I'd like to see how the season plays out and which guys on our team step up or regress before I start pinpointing positions. The OL obviously has some question marks heading into the season but it's entirely possible that this group gels and becomes formidable. OL, specifically interior OL, is usually more about how they work as a collective group, and that kind of chemistry takes time to develop. We signed some new guys and have youngsters like Costa and Arkin who still have time to develop, let's give these guys a chance before calling for replacements.
Interior OL to watch for:
Travis Frederick | Wisconsin
Barrett Jones | Alabama
Alvin Bailey | Arkansas
Jonathan Cooper | UNC
Khaled Holmes | USC
OLB could be another spot we look to bolster through the draft. Spencer, obviously, is the key to this. The team likes him enough to have franchised him this past off-season, and we have some pretty good depth with Butler and hopefully Wilber/Hamilton... but someone needs to step up and be that complement to Ware on 3rd Downs. This upcoming draft class has the potential to be loaded at OLB/DE, so if we're looking to make a change at OLB this would be the year to do it.
OLB/DE to watch for:
Jarvis Jones | Georgia
Barkevious Mingo | LSU
Sam Montgomery | LSU
Jackson Jeffcoat | Texas
Michael Buchanan | Illinois
Corey Lemonier | Auburn
Chase Thomas | Stanford
Dion Jordan | Oregon
William Gholston | Michigan St.
Stansly Maponga | TCU
Brandon Jenkins | Florida St.
Another area we could stand to bolster is our DL. The team was reportedly set to take Brockers at 14 had we not made the trade up for Claiborne, and with Ratliff starting to age and struggling with injuries early on we probably will target DL again this year. Spears, Coleman and Hatcher are all on the wrong side of 30 while young guys like Lissemore and Crawford are still fairly unproven.
DL to watch for:
Star Lotulelei | Utah
Johnathan Hankins | Ohio St.
Kawann Short | Purdue
Jesse Williams | Alabama
John Jenkins | Georgia
Margus Hunt | SMU
Bennie Logan | LSU