I agree with a lot you said.
I don't agree that this defense isn't bad. I think they are and have been for a long time. I would like to see what Lawrence, J. Smith, Tapper, Irving, M. Collins and some other young guys could do next year. Though I think the only one with elite potential is Smith.
I do like what Heath brings. He's cheap, plays hard, is good on special teams, and makes plays occasionally. But I don't know if he'll ever be starter material. I do remember when we first signed Heath as a UDFA was the same year we drafted the other white safety, Matt Johnson. Everyone was gushing over Johnson's measurables, but Heath actually had better measurables. He's surprisingly possesses elite physical ability. He's also still young at only 25. Would be nice if we could force an athletic starting duo at safety with Jones and Heath, but I think this values Church's leadership ability too much to part ways.
I disagree that we can do better than Brown. His measurables are up there with 1st round CBs, he played very well for a rookie, and he doesn't seem to have any off the field problems. Really can't find a better guy than that. I think we got a major steal. Besides, I don't want to be drafting any DBs in the 1st round. If we can get a 1st round talent like Brown in the 6th round, that's awesome. I'd try to bring back Claiborne for another one-year deal on the cheap. I'd also like to bring back Carr since he's extremely reliable health-wise, as long as we no longer guarantee him a starting position. Give me Claiborne and Brown as starts and Scandrick in the nickel.
Hopefully Jaylon Smith can get healthy and pair up with Lee for the next few years before taking over for Lee. He'd be like getting a top 5 pick in the draft. And hopefully we can turn Romo into another high pick.
I also want us to address DT some more. I like what we have in Collins. He's one of the few bright spots on the defense. He's a big body but also has natural pass rushing skills. He could probably play 1DT given his size. I'd like to get another player to pair up with him to give us a dominant interior DL. That should make things a lot easier for our edge rushers too. I think it's easier to find a DT in the draft or free agency than an elite RDE.
I also want to see Free gone. I want to see what we do with L. Collins. If this team views him as a possible RT, then we definitely have to resign Leary. If not, then I say we go with the younger and cheaper Collins over Leary. I really don't want to see us spend another early pick on OL if we address RT in the draft, but I also don't want to see Free back next year. I just don't know if we can rely on Green.
I don't want Brice Butler anywhere near this team next year. He's easily replaceable. He's also not the type of guy who looks like he can play winning football. He's basically the opposite of Heath. While Heath is making plays in the limited chances he gets, Butler is making mistakes. Same goes for Williams. I really don't know how I feel about Williams. I'd rather move on and get someone more consistent. But Williams has a lot more talent than Butler.
We need to do something about finding Witten's replacement. Our job of finding our TE of the future has been the only thing more pathetic than our job of building a solid D-line. I don't know what we'll do when Witten is gone.
Sanchez is horrible. I'd rather not spend the $5 million we'll end up saving for Romo by signing a crappy backup QB. Rather go with someone like Kellen Moore. At least he won us a game last year.
I think drafting another RB would be a great idea. Every draft has guys like Ajayi and Rawls sitting there in the later rounds. Our key to success is our O-line and running game. We already have a deep O-line. We need some depth at RB so that our season doesn't derail if Zeke misses a few games. We also need someone to keep defenses honest those times that Zeke goes to the sideline to sit out a few plays and catch his breath. The defenses know we're gonna pass when we trot Dunbar out there. The Seahawks have Thomas Rawls, Alex Collins and CJ Prosise on their roster. Those are guys many fans wanted us to draft last year to be our starting RB after Murray left. The Seahawks have all three of them. Imagine if we had one of those guys as our backup RB.
