Auburn Football: 5 Positions Tigers Must Re-Evaluate in the Offseason

AUBURN, Ala. — Turnover is inevitable on the Plains this winter.

The Tigers will have to replace star seniors at several key positions—quarterback Nick Marshall, running back Cameron Artis-Payne, center Reese Dismukes, defensive tackle Gabe Wright and safety Jermaine Whitehead, to name a few.

But for a lot of those spots, Gus Malzahn and staff already has an established backup system, from sophomore quarterback Jeremy Johnson to the still-abundant crop of running backs that will be at Auburn for years to come.

Some positions aren't as easy thanks to possible early NFL draftees, a growing number of starter-quality players and untested underclassmen filling in the gaps.

After an 8-4 season that started with national-championship dreams, change is definitely coming. Here are five positions that might feel the impact first this offseason.

Wide Receiver

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WRs Sammie Coates and D'haquille Williams

Auburn's status at wide receiver could be tremendous or troublesome depending on the next few weeks for two star juniors.

Both Sammie Coates and D'haquille Williams said at the Iron Bowl they have not decided if they will enter the NFL draft a year early. Coates, a second-team coaches' All-SEC selection, is the No. 9 receiver on the latest Big Board from B/R's Matt Miller, while Williams' draft stock took a hit after a knee injury toward the end of the 2014 season.

If Coates and Williams both return, Auburn could have one of the best receiver tandems in the country for 2015. If only one of them return, the Tigers have a clear-cut No. 1 receiver around whom to build. If neither of them return, the Tigers are looking at only three receivers returning for the 2015 season with double-digit catches—Ricardo Louis, Melvin Ray and Marcus Davis.

Tony Stevens and Stanton Truitt represent unproven potential at the position, and the Tigers are still chasing a few top receiver targets for the 2015 recruiting class. Depending on Coates' and Williams' decisions, there could be a huge shakeup at wide receiver this offseason with all three starting slots up for grabs.

Offensive Tackle

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QB Nick Marshall and LT Shon Coleman

Replacing the talents of No. 2 NFL draft pick Greg Robinson was never going to be easy, and Auburn didn't necessarily struggle at offensive tackle in 2014.

However, redshirt sophomore Shon Coleman struggled in the second half of the season against top defensive ends and racked up drive-killing holding calls. Coleman's raw strength in blocking Nick Marshall's blind side was unquestioned, but his movement against speed-rushers left a lot to be desired.

At right tackle, Auburn started Patrick Miller for the first few games of the season until he suffered an injury against Louisiana Tech. This caused Avery Young to move back to right tackle and bring Devonte Danzey into the fold at guard—a move that stayed until the Iron Bowl, when Miller returned to the starting lineup and brought Young back inside.

All three of those starters who saw time at tackle should be back next season, and then there is the case of Braden Smith, the true freshman who had a lot of offseason promise and hype behind Coleman at left tackle. With Coleman's late-season struggles and uncertainty at right tackle, Smith could force his way into the starting five in his first full offseason on the Plains.

Defensive End

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Mississippi State RB Josh Robinson and Auburn DE DaVonte Lambert

Consider this—in 2013, Auburn was third in the SEC for sacks with 32 in 14 games.

In 2014, the Tigers currently sit at 11th with 20 sacks in 12 games.

The top two players in that category for Auburn, Dee Ford and Carl Lawson, did not play in 2014 because of graduation and a long-term injury, respectively. Still, production at getting to the quarterback dropped for seniors LaDarius Owens and Gabe Wright as newcomer DaVonte Lambert led the team in sacks despite not being a naturally skilled pass-rusher.

Lawson should be back at 100 percent in 2015, but he alone will not make up the pass-rushing drop Auburn had in 2014. The Tigers recruited heavily along the defensive line for the 2014 class and are still doing so at 2015—despite only one commitment at this point—and it might be time for a new injection of youth similar to what Lawson and tackles Montravius Adams and Elijah Daniel gave the Tigers in 2013.

Cornerback

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CB Jonathan Jones

One of the biggest challenges facing whoever takes over at Auburn's defensive coordinator will be rebuilding a secondary that has largely been ineffective since the beginning of Gene Chizik's tenure at Auburn.

The Tigers got interceptions, especially from second-team All-SEC player Jonathan Jones, but blown coverages and poor tackling was the norm. Auburn will have returning experience at both safety spots and Georgia transfer Tray Matthews, but Jones is the lone non-senior who played significant minutes at cornerback in 2014.

Auburn signed three 4-star cornerbacks in its 2014 class, but Nick Ruffin and Stephen Roberts cracked the two-deep depth chart at new positions while Kalvaraz Bessent took a redshirt. Ruffin, who played Star, would be a good candidate for a move back to cornerback after the departure from Ellis Johnson's 4-2-5 defense.

The cornerback position has a clear-cut leader in Jones, but questions surrounding the rest of the two-deep will prompt a look into the youth on Auburn's roster. 

Punter

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K/P Daniel Carlson

Is Daniel Carlson going to be Auburn's do-it-all specialist or not?

The redshirt freshman did well as the Tigers' placekicker in 2014, but the punting situation was inconsistent at best throughout the year. Carlson had his good games and his bad games, and there were times when Auburn elected to use fellow freshman Jimmy Hutchinson or Aussie-punt specialist Matthew Shiel.

Leg fatigue is definitely a concern for a player like Carlson, and some of the coaching staff's decisions to play Hutchinson and Shiel throughout the season showed it.

Hutchinson needs to have a fantastic offseason in order to salvage hope of any playing time at Auburn, as he only averaged 38 yards with his nine punts in 2014. If he shows enough improvement, the coaching staff might slide him into the starting job and let Carlson focus on offensive kicking.

All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All recruiting rankings and information courtesy of 247Sports. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com.

Justin Ferguson is Bleacher Report's lead Auburn writer. Follow him on Twitter @JFergusonAU.