Turned that crap off and separated from the board and anything football related last evening. It was ugly and that 1 can be argued for hours. Defense did enough but can’t gift 17 point swings. ETN, strip sack, KO TD and they didn’t have to do much else thereafter.
What now?
I think as Kirby self scouts this bunch and looks to 2025 he’s going to see 2 key things stand out. We need playmakers outside, and we need staff cohesion again.
The first part is a no brainer for all to see and I think it’s clear it’s being addressed if we use this recruiting class as an indicator. 5-6 kids coming out of the box that are probably better than 90% of the room. Hopefully Branch comes on down. Noah Thomas is more intriguing to me than Key was. 6’6 track star and would be a nice addition.
The TE room quietly had a solid year. I think Luckie and Delp are damn solid. Next year will be supplemented by either a more mature Redell, Barbour(him), or Elyiss. Won’t be as experienced as Yurosek but the athletic upside for the rotation is greatly improved.
The OL room probably has a new coach. Or we have a new OC 1. When your OL coach strongly favors doing things 1 way and the OC another. You get 2024 and 2019… The talent in the room is going to be a bit more evened out in terms of 1st wave/developmental kids. Freeling and Greene both will have to really, really play well to hold off the younger tackles. We get improved tackle play and a bit more cohesion and sound technique from the bunch. OL will be solid next year.
As long as 3 is here. RB is a non worry.
Gunner may very well be the guy in 2025. I’m not knocking the kid at all. He made a ton of throws yesterday a large faction of folks had no clue he could make, me included. Problem is how long it takes to get out of his hand. He grew a ton yesterday as the rust came off. He’s steady if the strip sacks can get cleaned up.
I wouldn’t be shocked if the right guy came in the portal our staff going to get him at the same time or the light coming on for Rashad’s. Maybe Pugs. A lot depends on the OC and then it becomes a floor vs ceiling conversation.
No secret we lose some dudes on D. Jalon, Mykell, Starks are first round picks, Smael will go fairly high for an off ball LB(2-3rd round). Everette is even a top 40 pick type guy. Chaz and Dan have been damn solid and steady. Naz and Brinson have been contributors for 3-4 years now and know their way around. All of them sans maybe Chaz will be on an NFL roster come September.
That is why retention is paramount as we look into 2025. We have a TON of high ceiling kids in the 3-4 deep. We lose at least 9 mainstays over the last 2-3 years.
Miller and TID would make a huge difference. Not many squads can swap Damon Wilson, Q, Gabe Harris, out for Jalon, Chaz, Mykell. We go from the DL this year to some combo of McCleod(man down the stretch), Hall, Ogboko, Jordan Thomas, Elijah Griffin, JJA up front. With a miller and TID that group all the sudden is ferocious. Without the ceiling is nasty and the floor is growing pains as they learn to play at this level.
LB will be ok, need to get back to letting them hunt more. Jalon was a stud but he also was a weird fit floating multiple positions. Will be back to 4 dudes who are true ILB’s, with Cole being the versatile 1.
Secondary is what I’m as interested to see play out as WR going into 2025. Ellis is coming for 1 corner spot. Daniel Harris at the other 1. Star and safety is where it gets interesting. Aguero to me is a safety and would be better served there. KJ is a superstar and should be the alpha on D next year. Do they use him at star in moments like Malaki? Roll with Aguero? Try Demello out there? If we get both branches can Zion play the other spot?
That 1 will be fun to watch unfold through the next few months.
The pieces are there to still compete for all the goals we all desire in 2025. Composite roster rankings will love us. I hope the NIL pressure cooker and constant sourcing of funds doesn’t burn CKS out. Good news for us is I believe the man likes recruiting and building a roster as much as he does coaching. I think he’s proven that’s he’s both blood thirsty competitive and a hell of a ball coach. I’ll bet he steps outside his comfort zone a bit in regards to the offense ahead of 2025 much like he did after 2019.
