Among the many offseason items on BB's agenda, I feel developing depth in the LB ranks should be on the list. Our current group, when healthy, performs very well. However if one or two of them were to go down, then it gets dicey. Also most of our current group is over 30 years old.
So what do we have in house at the moment.
Beisel. Can he make a quantum leap in year two. Will he ever develop the instincts to play inside for the Pats. We are all rooting for him, but are continually frustrated by his play, or lack thereof. At this point I'm not sure BB gives him a year two to figure it out.
Claridge. Some would think that Claridge is getting a red shirt year and that's a start toward developing depth. But I'm not sure. He was very shaky during training camp and he'll need to make a Beisel type leap in order to stay on the active roster.
Alexander. Two years on the practice squad. He got some experience on the field last season. However he's still raw. Can he make it as a ST demon and then grow into a valuable second stringer.
So what's in the draft.
ILB. There are a few teams out there running the 3-4. Virginia has two ILBs that fit the BB profile. Parham and Brooks. Brooks only played two games this past year. However if healthy, he would be a good fit for us. Parham I like, but he'd need some time, gets caught up in the trash way too much. There may be one or two others that could make our team and contribute.
OLB. BB likes these guys to be tall and athletic. He usually finds tweeners or DE's and he "coaches them up". Plenty of these out there. The trick for BB is to find out which have the least amount of warts.
Free agents/Could be released
Contrary to popular belief, there are guys out there that could step in and play in our defense from day 1. Donnie Edwards played in a 4-3 at KC and slid into the 3-4 very nicely in San Diego. James Farrior was a gift for the Steelers. The important thing is to not reach, ie: Brown. I expect BB to be more aggressive this year in trying to secure his type of LB. I see us getting a LB early in the FA signing period. (Like he did with Colvin.)
In summary I expect us to sign a FA LB that can contribute immediately and I expect us to draft a player. (Must be able to contribute on ST.) I suspect Vrabel in an inside guy for the next couple of years. I do see Willie coming back next year, at a reduced salary. Davis, Brown, and maybe TBC, I suspect they are near the end of their tenure with us.