Next Move

I feel like we have a very good team, and can contend as is (with our draft picks, whomever they may be).  However, I believe that we should spend a little more money and hedge all our bets for the next 2 years so we can maximize our chances to win a Super Bowl with Ray and Ed.  Birk and Mason are also around for these next 2 years, so we have a really great opportunity to win these next 2 years.  I think most people with knowledge of the NFL would probably rank us top 5 going into this year already.  

After our offseason so far, we still have some legitimate needs at TE, D-Line, and CB.  While all of these should definitely be addressed in the draft,  I feel that the best way to hedge our bets at these positions is to sign veterans to share time with the rookies we bring in at these positions.  TE we are fine on the veteran front with Heap, and only need a solid backup to complement him, so here I think we should wait until the draft and try to fill that hole.  But D-Line and CB are holes that we legitimately should not rely solely on a rookie to solve.  

At CB, we have Foxworth and Carr, along with Webb and Washington coming off of serious injuries.  It would bode well for us to carry 6 CB's this year, just in case there are problems with Webb or Washington's rehabs (Like Rolle encountered last year).  So if we draft someone in rounds 1-4 at the position, and sign a veteran with upside.  There are several good veterans out there who fit the bill.  My favorite is Nathan Vashar, freshly waived by the Bears.  He started his career with 2 great season's, I think both were Pro-Bowl years for him.  He has been battling injuries since his 3rd year, but he is only 28.  Other options are Melvin Bulitt(IND), and Townsend and Gay (PIT), which it would be nice to hurt our rivals.  

At D-Line, besides the fact that our pass rush needs work, we have also lost all of our depth on the line when Bannan and Edwards signed in Denver and Buffalo , respectively.  We definitely need to draft a player here, maybe someone like Odrick or Terrance 'Mount' Cody, but we should also bring in a cagy vet, maybe on a 2 year deal, like we did with Pryce a few years ago.  That has worked out well for us.  Some of the options include Derrick Burgess, Greg Ellis, Jevon Kearse, Charles Grant, and Leonard Little. My personal favorite is Grant, a former stud who has also fallen on some injury plagued seasons.  He has 2 seasons of 10+ sacks, and 5 of 5+.  He has a 78 tackle season, and 16 FF in 8 seasons. At DT, there is not so much to work with, but Ngata and Gregg can both play the NT in the 3-4, and Pryce can slide inside to DT in the 4-3, so we should be okay if we bring in one more guy who can play inside.  We also still have on our roster Brandon McKinney and Kelly Talavou.

Another position we could use a little help is O-line.  Our depth is a little shallow now, with Terry leaving.  Not much of a loss, but we could probably use a little more depth than Chester and Cousins.  

Those are my thoughts for now.