The 53 Man Roster Is Likely To Have 12 DB's (including STers)

[mgteich]

S: We have the obvious 4 locks.
ST's: We have 3 locks: Bethel, Davis and Jones (our returner).
CB: We COULD carry 5 corners in addition to our returner.

I don't think that we will be anywhere near set with the role of our corners for Game One. I think that there will be an extra CB on the 53-man roster, with one likely to be put on IR after the 53 man roster is set, or even a couple of weeks later. This player or players could return later in the season. We could even carry all the corners long-term.

In a way, we have this luxury because our usual STer at LB (now Wilson) is also a reasonable option at ILB. Consider STO King as a contrasting example in previous years. Also, our base is a Defensive Front Six, with 13 as an arguably sufficient number of roster positions. Finally, our safeties do a lot of LB-type work.

 

[Sicilian]

Based on the limited reports from the first day of OTA's (disclaimer obviously for how little we should read into that), those five CBs would be:

Butler
Mills
Mitchell
Jon Jones
Jack Jones

Marcus Jones will be on the team and should have a ST role, but he'd have to beat out someone above for CB snaps.

That leaves Shaun Wade, JJ Williams (oh no...), and Myles Bryant on the outside looking in. It wouldn't shock me to see Mitchell beat out by a younger guy for a spot, he's kind of our floor guy, but they have to prove they're at least to that level first. And of course injuries will play a part at some point.

It's a lot of DB's for sure, but I think they'll be playing more safeties in place of linebackers this year than in past years, so having depth and competition in the secondary is going to be important.

 

[jah]

Based on the limited reports from the first day of OTA's (disclaimer obviously for how little we should read into that), those five CBs would be:

Butler
Mills
Mitchell
Jon Jones
Jack Jones

Marcus Jones will be on the team and should have a ST role, but he'd have to beat out someone above for CB snaps.

That leaves Shaun Wade, JJ Williams (oh no...), and Myles Bryant on the outside looking in. It wouldn't shock me to see Mitchell beat out by a younger guy for a spot, he's kind of our floor guy, but they have to prove they're at least to that level first. And of course injuries will play a part at some point.

It's a lot of DB's for sure, but I think they'll be playing more safeties in place of linebackers this year than in past years, so having depth and competition in the secondary is going to be important.

I think we're probably only going to see 1-2 of the bolded players make the team, and as you mention, one of those spots will likely be at the expense of Mitchell. We've been pretty cavalier about putting Bryant on waivers so far, so that might continue.

 

[mgteich]

I think we're probably only going to see 1-2 of the bolded players make the team, and as you mention, one of those spots will likely be at the expense of Mitchell. We've been pretty cavalier about putting Bryant on waivers so far, so that might continue.

I would say only 0-2.

There is a possibility in that it could be Marcus Jones beating out Mitchell (or Butler). He may not be having many reps now, but that could increase greatly when he i more fully recovered from his surgeries.