How do we address the secondary this offseason?

[davos]

Thought this could be a fun thread as we're moving into the early FA period in a few weeks. 

 

Now Boston played decent down the stretch but I wouldn't necessarily write him in as our starting FS in 2015.  Bene and Norman are the two that look really good moving forward.  Colin Jones is a great backup/Special Teamer ace.

 

So...outside of that, this offseason is giving us a decent shot (I think better than at WR or OT) bring some quality talent into the fold.  

 

So you can make a list, make your dream FA/Draft combos, a brief depth chart or whatnot...I'm curious to see what direction people think we could go.  (I have no idea about Harper, I can see him being kept but that shouldn't restrict us from finding a new starting SS)

 

In place starter/contributors: Norman, Bene, Boston, Jones

 

--

 

For me, I like the FA S market a lot.  First off: McCourty and Rahim Moore will probably get paid a good amount but I don't think they're necessarily out of the picture for us.  

 

But...let's look at some of the next SS tier $$ wise (All 27 & under):

 

Da'Norris Searcy -- Strong part of the Bills very good secondary

Ron Parker -- filled in very well for Eric Berry and was already a decent part of that defense

Jeromy Miles -- worked his way past Darian Stewart and Matt Elam by season's end in Baltimore

 

Also to note, Kendrick Lewis could be a really solid young add at FS to go with Boston. 

 

With CB, I'd go that route in the draft again.  I think this could be where a top talent falls to us in the first few rounds.  There is very good value at the top of this CB class.  The latter part of the draft class seems to be full of slot-duty types which we're comfortable at with Bene.  We need a tall, fast guy on the outside. Also, I'm thinking Shaq and Landon Collins are gone and there's a big drop there at S after them.

 

The CBs I'm thinking about:

 

Trae Waynes

Jalen Collins

PJ Williams

Quinten Rollins

Kevin Johnson

 

These are some names I think the board should get familiar with. 

 

[Nate Dogg]

I'm sure GMAN already has his eye on another Big Play Bene!

[Mol3m4n]

Marcus Gilchrist and keep Boston as your starter beside him. I think he did a good job.

We're kidding ourselves though if we think Harper isn't starting this year though.

[davos]

Marcus Gilchrist and keep Boston as your starter beside him. I think he did a good job.

We're kidding ourselves though if we think Harper isn't starting this year though.

 

I'm not trying to forget we have Harper but...well I'm trying to forget we have Harper. 

 

I just don't see why he can't fill in as a rotational guy at SS though if we find a clear upgrade. 

[Captain Morgan]

I hope we can address safety in FA...this is not a great

year for that position in the draft.

 

It is a good year for cb's though, and I think we can get a starter

level guy in rounds 3 through 5 if we're lucky.

[LinvilleGorge]

I'd like to see Jones given a chance to supplant Harper as a starting safety and see another CB added to either play nickel or start opposite Norman and allow Bene to slide back to nickel.  Nickelback is essentially a starter in today's NFL.  For those knocking Boston, don't forget that he missed essentially all of the OTAs and camp.  That is HUGE for a rookie.  I think he's likely penciled in to start next year.

 

I honestly don't see huge changes coming to the secondary.  I expect to see a pass rusher added, probably a depth OLB added, and then a lot of focus on the offensive side of the ball.

 

Now, with that said, we have been sniffing around a lot of top safeties in the last couple of drafts, so if the right guy is there it could definitely happen at #25.  I just don't think that right guy will be there.  This is a pretty weak safety class and that usually means that the top guys get overdrafted.  That ain't Gettleman's style and that's a good thing.  I think Gettleman is more likely to focus on areas where the draft is deep because those positions will likely offer better value picks and that's also a good thing.  It's another deep WR draft and I think we'll draft another one fairly early.

[csx]

I like that we have a good foundation in the secondary. I look for them to pick up a safety and a corner. I'd love to find a real difference maker at safety that could be here a long time.

[Mol3m4n]

I'm not trying to forget we have Harper but...well I'm trying to forget we have Harper. 

 

I just don't see why he can't fill in as a rotational guy at SS though if we find a clear upgrade. 

 

I can't either, but this is the coaching staff that took half a season to take Godfrey out.

[davos]

I'd like to see Jones given a chance to supplant Harper as a starting safety and see another CB added to either play nickel or start opposite Norman and allow Bene to slide back to nickel.  Nickelback is essentially a starter in today's NFL.  For those knocking Boston, don't forget that he missed essentially all of the OTAs and camp.  That is HUGE for a rookie.  I think he's likely penciled in to start next year.

 

I honestly don't see huge changes coming to the secondary.  I expect to see a pass rusher added, probably a depth OLB added, and then a lot of focus on the offensive side of the ball.

 

Now, with that said, we have been sniffing around a lot of top safeties in the last couple of drafts, so if the right guy is there it could definitely happen at #25.  I just don't think that right guy will be there.  This is a pretty weak safety class and that usually means that the top guys get overdrafted.  That ain't Gettleman's style and that's a good thing.  I think Gettleman is more likely to focus on areas where the draft is deep because those positions will likely offer better value picks and that's also a good thing.  It's another deep WR draft and I think we'll draft another one fairly early.

 

I can't disagree with a lot of that but having just Jones and Harper at SS would not be ideal unless you think Jones is a long term solution. 

 

Finding a long term solution on the outside to pair with Norman with Bene starting NB would be awesome.  Not to mention, the value at the top of this draft is there at CB.  

 

And it definitely seems we've been sniffing around for a safety the past few drafts.  The guys we have at safety right now are very solid in run support and know how to be at the right place at the right time, but can also be liabilities in pass defense.  That's what we need to seek out at the position IMO, a young instinctive safety with his strengths being against the pass or just a balanced playmaker (rarer find). 

[LinvilleGorge]

I can't either, but this is the coaching staff that took half a season to take Godfrey out.

 

This is one of my chief overall complaints about the current staff.  They are painfully slow to make depth chart adjustments, even when it is painfully obvious that a change desperately needs to be made.

[Cover2Safety33]

I can't disagree with a lot of that but having just Jones and Harper at SS would not be ideal unless you think Jones is a long term solution. 

 

Finding a long term solution on the outside to pair with Norman with Bene starting NB would be awesome.  Not to mention, the value at the top of this draft is there at CB.  

 

And it definitely seems we've been sniffing around for a safety the past few drafts.  The guys we have at safety right now are very solid in run support and know how to be at the right place at the right time, but can also be liabilities in pass defense.  That's what we need to seek out at the position IMO, a young instinctive safety with his strengths being against the pass or just a balanced playmaker (rarer find). 

 

What you describe almost sounds like Gerod Holliman out of Louisville. The kid was a poor tackler, but was an absolute ball hawk with 14 ints in a year (more than 1 per game). He also had about 250 int return yards and a TD on those. Also, the kid will probably be there in the later rounds because of the concerns with his tackling.

 

If we want a playmaker in the passing game for our secondary, then Holliman is the best fit, but can we live with the potential liability in the run game, assuming his tackling problems couldn't be fixed?

[Dex]

Sign Rahim Moore. Then draft Shaq Thompson and put him at SS.

[TN05]

Harper didn't really look that bad when we had a faster safety like Tre Boston on the other side.

[ncfan]

I like Searcy, guys a good SS to pair with Boston over in the FS spot.

There probably will be a couple of good CB's in our range in the 2nd. Have seen a lot of Mocks have Alex Carter and Darby in our range in the 2nd right now.