#1 Eliminated team: Bears
The Bears have been a magical team this season, and in my opinion they already have a Super Bowl roster. They have the coach and QB of the future in Ben Johnson, and Caleb Williams, and Rome Odunze, Luther Burden, and Colston Loveland are all franchise targets. The Bears also have a top 5 offensive-line. Their offense is already set for a Super Bowl, but there is a lot of defensive problems. Their secondary is awesome, but there is a lot of problems with extending them this off-season. The Bears have 3 million remaining in cap, and they have to resign Kevin Byard, Nashon Wright, and Jaquan Brisker. Byard led the league in interceptions this year, and is one of the leagues best safeties, so if they sign one of the safeties back it has to be Byard. Resigning Byard though would put them negative in cap by a lot so they should look for a trade. DJ Moore has been talked about a lot as the Bears are set with their receivers already. That would put them barley above the cap, but they need cap to sign free agents and Nashon Wright.
Moving on to the draft. The Bears biggest need is clearly Edge Rusher. For such a good team, the Bears were 31st in pass rush win rate. The Bears at the trade deadline were rumored to get an Edge Rusher which they basically didn’t get. Now going into the draft this is a very strong edge rusher class. But with how late their pick is, the only edge rusher they can get is T.J Parker. I think Parker can pan out fine for them as long as he can get help from his defensive coaches. The Bears should also look to draft defensive lineman, as there is uncertainty there especially with Grady Jarret’s injuries. The Bears won’t be bringing back both safeties so safeties is also a draft need. Kamari Ramsey is a player I would watch for the 2nd round.
#1: Bring Byard back #2: Trade D.J Moore #3: Draft Needs: 1. Edge, 2. Saftey, 3. Defensive Line
#2 Elimanated Team: Texans
The Texans have been awesome all year, but everybody knows what’s holding them back. The offensive-line. The Texans offensive-line was worst in the league this year being 30th in pass block win rate, and last in run block win rate. Woody Marks has been severely damaged from this, as the Texans are 24th in yards per game, and 3rd worst in yards per carry. I think the Texans should give Woody Marks another chance, because his offensive-line sucked, and the Texans dont have the cap for Breece Hall or Eittene. The Texans don’t have many players to resign, but Ed Ingram is a key one. Ingram has been the only good part of the Offensive-Line, being a top 20 IOL on PFF. The Texans would need to resign him if they want their offensive line to succeed, but resigning him would take away cap to restructure the rest of their O-Line. The Texans can only afford 1 star O-Lineman which could be Braden Smith or Tyler Linderbaum. The Texans need more than that, so trading up in the draft for Spencer Fano could be a big help, or they could hope they land Kaydn Procter, or Caleb Lamu with their current selection
#1: Don’t resign Ed Ingram to save for another O-Lineman #2: Give Woody Marks another year as Starter #3: Trade or Draft an Offensive Tackle
3rd Eliminated Team: Bills
For years the #1 thing that has been holding the Bills back is the WR1 spot. Last year I was fully disappointed in the Bills franchise when they didn’t go after Tee Higgins, and this year they can get AJ Brown. There is 1 problem though. The Bills are negative in cap, and with their pick in the draft their is nothing there WR #1 worthy. An AJ Brown trade would just add on to their debt unless they want to give up guys that are beneficial to their team. The Bills also need to resign Joey Bosa who has been their top defensive piece, but the Bills can’t do it. The Bills only hope is the draft, but with such a bad pick there will be no WRs left besides guys like Kevin Concepion but guys like him will barley help.
#1: The Bills are done Next Year #2: They Ruined Their cap #3: They ruined their head coaching situation.
#4 Eliminated Team: 49ers
The 49ers are the opposite of the Bills. The 49ers have loads of cap space, and a very talented team when not injured. The 49ers one weak spot is the pass rush. This season, San Francisco was last in the NFL in sacks and pressure rate, and they were 29th in pass rush win rate. The 49ers were unlucky with Nick Bosa and Mikel Williams both injured, but they will be back next year. Another problem for the 49ers is WR1. The 49ers have had many injuries at that position this year, and Juan Jennings is set to be a free agent. With how much the 49ers have, the can let him walk and sign Mike Evans or maybe Alec Pierce. Let’s say the 49ers sign both Hendrickson and Evan’s, and they would be set for the Super Bowl and still have lots of cap left over. During the draft they don’t need much at that point, maybe future replacements for Trent Williams but the 49ers seem set.
#1: Let Jennings Walk #2: Go all-in on free agency #3: Get a new WR1 or their done