Here is an assessment of NFC teams’ biggest holes after the first blush of FA …
Cardinals – Assuming they re-sign Kurt Warner, they need to replace Antonio Smith at LE. They will likely do so with 2nd year players Kenny Iwebema or Calais Campbell.
49ers – They have yet to re-sign Eric Heitmann, so the plan could be to go with 2nd year player Cody Wallace. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Max Unger go them in the draft though.
Rams – Where do you start? I’d say MLB. It looks like they are keeping Witherspoon at WLB and there is no one the roster to fill the spot, so look for a draft pick here.
Seahawks – Seattle is fairly deep across the board. The only obvious open spot is at FB, but Owen Schmitt will likely fill that role.
Falcons – Atlanta plans to move Jamaal Anderson inside to DT and Chauncy Davis is a FA. Biermann is more of a situational rusher.
Panthers – The Panthers have no holes at starter; the next step is depth/competition at WR.
Saints – New Orleans has signed their two biggest FAs (Vilma and Stinchcomb). This leaves the only obvious open starting position at FS – a spot that could be filled by Kaesviharn.
Buccaneers – With their age/salary cap purge, the Bucs have a lot of holes to fill – not enough existing players to fill them. Biggest need: DL help at both DE and DT.
Bears – Assuming that Hester is better as a slot/#3, the Bears need two WRs – or at least one.
Lions- Not surprisingly, Detroit has a lot of gaps to fill. They have 5 – 6 players that might be starters, but the biggest hole is at LG.
Packers – Green Bay had the least number of players become FAs, but their switch to the 3-4 means a lot of roles to figure out. Apparently Kampman will be at one OLB positi0n, but there is a huge hole at the other. Poppinga and Bishop will get a shot at it, but neither is a classic 3-4 rush LB.
Vikings – With the trade for Rosenfels, Minnesota has the luxury of creating depth and youth across the roster. If there is an unsettled area it is RT – a position that currently lists Artis Hicks as a starter.
Cowboys – Canty’s departure to the Giants leaves a hole at RDE. The talk is that Dallas may move Ratliff there, but he provides a lot of flexibility at NT. Jason Hatcher might be ready to be a starter.
Giants – New York has been the most aggresive NFC team in FA, signing 1 for sure starter (Chris Canty) and two potential starters (Rocky Bernard and Michael Boley). They still need to address the WR position. Steve Smith is likely ready to be a starter, but the Burress situation remains unresolved. This means the role is being filled by Domenik Hixon – a much better special team player.
Eagles – Philly addressed one of their biggest holes by signing Stacy Andrews who will likely play RT. This still leaves a gaping void at LT. Assuming Tra Thomas is done and Winston Justice is not the answer, at least this draft has 4 – 5 top tier LT to choose from.
Redskins – With the release of Marcus Washington, there is a hole at SLB. HB Blades played there some last year, but he doesn’t seem to be enough to be a quality starter. The biggest issue is that the Skins defense is so difficult to learn; especially at LB. This means expecting to draft a starter at SLB is probably not the plan. Look for them to use some of the money they saved by cutting Jason Taylor to bring in a veteran like Eric Barton or Angelo Crowell.
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