Rock thanks for starting this discussion.
Players that are probably leaving with big salaries
Joyner, Suh, Barron, Shields
Players that may leave who may require big salaries
Safford, Fowler
Projected Needs
Safety: They may decide they can fill this position from inside (Christian) but probably look to add
CB: Losing Shields but not a pressing need this year. S/CB combo player would be great to have if there is value in draft
LB: Is Kiser going to step up and become the other ILB? Is OBO the real deal? Seems like potential high draft pick here.
DL: Suh is almost surely gone and this is a major strength of the draft: Expect to use a high pick here
OL: If Safford leaves this is a need area but not a strength in this draft
Backup QB: Mannions has shown that he stinks. The draft after next is loaded at this position look to Free Agency
TE: Is Higbee a keeper? Can wait on this position unless we run into big value
RB: Looks solid
The early looks that I have seen on this draft is that it is really strong on defensive players especially on the DLine. That is good news since defense is our major need. Snead will have some extra 3rd rounders and he seems to really shine finding gems in those rounds. Resigning Safford would seem to be a priority but losing Suh, Barron, Joyner makes sense from a cap/performance perspective. Fowler is a big question to me because they gave up so much for him. He would be a great resign on a reasonable deal even if it is only for 1 year. Otherwize he is hedged assuming he signs a big contract somewhere else but the 3rd that comes back is a year later than the 2 we gave up.
It will be interesting to see how Snead builds next years roster because he pulled a lot of surprises last year, at least for me.
