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Strongest: Linebackers
- Three Pro Bowlers in Hali, Houston and Johnson and the addition of a very talented thumper at the Mike spot in Nico Johnson, backed up by hard working guys like Chad Kilgore, Frank Zombo and Zac Diles, this is one of the best linebacking units in the NFL.
Weakest: Defensive Line
- Mike DeVito is, right now, the best/most productive player of this unit and he's a lunch pail type of guy. Poe, despite a year of starting in 2012, remains quite raw. Jackson has underperformed his whole career and guys like Bailey and Powe have flashed but minimally. And there isn't much depth. I think running a 46 type defense often will get the best players on the field, but despite two high first round draft picks, this is still a weak overall group.
Question Marks:
Offensive Line
- While it looks good on paper and everyone seems to be excited about it, it's a very young line with minimal game time experience. Rod Hudson has all the tools to be a dominant center, but has only started four games. Stephenson is the most gifted lineman on this team, but, like Hudson, has only a handful of starts. Same with Allen. Albert is the most experienced but he's only had one good year versus three mediocre to bad ones. Schwartz has a single year of starts. Asamoah hasn't progressed since his rookie year and he's just a guy at this point. Fisher is coming from an FBS school and is a rookie.
If they can put together a starting lineup sooner rather than later, and let them jell together, this can be a strength, but I think that this is a position group that might struggle initially.
Wide Receivers
- Bowe is the only marquee player here. Fortunately, his strengths will match well with Alex Smith. Should be a very good match. Baldwin can't break off from press coverage and doesn't run very good routes. Donny Avery is fast, but doesn't have very good hands. McCluster has been a turnover machine. Guys like Wylie and Hemingway I like, but who knows? Copper is in year 10 and is only a special teams player.
Defensive Backs
- Flowers is a genuine stud, but that's about it. The fans love Berry, but he has consistently shown an inability to be effective in coverage. That needs to get fixed or teams will continue to send tight ends his way all game long. Sean Smith has the tools to be a good press coverage guy, but he got torched a lot with the Dolphins. Kendrick Lewis is good in coverage - when he's not injured, which is more often than not. Jalil Brown is a very good special teams guy, but hasn't covered well in games at CB. Robinson has lost a step and I think that they'll miss Arenas versus Dunta at the nickel spot. The rest are just guys.
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