One Hole on Each NFC Roster: Major Questions for Teams Chasing the San Francisco 49ers
Identifying one thing for each NFC team that could keep them from winning and/or reaching their season goals.
Yesterday, I went through each AFC team and identified one hole they still need to fill. Some of those holes could be filled by a single player, but other teams need more of a concept of adding talent rather than targeting one guy.
Let’s do the same with the NFC, where one contender seems to stand above the rest, but multiple teams will be clawing at their heels with upgraded quarterback play and improved rosters.
Arizona Cardinals
Linebacker
Given their 2023 record and status among their conference and division, Arizona has built up an admirable roster, albeit one lacking depth. They probably aren’t a playoff team, but they also wouldn’t be the strangest postseason participant of the recent past.
The second level of the defense is weak in terms of both top-level talent and depth. The current listed starters at LB are Kyzir White, Dennis Gardeck and Mack Wilson Sr. That’s one good player (White) and two guys best used in rotation. None of the other players on the roster project to offer much more.
The Cardinals could help solidify a defense likely to struggle by adding a veteran linebacker or two to potentially start and/or play a lot of snaps.
Atlanta Falcons
A top-10 talent on defense
This is a little facetious but also true. The selection of Michael Penix Jr. eighth overall can’t fully be analyzed until we know if he turns into a franchise quarterback, but Atlanta decided against increasing their chances to win in 2024 with a premium pick and clear needs.
Last season’s leaders in sacks, Calais Campbell and Bud Dupree with 6.5 apiece, remain unsigned. Arnold Ebiketie had six sacks and will start on one side, but the opposite outside pass rusher is currently slated to be Lorenzo Carter (who averages about four sacks per year) or third-round rookie Bralen Trice.
Atlanta could have taken multiple paths toward upgrading this season’s roster and getting a much-needed player at a premium position of need. Instead, they doubled down at the sport’s most important position despite guaranteeing $100 million to Kirk Cousins in free agency.
Carolina Panthers
Cornerback talent
The top four cornerbacks listed on Carolina’s depth chart include former first-round pick Jaycee Horn, 2020 seventh rounder Dane Jackson and two veteran undrafted free agents. It’s safe to say they are weak on the back end.
The Panthers aren’t set up to win this year, so it’s not the most urgent need to plug veterans into, but grabbing a high-upside player who wore out his welcome or gets released in June would give Carolina someone they could project as a part of the future, even if not as an immediate high-level starter.
Chicago Bears
Someone to get sacks
Montez Sweat will start on one side, but Chicago still needs help getting after the quarterback. They were tied to the top pass rushers in the draft but opted for receiver Rome Odunze at No. 9, which was a good pick, but it leaves the team with work still to do on defense.
DeMarcus Walker had seven sacks in 2022 but otherwise has never hit five in a season. Backup Khalid Kareem has one career sack and Austin Booker was a fifth-round pick this year.
Veteran pass rushers are often available into the preseason, so this shouldn’t be a tough position to put resources toward. Finding a true impact player might be tough, but Chicago can surely add one or two guys better than most on their roster.
Dallas Cowboys
Center
Way too much is being made of the Cowboys’ slow offseason. Did we forget that teams that take huge forays into free agency often underwhelm? I would hardly call Dallas a loser because they didn’t sign Tony Pollard, Josh Jacobs or another middling back for $10 million.
Dallas always puts a lot toward the offensive line, and they held true to that strategy in the draft, adding potential left tackle Tyler Guyton in the first round and a highly regarded interior lineman, Cooper Beebe, in the third round.
Depending on how they shuffle the players on the roster, there might already be a starting center here. Tyler Smith was drafted as a left tackle, but he played left guard last season at an All-Pro level.
Smith staying at guard and Guyton holding down the blindside would allow them to move Beebe to center, a position he’s currently listed at, rather than guard, which he played in college.
The only other center on the roster is Brock Hoffman, an undrafted free agent a few years back. The team could sure up the second unit by bringing in a veteran who can fill in at both center and guard and create insurance in case Beebe’s move doesn’t go smoothly.
Detroit Lions
A dynamic playmaker at wide receiver
This doesn’t mean someone in the mold of Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit’s star receiver. I’m thinking more of a player who would provide what Kansas City hoped they would get from Kadarius Toney: a guy who can get involved multiple ways and has a chance to hit the end zone every play.
Jameson Williams might have been the player the Lions expected to fill that role, but his two seasons have been unset by injuries and a suspension. He has just 25 receptions for 395 yards in 18 games.
The team may see him in that role in 2024, which would change things here. Even if that scenario plays out, I see room for another good receiver to upgrade on Kalif Raymond and Donovan Peoples-Jones for the WR3 spot.
Would the 49ers trade Deebo Samuel Sr. here for a first-round pick? They would be giving a big threat to the team they just beat in the NFC Championship Game, but it seems likely that San Fran will have to move one of their receivers over the next two years, and the Lions could land the perfect complement to their roster.
Green Bay Packers
Middle linebacker
Green Bay added Edgerrin Cooper in the second round, the top ranked linebacker for many draft analysts. He should start at one position, but the top two listed players at middle linebacker right now are Isaiah McDuffie and Eric Wilson.
McDuffie has half a sack, one defended pass, and no interceptions in his three seasons. Wilson is an undrafted free agent journeyman who has mostly been a backup since entering the league in 2017.
A team that won a playoff game in 2023 can use a more reliable player at a relatively easy position to fill. There will be plenty of veterans changing teams once June 1 hits and later when roster cuts must be made, and the Packers can surely upgrade the linebacking unit further.
Los Angeles Rams
Cornerback
LA is a hard team on which to find a hole, but everyone can always use more cornerback help. They brought in Tre'Davious White, a great idea in theory, but he has played just 10 games over the past two seasons.
Darious Williams had four interceptions last year but didn’t have any in either of the previous two seasons. Cobie Durant, a 2022 fourth rounder, has been part of the rotation, and Quentin Lake was a sixth-round pick the same year and has no career interceptions.
The cornerback room is light for a team hoping to contend, and after putting a lot of resources toward trying to replace Aaron Donald, the Rams are likely to import a veteran corner or two before the start of the season.
Minnesota Vikings
An impact defensive back
This isn’t for lack of trying, as Minnesota spent first- and second-round picks on safety Lewis Cine and corner Andrew Booth Jr. in 2022. Both players are buried on the depth chart, and the Vikings are short on guys who can make a difference in the defensive backfield.
The current roster is good, but expecting either Sam Darnold or J.J. McCarthy to lead a winning team is wishful thinking in 2024, even with a great receiving corp. The defense has let the team down the last few years and needs to step up for this team to compete in the division, let alone the conference.
A safety or cornerback who can play major snaps and upgrade the talent at the top of the depth chart would be a huge addition. Adding depth at both positions wouldn’t be a bad idea.
New Orleans Saints
Left tackle (or right tackle?)
New Orleans drafted Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga in the first round, a player seen as one of the best prospects on the offensive line. He played right tackle in college, but the Saints have plenty of questions to answer before filling out their starting line.
Right tackle Ryan Ramczyk is a high-level player when on the field, but he has a knee injury serious enough that his career may be in jeopardy. Left tackle Trevor Penning, a first-round pick in 2022, has struggled and been benched in both seasons of his career and has the team questioning his future position.
New Orleans would do well to add another capable tackle, maybe a veteran with high upside but injury issues like Donovan Smith or David Bakhtiari.
New York Giants
A starting cornerback
New York has a former first-round pick in Deonte Banks on one side, but the options to line up opposite of him seem more like depth options than players to count on, and that gets worse if there’s an injury.
Cor'Dale Flott (2022), Aaron Robinson (2021) and Andru Phillips (2024) are all third-round picks, and one or more might be ready to go. Everyone needs more cornerback help, though, so acquiring a player who could start or take major snaps would help raise the level of play and reduce the responsibilities of the young guys.
Philadelphia Eagles
Jason Kelce
Cam Jurgens was drafted in the second round in 2022 with thoughts that he would replace Kelce upon the latter’s inevitable retirement. That time has come, and Jurgens will step into the shoes of a Hall-of-Fame, Super Bowl-winning player.
With high picks across the offensive line, Philly should be fine. When it comes to short yardage, though, and most notably the Tush Push, we will find out how much Kelce meant to the most unstoppable play in football.
A complete roster leaves for very few holes (if any), so top-line talent will be what dictates how far the Eagles go in 2024.
San Francisco 49ers
Right tackle
As complete as the San Francisco roster is, they were below average in terms of both pass block and run block win rate in 2023 according to ESPN’s measure. Many thought they would target an offensive tackle in the first round, but the team didn’t address the line until the third round.
Dominick Puni played left tackle at Kansas, but many see him as a guard in the NFL. He could compete for either the starting right guard or right tackle spot; it seems most likely the team will roll with last year’s starter, Colton McKivitz, on the outside.
There is still time to add more competition and/or a new starter; it’s surprising, though, that one of the deepest teams in the league hasn’t done more to fix one of their only weaknesses.
Seattle Seahawks
Inside linebacker
It was hard to find a real hole on Seattle’s roster. There are places to improve, but this is a solid team who would probably most benefit from a higher ceiling at quarterback. I want to stay away from QBs, though, especially since Seattle has a capable starter in Geno Smith on the roster.
Of the five inside linebackers listed on Seattle’s depth chart, there are three undrafted free agents, 2024 fourth-round pick Tyrice Knight, and veteran Jerome Baker (who was a third-round pick of Miami back in 2018).
Draft status doesn’t always dictate level of play, but the rest of Seattle’s roster is littered with former Day 1 and Day 2 picks. Inside linebacker is a non-premium position which most of the league treats as fungible, but it’s a spot on the field that matters when offenses are continually completing passes in the middle of the field.
Bringing in at least one guy who can be part of the rotation and possibly start could raise both the floor and the ceiling of the Seahawks’ forgotten position group. Bobby Wagner signed with Washington, but there will be plenty of veteran options available between now and the start of the season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Left guard
According to the same ESPN data linked in the 49ers’ section, Tampa was 22nd in pass blocking and 32nd in run blocking last year. Tristan Wirfs looks like a keeper at left tackle, and right tackle Luke Goedeke and guard Cody Mauch were second-round picks over the last two years and likely locked into starting spots.
With the team drafting a new starting center in Graham Barton in the first round, left guard seems like the most obvious position to improve up front. Guards can be found in many places, so this is a fixable problem, and it would behoove the Bucs to bring in more competition.
Washington Commanders
Left tackle
The Commanders did a commendable job of building a strong eco-system for their rookie passer, Jayden Daniels. Many thought they would target a tackle prospect early in the second round, but the team decided to add to a talented defense instead.
Brandon Coleman, TCU’s starting left tackle the last few years, was drafted at the beginning of the third round, and he is currently listed as the blindside starter. With a fairly strong roster, Washington has a glaring need to protect their new QB.
A veteran presence who could either start or push Coleman would make the team better and deeper up front. Like cornerback, no one ever has enough good offensive linemen. Bakhtiari or Smith would be a smart add at the veteran’s minimum.
#2024-fantasy-football
