have seven guys slotted as “in” and really nobody else we plan to pursue. I think we are okay with our starting five – presumably using Wallace and Houtz as the center and at one of the guard slotsd (I haven’t decided exactly how yet), which places guys like Lenny Boyd (31/48) and James Cid (40/40) as our top reserves. That’s fine by me, actually. We need to have an eighth active OL, so there has to be at least one more guy on this roster – my best guess is that we will find a couple youngsters and/or castoffs, and go into the season with nine total. So, that is probably 47.
Now, running back. I have detailed my thoughts about Lewis Lee as a reserv RB basically just for returns. Right now, I think the chances are 50/50 that he sticks in that capacity. I frequently go digging in the pool of undrafted free agent players at RB, as there are often guys who have one or two decent skills there – so I imagine that we will have a few faces in camp to watch. My best guess is that we will just keep three players at RB, but our PR/KR options and the depth of ball carriers probably dictates that for us.
The two remaining places to focus are wide receiver and linebacker. We are a pass-happy team, running lots of three and four receiver sets, and right now we only have four guys slated to make the team. Not too good. Honestly, the ideal thing for this team would be to pick up one more decent veteran player (prehaps a punt returner) who we could use as a reserve WR and add some depth to the position. RB Criswell isn’t much of a pass-catcher, so receiving skills might be worth watching for from the RB crop as well – I don’t mind slotting a RB as a reserve WR as needed. (Lewis Lee eagerly raises his hand, and says he could do that…)
At linebacker, we have three solid guys in Watkins, Galvan, and Kuykendall. That is a good start. But past them, we have role-players. Harrold is better in coverage, Dennis is mostly a special teamer, and Shepard and Rice are just reserve quality. We pursued a veteran to add here, but lost out in the FA bidding. So, we end up being short here by one quality player, for my tastes. The rookie Hoffman doesn’t answer the question, he just gives us more mediocre depth.
If I assume from here that we won’t add any more veterans, and instead we will be filling in with rookies (including our two remaiing draft picks) – then my best guess is that we will be obliged to grab at least one receiver, one linebacker, and one running back, plus one or two offensive linemen. (And the obligatory kicker) If someone promising comes along at other positions, we will take a look, but our roster needs are fairly straightforward.