Galian Beast
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Since the end of the season I've gone back and forth on what is the best way to build this team back up in 2016.
It's clear that we need to make significant investments in our defense in order to become more competitive moving forward. There is also a limit to what you can do here.
The crux of any argument I make is based on the idea that Tony Romo is a franchise quarterback and that while you have a franchise quarterback you possess the best chance to win a Super Bowl. I think his time left is our best window.
This tells me that we have to do whatever we can to build a team around him that can win.
I think with our franchise QB and our elite offensive line, the best way to build this team isn't necessarily as a defensive powerhouse, but rather to create as explosive an offense as we can.
I knew there was a good chance that Alshon Jeffery would be franchised, but he was my best hope at achieving this. I was also very interested in Lamar Miller, but I can't get my head around paying a running back 6+ million dollars a year, even if I think he could be a perfect fit.
This has brought me to my present mentality about the 2016 team.
We need to build the offense through the draft. If the 49ers covet Goff, maybe they could be enticed to trade their 7th pick and their 2nd round draft pick for our 4th pick.
With the 7th pick in the draft I would select Ezekiel Elliott and put him behind our offensive line. This is the best thing we can do for Romo and the best thing we can do for our defense. I think that gives us a 2000 yards a year running back behind this offensive line. It also saves us a great deal of money.
Now with one of our two second round draft picks, I'd like to draft Corey Coleman. The kid can flat out play, and would give this offense a dimension that it is sorely lacking. With the other options on this offense, I think we could bring him along a lot more quickly than an average rookie WR. He will face a lot of single coverage, and you could put him in the slot to help get him open more.
This still leaves us with the rest of the draft to focus on defense, but I think what we need to do in free agency is what the Cowboys have already hinted at. Basically keeping our house in order and getting a little help here and there.
Secondary - Release Carr, and replace him with a better playmaker. They're trying to keep Claiborne at the right price, but I don't see it happening. I think you could end up seeing two new corners from free agency, even if we have to overpay for someone like Janoris Jenkins. The problem with Jenkins is dealing with teams like the Rams who have a lot more cap space than we do. We don't want to get into bidding wars for these players. So it is going to be difficult to see what we do here.
Ultimately the secondary is our most difficult position to tackle.
Linebackers - They will simply re-sign McClain. He has limited options at this point. I think a deal gets done there. I know a lot of people aren't sold on him, but we aren't in position to go LB hunting right now. Too many holes to fill.
Similarly to the secondary, the defensive line is certainly in flux and will be difficult to address this year. Lawrence we might be able to depend on and Crawford should be better, but we still need more help especially with Gregory letting us down. If Mario Williams can be had for a 1 year cheap deal, I'd take it. He had a terrible year, and I'm sure most front offices are down on him right now, he is probably looking for his last big pay day, and would rather do a one year deal at a moderate rate than do a moderate mid term contract. Either way, he could help us potentially.
We use the rest of the draft to also address the defense. We still have a 2nd round draft pick, a 3rd round draft pick, and whatever compensatory picks we can get for the 4th.
It's clear that we need to make significant investments in our defense in order to become more competitive moving forward. There is also a limit to what you can do here.
The crux of any argument I make is based on the idea that Tony Romo is a franchise quarterback and that while you have a franchise quarterback you possess the best chance to win a Super Bowl. I think his time left is our best window.
This tells me that we have to do whatever we can to build a team around him that can win.
I think with our franchise QB and our elite offensive line, the best way to build this team isn't necessarily as a defensive powerhouse, but rather to create as explosive an offense as we can.
I knew there was a good chance that Alshon Jeffery would be franchised, but he was my best hope at achieving this. I was also very interested in Lamar Miller, but I can't get my head around paying a running back 6+ million dollars a year, even if I think he could be a perfect fit.
This has brought me to my present mentality about the 2016 team.
We need to build the offense through the draft. If the 49ers covet Goff, maybe they could be enticed to trade their 7th pick and their 2nd round draft pick for our 4th pick.
With the 7th pick in the draft I would select Ezekiel Elliott and put him behind our offensive line. This is the best thing we can do for Romo and the best thing we can do for our defense. I think that gives us a 2000 yards a year running back behind this offensive line. It also saves us a great deal of money.
Now with one of our two second round draft picks, I'd like to draft Corey Coleman. The kid can flat out play, and would give this offense a dimension that it is sorely lacking. With the other options on this offense, I think we could bring him along a lot more quickly than an average rookie WR. He will face a lot of single coverage, and you could put him in the slot to help get him open more.
This still leaves us with the rest of the draft to focus on defense, but I think what we need to do in free agency is what the Cowboys have already hinted at. Basically keeping our house in order and getting a little help here and there.
Secondary - Release Carr, and replace him with a better playmaker. They're trying to keep Claiborne at the right price, but I don't see it happening. I think you could end up seeing two new corners from free agency, even if we have to overpay for someone like Janoris Jenkins. The problem with Jenkins is dealing with teams like the Rams who have a lot more cap space than we do. We don't want to get into bidding wars for these players. So it is going to be difficult to see what we do here.
Ultimately the secondary is our most difficult position to tackle.
Linebackers - They will simply re-sign McClain. He has limited options at this point. I think a deal gets done there. I know a lot of people aren't sold on him, but we aren't in position to go LB hunting right now. Too many holes to fill.
Similarly to the secondary, the defensive line is certainly in flux and will be difficult to address this year. Lawrence we might be able to depend on and Crawford should be better, but we still need more help especially with Gregory letting us down. If Mario Williams can be had for a 1 year cheap deal, I'd take it. He had a terrible year, and I'm sure most front offices are down on him right now, he is probably looking for his last big pay day, and would rather do a one year deal at a moderate rate than do a moderate mid term contract. Either way, he could help us potentially.
We use the rest of the draft to also address the defense. We still have a 2nd round draft pick, a 3rd round draft pick, and whatever compensatory picks we can get for the 4th.
