How 7 NFL Teams Can Fix Holes They Didn't Address During the 2024 Draft
Three months ago, every team in the league was convinced it could solve all of its problems this offseason. A few draft picks here, a trade there, sprinkle in some free-agent signings—voilà, a good roster.
That's just not the reality of the NFL. There are too many teams vying for too few resources. Teams have to make sacrifices along the way, prioritizing some positions and players over others throughout the offseason.
Even teams with seemingly endless draft picks and infinite cap space in the spring still find themselves hurting at one position or another in the summer.
Thankfully for those teams that still need a little help, the offseason is not over. We're 99 percent of the way there, but the journey is not complete. A handful of key free agents are still sitting on their couches waiting for a deal, and a select few trade candidates have yet to be shipped out by their current teams.
With those players in mind, we're going to dive into a handful of teams with unanswered roster questions and how they can solve their problems before Week 1 gets underway.
New England Patriots: Left Tackle
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The New England Patriots offensive line isn't too bad on the whole.
Cole Strange is an ascending left guard, and Sidy Sow shows promise at right guard. Center David Andrews is a perfectly acceptable player. Michael Onwenu proved last season that he can be one of the better right tackles in the league.
Far be it from the 1990s Cowboys unit, but that's a workable group.
Left tackle is the lingering question that plagues an otherwise solid group. Trent Brown manned the blindside for the Patriots for the past two years, but he proved too slow and unreliable to bring back to protect a top-five pick at quarterback.
That's understandable on its face. Brown is below the line for quality left tackle play. The Patriots didn't make any move to solidly replace him, though. They instead made two low-cost dart throws, one in free agency and the other in the draft.
Chukwuma Okorafor inked a one-year, $4 million deal with the Patriots in free agency. He was a middling right tackle for the Steelers. After three-and-a-half years of starting, he was eventually supplanted by 2023 first-round pick Broderick Jones.
Okorafor would have hardly been a serious answer for the Patriots at right tackle, let alone flipping to the blindside. He is a worst-case-scenario signing and nothing more.
In the draft, the Patriots took their chances in the third round with Penn State's Caedan Wallace.
Brandon Thorn of the Bleacher Report Scouting Department put a fourth-round grade on Wallace, but he noted that the 24-year-old is an older prospect who showed much better consistency in his final season in college.
That's the profile of a player who might be able to start right away, even if he doesn't have the long-term star potential of the other tackles in this draft class.
Still, expecting Wallace to step in and be a serviceable left tackle from the jump is wishful thinking. Most rookies struggle to offer that level of play right away, and that's only more true the further down the draft you go.
The Patriots would be incurring a ton of risk walking into the season with Okorafor and Wallace as their best options to start at left tackle.
Potential FA/trade candidates: DJ Humphries (FA), Donovan Smith (FA), David Bakhtiari (FA)
Washington Commanders: Tackle
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Unlike the New England Patriots, the Washington Commanders offensive line is rough across the board.
New center Tyler Biadasz and third-year guard Sam Cosmi are the only offensive linemen on the squad proven to be at least average starters. The rest—left tackle Cornelius Lucas, left guard Nick Allegretti and right tackle Andrew Wylie—are all replacement level or worse.
The blindside commands priority. It always has and it always will. With a rookie quarterback in the building, especially one with some of the pocket-management concerns Jayden Daniels brings, the priority on sorting out the position is raised even higher.
As we sit here in June, the Commanders' options at left tackle are Lucas, Cosmi and third-round rookie Brandon Coleman.
Lucas is hardly a serious consideration. He's been a fine spot starter for the Commanders for half a decade now, but if he was good enough to be locked into a starting job, he would be by now.
Cosmi is an intriguing option but not a surefire answer. He played both left and right tackle in college, as well as right tackle for most of his time with the Commanders. However, he has yet to play left tackle in the NFL, in part because he lacks the range and length you see from the best blindside protectors. It's why he's kicked inside to guard.
Even if Cosmi does OK at left tackle, that just makes the guard spot worse in turn. Being better at left tackle is probably more valuable, but the Commanders would just be moving one quality lineman to a different position rather than adding another good player to the line. That doesn't solve much.
Then there's the rookie Coleman. Right off the bat, it's hard to trust any third-round tackle to be an immediate positive presence on the left side. He is also coming from an Air Raid-style offense that doesn't really pass protect with the same rules or spacing as the NFL. That's going to create a steep learning curve. Chances are Coleman won't be ready for the spotlight Week 1.
The Commanders should be in the market for the handful of remaining left tackles out there.
Potential FA/trade candidates: D.J. Humphries (FA), Donovan Smith (FA), David Bakhtiari (FA)
Philadelphia Eagles: Safety
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It's hard to know for certain if the Philadelphia Eagles need a safety or not.
Is Cooper DeJean a corner? A nickel? A safety? Somewhere in between all three? Maybe the Eagles don't even know the answer to that yet. He is such a talented and versatile player that they might spend half of the offseason trying him out everywhere to see what fits best.
In the event the Iowa product remains a corner or a nickel, the Eagles probably need a safety. Reed Blankenship acquitted himself fairly well when forced into action last season but more along the lines of a spot starter or high-level backup type, not as a bona fide starter. Good player to start in Week 14 when you need him; not so great to start Week 1.
Player fit will be important, though. Vic Fangio's defense puts a lot of stress on the safeties. All of the two-high shells and coverage disguises put an emphasis on smart, versatile safety play. The ability to move around seamlessly in coverage and come downhill to play the run are equally important in this defense. That's not going to be a fit for every safety on the market.
The good news is the Eagles have a ton of flexibility in how they want to approach the position, if they choose to do so. There are plenty of safeties on the market, both in free agency and via potential trade. High-profile vets, low-investment dice rolls, talented players unlikely to be paid by their current teams; there are options everywhere.
Money-wise, the Eagles are kind of pinched on cap space for 2025 with only $8 million currently available, but they have just over $27 million available for 2024. They could front-load a deal even if they wanted to get someone in the building for more than a year.
Potential FA/trade candidates: Justin Simmons (FA), Quandre Diggs (FA), Budda Baker (trade)
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Atlanta Falcons: Cornerback
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AJ Terrell needs some help. Despite being one of the brightest young cornerbacks in the game, his impact can often feel muted because teams can just throw away from him. That's been true for most of his time in Atlanta.
With OTAs underway, it looks like Dee Alford is going to man the nickel position while a slew of others duke it out for the outside spot opposite Terrell. Names like Clark Phillips III, Kevin King, Mike Hughes and Antonio Hamilton are all in the mix.
I'm cool with crossing off almost all of these names as serious answers for the starting job.
King fizzled out of Green Bay after getting burned on repeat and hasn't taken an NFL snap in two seasons. Hughes has bounced around the league after one decent year with the Vikings in 2019, but he hasn't been able to hold a starting job since then, including with the Falcons last season. Hamilton is a free-agent signing from the Arizona Cardinals, who had some of the worst defensive back play in the league over the last handful of years.
That just leaves Phillips, who was a rookie last season. He has stuff to like. He's smart and energetic. He's willing to get hands on people and try his best to make tackles. He has a play style that's going to make receivers earn it.
The problem is, it's not all that hard to do for any receiver with size or plus athletic ability. The Utah product is 5'9" and 184 pounds with some of the shortest arms recorded at the NFL Combine (29⅛"). He isn't a dynamic athlete, either. He's an acceptable NFL athlete but not nearly quick or explosive enough to overcome the issues his frame naturally presents.
Still, Phillips is probably the front-runner to win the job. He played decent football as a rookie, and there's a chance another offseason of nailing down technique will make his game more reliable, if still incomplete.
The Falcons are going to need someone bigger and better if they want to be a serious defense, though. They at least need someone who can provide better competition for Phillips than the likes of King, Hughes and Hamilton.
Potential FA/trade candidates: Ahkello Witherspoon (FA), Xavien Howard (FA), Adoree' Jackson (FA), James Bradberry (Trade)
Dallas Cowboys: Wide Receiver
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The Dallas Cowboys will have a good offense with or without any more additions this offseason.
Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb go a long way by themselves. The offensive line isn't bad, either. Even the tight end room is an interesting and useful collection of talent.
One more reinforcement at wide receiver wouldn't hurt, though.
As things stand, Lamb, Brandin Cooks and Jalen Tolbert are the Cowboys' starting wide receivers.
Lamb and Cook are a good 1-2 punch. The former is an All-Pro-caliber receiver with inside-outside flexibility. He is an explosive play waiting to happen. The latter, though not what he was at his peak, is still a good vertical presence with some flexibility of his own.
Tolbert is still an unproven player. We're three years into his career and there has yet to be any evidence that he's more than a decent rotational player. Injuries plagued him early on, but it's more likely than not that he would have emerged as a real-deal difference-maker by now if that was in the cards for him.
Behind those three, all the Cowboys have are sixth-round rookie Ryan Flournoy, 2023 seventh-round pick Jalen Brooks and a gadget player in KaVontae Turpin. Dallas cannot expect any of those players to have a positive influence on the game if they are forced into starting action.
The question then is less about whether the Cowboys need another body, but which type of body. That's going to depend on exactly what the plan is for Lamb.
The three-time Pro Bowler has primarily been a slot receiver throughout his career, but he's expanded his role on the outside over the past two seasons. He has quickly become a player who was devalued for his lack of flexibility to being one of the most devastating receivers in the league regardless of alignment.
If the Cowboys want to continue to lean on Lamb from the slot and use his outside capabilities as a changeup, they can go get another outside receiver to let him still play from the slot.
Conversely, Dallas might now believe Lamb is ready for even more work outside, which might prompt it to seek out a new slot receiver to carry the load there.
Either way, the Cowboys need a new body in the receiver room.
Potential FA/trade candidates: Hunter Renfrow (FA), Courtland Sutton (trade), Russell Gage (FA)
Los Angeles Chargers: Safety
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The retirement of Nasir Adderley last offseason clearly caught the Los Angeles Chargers off guard. After years of development, he had finally established himself as an above-average starting safety, only to promptly step away from the game at the age of 25.
Given the suddenness of it all, the Chargers were kind of just left to walk into the season with the guys they already had on hand.
Alohi Gilman and 2022 third-round pick JT Woods battled it out for the starting position, a tug-of-war that ultimately went Gilman's way. Woods was eventually placed on IR with a non-football illness by Week 4 anyway.
Gilman was a familiar face for Chargers fans. A sixth-round pick in 2020, he had filled in at various points throughout the years. What he lacks in range and explosive ability, he makes up for with physicality and fluidity. That was all good and well in spurts as a spot starter, but it does not quite cut it as a starter.
However, L.A. neither signed nor drafted a safety. It's still just Gilman and Woods fighting for snaps alongside Derwin James. There's just no reason for the team to go into the season that way given the abundance of safeties on the market.
Ideally, the Chargers would target a free safety—someone who can play center field with range and confidence. Doing so would keep James free to be more of a movable chess piece in the box and in the slot, which is necessary to get the most out of his skill set.
James is going to be this defense's approximation of Kyle Hamilton; someone else needs to be a rock in the back end.
Money shouldn't be an issue for the Chargers, either. They have over $25 million in cap space for this year and more than $54 million available next year.
Obviously that doesn't account for any extensions L.A. may already be budgeting for that haven't been inked yet, but the money is there for now.
Potential FA/trade candidates: Justin Simmons (FA), Eddie Jackson (FA), Quandre Diggs (FA)
Chicago Bears: Defensive End
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It's hard to overstate the impact of the Montez Sweat trade last season.
Prior to the move, the Bears' edge rotation was a collection of mid-tier veterans and underdeveloped youngsters. Sweat, a Pro Bowl-caliber player, instantly gave the group a jolt of life.
For a 2023 Chicago team trying to find its footing and save jobs, The 2019 first-rounder was enough. Alongside the return of a healthy Kyle Gordon at cornerback, he provided this defense with enough life to quietly become one of the best over the back half of the year.
Expectations have shifted now, though. Everyone knows this defense is legit and the offense is still radiating with that fresh Caleb Williams shine. Predicting a division-title run would be a little too optimistic, but this team should realistically be in the mix.
If the Bears want to make a more serious push, Sweat cannot be a one-man army on the edge. Having a player of his caliber goes a long way, but nobody else on the roster is either a plus starter or an exciting young prospect.
DeMarcus Walker and Jacob Martin are fine rotational pieces, and maybe fifth-round rookie Austin Booker will bring some juice, but that's not an inspiring group for a defense that aspires to win double-digit games.
Of course, there aren't many major impact players left on the market at this point. Many of the trade candidates such as Brian Burns and Haason Reddick have already been moved. Jadeveon Clowney, the premier mercenary pass-rusher, has already inked a deal as well.
The Bears are left with a crop of free agents who are not going to take over games, but they may still be better than what they have on the roster at the moment.
Some are familiar faces; others are coming back from injury and no guarantee to be at their best. At this stage in the offseason, though, even those kinds of reinforcements would be welcome.
The Bears just need a body to take some pressure off of Sweat and help keep the rotation fresh.
Potential FA/trade candidates: Emmanuel Ogbah (FA), Yannick Ngakoue (FA), Carl Lawson (FA)
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