2019 NFL Free Agency: What holes do teams have left to fill?

Every NFL team has been working to address needs in free agency, but what holes do they have yet to fill in the NFL Draft?

We all can’t be Cleveland Browns fans, overwrought with the concept of Odell Beckham Jr. in brown & orange and their first real shot at the AFC North since, well they got back to Cleveland.

So, your team didn’t win free agency and they’ve still got problem areas. That’s okay! The NFL Draft can solve all your problems! Well, actually, the success rate of even first-round picks is only 53 percent.

But hey, here’s hoping your team can hit on two rookie All-Pros a la Quenton Nelson & Darius Leonard. Also a long shot, considering they were the first rookie duo to do so since Gale Sayers and Dick Butkus in 1965, but I’ll stop raining on the parade, I promise.

Without further delay, here’s a break down of each teams remaining needs:

Arizona Cardinals:

The rumors have almost become known fact at this point. The Cardinals are going to take Kyler Murray with the number one overall pick. Therefore signing Terrell Suggs, despite him being a 36-year-old pass rusher, helps alleviate their needs at DE considering they will be passing on Nick Bosa out of OSU.

Therefore, the remaining moves to make begin with trading Rosen. So assuming they do so, look for Steve Keim to target offensive lineman, specifically interior O-lineman, to protect Murray as much as possible.

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons made considerable efforts to get better on the offensive line, which may not be the beloved flashy free agency move, but a quality and risk adverse investment nonetheless.

So, with the depth taken care of on the offensive end, look for Dan Quinn and company to ensure the injury ridden collapse that was last season is not a repeat.

That means drafting a defensive lineman early. It is Thomas Dimitroff’s goal to get an extension figured out with Grady Jarrett, but an insurance policy like Ed Oliver at pick no. 14 wouldn’t be half bad.

Oh and losing Tevin Coleman to free agency, along with Devonta Freeman playing just 16 games in the last two seasons combined, means you can expect a RB to be drafted.

Baltimore Ravens

Ravens fans saw a handful of their favorite players leave this off season. From their lumbering & lovable Joe Flacco to Terrell freakin Suggs. Suggs is not only the all-time sacks leader in Baltimore, but no one man has ever played more games in the purple and black.

The loss of Eric Weddle is more than filled by the signing of Earl Thomas, and calling Mark Ingram an upgrade at the RB position is more than an understatement.

However, this wide receiving core is baron and Lamar Jackson needs all the help he can get through the air at this point in his career. Look for them to go WR early in the draft, then take a shot at an edge rusher to replace the loss of not only Suggs but also Za’Darius Smith.

Buffalo Bills

If I told Bills fans at the end of the season that they’d sign the best rapper in the NFL they’d have been jumping through folding tables like they’d just beaten Dolphins and watched the Bengals pull off a miracle of their own against the Ravens to seal the Bills first trip to the playoffs in over 18 seasons, assuming I would have been speaking about Le’Veon Bell.

But nope. I’m talking about Mr. 80 Stings himself, Cole Beasley. Needless to say this illustrious signing does not solve the weapons issue around Josh Allen. That being said, the #1 objective is to keep the franchise player upright.

The Bills will look to get o-line help early, and take a stab at a relatively deep WR group with the later picks.

Carolina Panthers

For the second off season in a row Cam Newton has spent the bulk of his time rehabbing, and I’m not talking AA. So, that clearly tells me the Carolina Panthers aren’t doing the greatest job keeping my mans upright.

The signing of Matt Paradis ensures the middle will be locked up, but there’s still work to be done.

The 16th overall pick is probably going to be too high for an interior offensive lineman in this class (aside from Garrett Bradbury, but the signing of Paradis takes him out of the equation).

So look for them to get younger at the defensive end early, and look for a quality starter at the offensive guard position on day two.

Chicago Bears

The Bears were among a handful of teams that had fans wondering if they were going to do anything during this free agency. Especially considering they might have the NFL’s “golden ticket”, which is the franchise QB on a rookie contract.

Well, we can debate whether or not Trubisky is truly a franchise QB.

So with a QB on his rookie deal, and no first round pick or even second round pick to speak of in the 2019 NFL Draft, one would think they would be prompted to spend some cash in free agency.

But, they let Adrian Amos walk, Josh Bellamy walk, and as of today their big money acquisition is CB Buster Skrine. (insert google search here).

But nonetheless, I think they’ve done a good job of surrounding Trubisky with talent on the offensive end. They’ve got four total picks in this draft to hit on some defensive depth at OLB, SS, and CB.

Cincinnati Bengals

Some owners in the NFL are consistently striving to win and then there are owners that are consistently trying to remain profitable, which in this day and age with the TV rights, that’s not very much of a challenge.

The Brown family has never shown a desire to make the big splash in the free agency world. Which means you better hit on draft picks, which to avoid bashing Bengals fans constantly, I will say they’ve done a fairly average job at the selection process.

But it’s 100% hit or miss in Cincy it seems. Hit on AJ Green, miss on John Ross. Hit on Andy Dalton (any 10 year career out of a 2nd round pick is a hit), miss on Cedric Ogbuehi. So here’s hoping the Bengals hit on an offensive tackle and continue the #Tanking4Trevor2021 rolling.

Cleveland Browns

Nothing.

Take the draft off and enjoy the spoils of having your franchise QB, WR, DE, & CB. Literally four of the five most important positions in the modern NFL are locked down.  John Dorsey you bubble gum chewing genius.

Just kidding, draft an offensive tackle (the last missing piece), a guard to replace the loss of Zeitler to the Giants, and a safety.