The biggest flaws for every NFL team early in training camp

The Cardinals did fairly well at plugging holes this offseason, especially if Kyler Murray proves to be the right fit in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense. But Arizona didn’t do much to address its offensive line, which could prove rather costly with a young quarterback. The Cardinals allowed 52 sacks, which was the fifth-most in the NFL, last season.

Atlanta didn’t possess an elite pass rusher last year, and the team chose to focus on fixing the offensive line this offseason rather than the defense’s front seven. The Falcons added Tyeler Davison, Adrian Clayborn and Allen Bailey on minor deals, but the team is really counting on Vic Beasley returning to his 2016 form. Pro Football Focus ranked Beasley 103rd out of 103 eligible edge rushers last year.

The Ravens always find a way to be great on defense, but this could be their biggest test yet in 12 years under John Harbaugh. Baltimore lost Terrell Suggs, Za'Darius Smith, C.J. Mosley and Eric Weddle in free agency. They signed Earl Thomas to replace Weddle, but Thomas has ended the last two years injured, and the team did little to address its losses at linebacker.

Adding John Brown and Cole Beasley will help add depth to the Bills wide receiver core, but they don’t have an elite pass-catching option or a capable tight end to act as a safety valve for quarterback Josh Allen. The Bills don’t have a tight end who caught more than 22 passes last year on their roster.

There are a few NFL teams that have been unable to find or develop a true No. 1 receiver, so they have a plethora of No. 2 or No. 3 guys on the roster. Carolina is one of those squads. D.J. Moore, Curtis Samuel and Chris Hogan aren’t going to scare any NFL secondary, and tight end Greg Olsen has dealt with injuries each of the last two seasons.

The Bears traded Jordan Howard to Philadelphia and drafted Iowa State back David Montgomery to take his place. Of course, Chicago still has Tarik Cohen, but he has yet to post 99 carries in one season. Whether the combination of Cohen, Montgomery and Mike Davis is enough to give the Bears a balanced offense in 2019 is one of the team’s biggest question marks heading into this season.

Under new coach Zac Taylor, the Bengals are clearly rebuilding, so taking the best available player is not the worst idea. But Cincinnati didn’t address its linebacker core until the third round last April. With the departure of Vontaze Burfict, the Bengals have a large hole in the center of their defense. 

Cleveland has its most complete roster in years, but if there are any holes, it’s probably at safety. With Jabrill Peppers in New York as a result of the Odell Beckham Jr. trade, the Browns are counting upon veterans Morgan Burnett and Damarious Randall to hammer down the back end of the defense.

If Ezekiel Elliott is serious about sitting out the season if he doesn’t receive a new contract, and the Cowboys don’t give in to his demands, Dallas is in serious trouble. Veteran Alfred Morris and unproven commodities such as Darius Jackson and Tony Pollard are the options behind Elliott in the backfield. That shouldn’t give the team much confidence, especially when it will be missing the back who has led the league in rushing two of the last three years.

It’s way too early to draw any conclusions, but Drew Lock didn’t impress in his preseason debut at the Hall of Fame game, although he did show improvement in his second preseason appearance, against Seattle. It’s Joe Flacco’s job anyway, but if the Broncos again fall out of contention, it will be interesting to see if first-year head coach Vic Fangio turns to the second-round pick at some point this year.

The Lions added Trey Flowers in free agency, but they also lost Ziggy Ansah. That can probably be considered a lateral move, so Detroit still needs another pass-rushing presence from somewhere else.

Davante Adams is clearly Aaron Rodgers’ best target, but unless 32-year-old Jimmy Graham regains his form from several years ago, the Packers don’t have a legit No. 2 option in the passing game. Geronimo Allison, Marquez Valdes-Scantling or Equanimeous St. Brown will have to emerge to take some coverage away from Adams this fall.

Even the extremely athletic Deshaun Watson couldn’t prevent the Texans from allowing a league-high 62 sacks in 2018. That was six more sacks than any other team in the league. Houston drafted two offensive tackles, Tytus Howard and Max Scharping, in the first two rounds of the 2019 draft. But questions remain whether they will start at tackle, guard or begin their NFL careers as reserves.

The Colts were one of the darling teams of the offseason. That happens when you win 10 straight games to end the regular season and make the playoffs. Indianapolis’ roster is the most complete in the AFC South, but the Colts aren’t the strongest in the back end of their defense.

Jacksonville has dealt with offensive line issues for several years, and they aren’t going away. Newly signed Cedric Ogbuehi and second-round pick Jawaan Taylor are competing for the starting right tackle spot this summer, but Ogbuehi is merely a stop-gap option, as Taylor is viewed as the long-term solution at tackle.

While the Chiefs led the league in sacks last season, they were ranked second-to-last in both total defense and passing yards allowed. Kansas City lost Justin Houston, Dee Ford and Eric Berry, but Houston and Berry have dealt with injuries lately, and the team replaced them with Frank Clark and Tyrann Mathieu. That leaves linebacker as the level of the defense with the biggest flaws.

The Chargers were much better up front in 2018, but the right tackle spot is still a little weak and wasn’t addressed this offseason. Former sixth-round pick Sam Tevi, who started 15 games at right tackle for the Chargers last year, is expected to hold down the starting role for that position again.

Three of the five starting Rams offensive linemen are either entering their first year of starting or are older than 35. The grizzly veteran of the group is Andrew Whitworth, who is now 37. The Rams did get younger up front, but it means new starters at center and left guard.

Regardless of who starts at quarterback, the Dolphins don’t possess an elite target or weapon on offense. Kenyan Drake, DeVante Parker and Kenny Stills are fine secondary options, but neither is a player whom opposing teams will spend hours game-planning against.

The roster in Minnesota is one of the most complete in the league, especially on defense. Going into the draft, the team’s biggest weakness was offensive line, particularly center, but the Vikings fixed that by drafting top center Garrett Bradbury in the first round. It’s time for Minnesota to bring it all together, and that requires Kirk Cousins playing much better against great teams and in prime time than he’s done throughout his career.

With Tom Brady turning 42, the Patriots have gone full circle with him as quarterback and returned to their power-running game. But in the passing attack, it won’t help that Rob Gronkowski won’t be there this season. New England replaced Gronkowski with veteran tight end Benjamin Watson.

The Saints acquired Eli Apple at the trade deadline last year to secure the biggest remaining hole in the secondary. While he was an improvement, offenses still pick on his side of the field instead of testing fellow cornerback Marshon Lattimore.

The biggest storyline around this team is not if but when Eli Manning may give way to rookie Daniel Jones behind center. Making matters worse, the Big Apple was unimpressed with the selection of Jones last April. 

Adding Quinnen Williams was great, but the Jets still have questions as to where their pass rush is going to come from this season. The Jets finished about middle of the pack in sacks during 2018, but the team didn’t have a defender with more than 7.0 sacks.

Former first-round pick Kolton Miller didn’t play well as a rookie, but he again enters this season as the team’s starting left tackle. The Raiders signed Trent Brown to play right tackle and added weapons for Derek Carr, but his blindside needs to be protected better if the team is going to improve offensively.

While the Eagles replaced the departed Jordan Hicks with veteran Zach Brown, Philadelphia’s biggest weakness is probably still linebacker. The other flaw of this team, which is the case with many NFL rosters, is quarterback depth if something were to happen to Carson Wentz again. Nate Sudfeld isn’t leading the Eagles to any playoff wins like Nick Foles did.

Juju Smith-Schuster is going to make the Steelers forget about Antonio Brown. The problem is who is going to replace Smith-Schuster as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s second passing option? With James Washington, Dion Johnson, Eli Rogers and Donte Moncrief, the Steelers have options, but the best case is for “Big Ben” to spread the ball around to all of those guys.

Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers are again expected to take a step forward in 2019, but the quarterback will have to do so without a true No. 1 wide receiver. Dante Pettis and Marquise Goodwin are decent complemental weapons but not elite options. Tight end George Kittle should lead San Francisco in receiving again.

Seattle traded away defensive end Frank Clark, who led the team with 13.0 sacks in 2018. Compounding that loss, defensive tackle Jarran Reed, who was second on the team with 10.5 sacks last year, will miss the first six games because of a suspension. That leaves the Seahawks with major problems in the pass rushing department.

The current Tampa Bay secondary depth chart is made up of rookies and no-names. In a division which includes Drew Brees, Matt Ryan and Cam Newton, that could make for a long season for the Bucs and their fans. 

There aren’t any glaring holes on the Titans roster, but nothing absolutely jumps off the page either, especially at wide receiver. Tajae Sharpe continues to develop and the Titans added Adam Humphries in free agency, but neither is a No. 1 target, and Corey Davis has mostly underwhelmed early in his career. Even more concerning, soon-to-be 35-year-old tight end Delanie Walker played only one game last season and may not be an elite option when he returns.

Dwayne Haskins gives Washington hope, but the current quarterback competition between Colt McCoy and Case Keenum should leave fans queasy. Putting Keenum’s career year in 2017 aside, neither quarterback has been able to hold down a starting role.