Where do we need to improve

[mgteich]

There are a lot of good young OL in FA. Onwenu's contract is too steep. Maybe the FA for OLmen will dry up, but right now there are options available.

No-one ever said Onwenu is over-rated that I have seen. Where did anyone say that?

If we can release Onwenu and Bradbury and sign two better OLmen in FA, why wouldn't we do that? Not doing that would be foolish.

There are two OLmen available. One is a FA and the other is on your team. They both cost roughly the same amount. The guy in FA is superior to the guy on your team. Which one should we keep? Why is this hard?

Why is this hard?

Some don't think that there are so many better OL's in free agency that are better than what we have available at reasonable prices.

Can we really easily add the three starters that you seek at LG, C and RG? You didn't mention Moses. I presume that you would included him as one of the easily replaceable.
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AFTER ALL
There really isn't much competition among the 32 teams for starting OL's.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Why is this hard?

Some don't think that there are so many better OL's in free agency that are better than what we have available at reasonable prices.

You think Onwenu is at a reasonable price? LOL

We could add AVT and a draft pick to replace Onwenu. AVT is better than Onwenu and the draft pick helps protect against AVT injury concerns.

You do not think Linderbaum is better than Onwenu? We could have an All-Star center for 4 years at nearly the same money. Why is this hard?

You do not think Rasheed Walker at 26 is better than Onwenu at 29 this year? Again the money is nearly the same.

When we signed Onwenu a few years back there were not a lot of options on the OL. This year, at least right now, there are a lot of options that are better and equivalent/cheaper than Onwenu.

 

[mgteich]

You think Onwenu is at a reasonable price? LOL

We could add AVT and a draft pick to replace Onwenu. AVT is better than Onwenu and the draft pick helps protect against AVT injury concerns.

You do not think Lindenbaum is better than Onwenu? We could have an All-Star center for 4 years at nearly the same money. Why is this hard?

You do not think Rasheed Walker at 26 is better than Onwenu at 29 this year? Again the money is nearly the same.

When we signed Onwenu a few years back there were not a lot of options on the OL. This year, at least right now, there are a lot of options that are better and equivalent/cheaper than Onwenu.

Yes, there are players that are better options than those on the roster.

You seem to forget that there are other teams competing for the services of the free agents.
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You compare Lindenbaum to Onwenu as if we have the choice to sign Lindenbaum to replace Onwenu. Maybe we will. IMO, that has exactly ZERO to do with whether he is better than Onwenu.
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There will be many options. And, yes, one option is to dump our 3rd rounder without giving him an opportunity to play center. That may be fine. Of course, he can compete with Wallace for a backup LG roster position.

 

[Toofy]

Offense has too many holes . And no offense star gets released by any of their teams. So I would look into it as a four pronged approach with making defense as a stud

Sign your own - Hawkins , Tonga , Munford

Free agency - Sign Tre Hendrickson (30 million ) + linderbaum (20 ) + Cade otton (8)

Restructure contracts to get extra cap space - Diggs, barmore , Henry , Onwenu and landry retirement

Cut Candidates - Bradbury opens 8 million . Potentially either diggs or Henry.

Draft

R 1 - RT or LB or Safety or DT of barmore is released.

R2 - LB or DE

R3 - TE

R4 - safety

R5-r7 : bust or boom potential picks.

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

Offense has too many holes . And no offense star gets released by any of their teams. So I would look into it as a four pronged approach with making defense as a stud

Sign your own - Hawkins , Tonga , Munford

Free agency - Sign Tre Hendrickson (30 million ) + linderbaum (20 ) + Cade otton (8)

Restructure contracts to get extra cap space - Diggs, barmore , Henry , Onwenu and landry retirement

Cut Candidates - Bradbury opens 8 million . Potentially either diggs or Henry.

Draft

R 1 - RT or LB or Safety or DT of barmore is released.

R2 - LB or DE

R3 - TE

R4 - safety

R5-r7 : bust or boom potential picks.

No more average TEs for me thanks.
Otton is decent and young, but I still want a younger seam stretcher even if we add Otton.
Take a chance in the draft with guys with real receiving potential.
Koziol, Stowers, Trigg, Villari, Gyllenborg....pick your poison, but I want at a TE in the draft.

 

[Toofy]

No more average TEs for me thanks.
Otton is decent and young, but I still want a younger seam stretcher even if we add Otton.
Take a chance in the draft with guys with real receiving potential.
Koziol, Stowers, Trigg, Villari, Gyllenborg....pick your poison, but I want at a TE in the draft.

I am not against it. that's why a third rounder at TE.

 

[Brady85-23]

Alec Pierce. Best deep ball WR in 2025
Drake Maye best deep ball QB in 2025

 

[scott99]

I think Maye has a bad attitude about flexibility and the short passing game. His Checkdown Charlie comment expressed it too well. He needs to embrace Brady’s death by a thousand paper cuts style of offense, without totally giving up his deep ball threat.

I think you may be right about his shoulder being more affected by injury than we realized. I also think he may have started to regress or have problems with his mechanics just from the length of the season and fatigue. This is the first year he’s played a full season as a pro, so it’s his first chance to hit the rookie wall even though he’s not really a rookie this year.

The greatness of Brady was his willingness to hit the check down, plus his super quick release. Don’t know if you can teach Maye how to do either. Brady was like a great point guard distributing the ball to the open man. In some games, the 5 yard pass was like our run game. Brady ran the offense like a well oiled machine. He wasn’t perfect, he made his mistakes, but he succeeded consistently way more than he failed.

I always joked that if Brady was a superhero, he’d be Batman, like Batman, he’d take his lumps (make mistakes as well), but 9 times out of 10, he’d emerge victorious. Super Bowl 51 was a great example. Sacked 5 times, hurried countless others, threw 2 INT’s (including a pick 6), down 28-3, here comes Batman. The only QB in SB history to throw a pick 6, and still win.

Hopefully SB 60 is just a case of a team having to learn how to lose before winning. Hopefully Maye can come back stronger, and not let his bad playoffs get in his head.

 

[scott99]

Alec Pierce. Best deep ball WR in 2025
Drake Maye best deep ball QB in 2025

That’s who I really want in FA. Pierce is a great deep threat, but also a chain mover with excellent size and speed. Wanted him in the draft, but Belichick was at the helm, so of course we weren’t gonna draft him.

Of course Belichick picked Thornton at 50, Pickens went 52, Pierce went 53 and Trey McBride went 55.

 

[Drunken Cicerone]

In no order

Depth at O line
Depth at D Line
Eventual TE replacement for Henry and upgrade over Hooper. Especially a strong blocker
1A or 2 WR

They need to build the passing game with an identity l. It was pretty good but it seemed like a rushed together Madden lineup just made with guys who had decent stats

I think the defense is pretty damn close to elite. We undermine how good they did because “inferior talent” on other teams but they were super effective against pretty much everyone they played

 

[mgteich]

In no order

Depth at O line
Depth at D Line
Eventual TE replacement for Henry and upgrade over Hooper. Especially a strong blocker
1A or 2 WR

They need to build the passing game with an identity l. It was pretty good but it seemed like a rushed together Madden lineup just made with guys who had decent stats

I think the defense is pretty damn close to elite. We undermine how good they did because “inferior talent” on other teams but they were super effective against pretty much everyone they played

Depth on the DL is not in my top 10 on the list of needs for improvement.

Williams, Durden, Barmore
(Tonga), Farmer, Gregory
Taylor, Pharms

 

[Tunescribe]

I would also just add, and I am sure others talked about this already in this thread.....pocket presence. Is this teachable having that awareness around you? Hoping somehow, someway Drake is able to add this really important 'sense' to his skillset. Just not sure how you train your brain to do that....this SB accentuated his lack of PP....

Pocket presence tends to be instinctive but is enabled by protection, which Maye had little of vs. Seattle. During the season, he was great stepping up vs. the rush and rolling out/ad-libbing or scrambling for yards when it collapsed altogether. Pocket presence overall was a strong part of his game and should only improve with experience.

 

[NFL Mystique]

They have not had a gamechanger at TE since Gronk. Draft a young guy with potential that can grow with the team.

Pass rush needs improvement. They were at the bottom of the league in sacks.

WR 1 that can get open consistently. Easier said than done. But it absolutely needs to happen. Whether by draft or FA.

Maye needs to work on taking check downs more often. A guy who wants to air it out all the time probably won't win a SB in today's NFL. Defenses are too good. His release is too slow and increases unnecessary sacks/pressure. Get someone with lots of knowledge to work with on it.

 

[dliverey44]

Ol, edge, lb, wr

Love diggs but i think id rather get out of that contract and use it towards a true playmaker downfield. Hopefully pop or chism can take over in the slot.

Diggs has been my favorite WR for quite a while, but I think they should let him go and use that cap space to pursue OL in FA. Hell they could trade Owenu and use that 17.5 mil and Bradbury cut to pursue multiple OL. That has to be the priority imo

 

[WhatJustHappened]

Maye will get better, he did pretty well on short games.

 

[dliverey44]

NFL Salary Cap Space | Over The Cap

NFL salary cap space estimates for all 32 teams

overthecap.com

Look how much the money the Chargers and Seahawks who just whooped us have. Even the Rams have more $$$$$$ than us.

You also have to take into account the number of players they have under contract. the Rams and Chargers have 52 or so players under contract currently.

 

[n1997y]

Depth on the DL is not in my top 10 on the list of needs for improvement.

Maybe 8th or 9th on that list.

Williams, Durden, Barmore
(Tonga), Farmer, Gregory
Taylor, Pharms

Good start.

 

[WhatJustHappened]

Diggs has been my favorite WR for quite a while, but I think they should let him go and use that cap space to pursue OL in FA. Hell they could trade Owenu and use that 17.5 mil and Bradbury cut to pursue multiple OL. That has to be the priority imo

Onwenuw is tough, he never misses a game, and he's better than folks give him credit.... which doesn't mean anything to some people here.
He's not a problem .
If they can work the contract, it's all good.

 

[Brady85-23]

Move wilson to center. Extend onwenu to help with cap. Cut/trade bradburry. Saves 5 mil i think. Ben brown can play Interior back up again. FA/draft- LG,RT
Zion johnson, teven jenkins, braden smith
Jared wilson fits better at center. Lets not forget he got hurt too. Gonna get better.
Get the guy you want to develop for Moses eventual replacement.
Lets not be the colts with luck or the bengals with burrow. Gotta protect the qb.
Oline helps the qb helps the run game helps the D. # 1 priority.
#2 edge
#3 true X wr - alec pierce?

 

[Huckleberry1]

If they did nothing else but put together the best OL in football I would be fine with that. The defense is already Championship caliber and creating a great OL makes your QB better, your run game better, and your receivers better. They are obviously going to address more than that but I would love both Lindebaum and McGovern in free agency, and a right tackle in the first round ( e.g. Caleb Lomu). After that address as many areas as possible, but building a great OL is priority #1.