[Rain Man]

I'm pretty pleased with my team coming into the year, because I had to cut several players that I wish I could keep.

First off, the trades.

David King is not on our roster, so his trade is void.

We reject the trade of a conditional 5th round pick in 2018 for Cameron Erving.

We will give up a conditional 4th round pick in 2019 for Reggie Ragland.

DJ Alexander is not on our roster, so there will be no trade for Kevin Pierre-Louis.

Here's my 53-man roster. Rookies are in red.

QB
Russell Wilson (Seahawks)
Brett Hundley (Packers)
Nathan Peterman (Bills)

Youth and talent here. I like this group.

RB
Alvin Kamara (Saints)
Samaje Perine (Redskins)
Jamaal Charles (former Chiefs)
C.J. Spiller. (Bills/Saints/Chiefs)

We're going young here as our workhorses, with a couple of veterans getting spot duty. Overall, I like this group even though it's unproven at the top.

WR
Jeremy Maclin (Chiefs/Ravens)
Donte Moncrief (Colts)
Kendall Wright (Titans/Bears)
Albert Wilson (Chiefs)
Malachi Dupre (Packers)

Not big names, but productive. Definitely a workable group if not stars.

TE
Travis Kelce (Chiefs)
Ben Koyack (Jaguars)
Anthony Fasano (Titans/Dolphins)

Kelce's a star, and the other two are reasonable backups. I'm fine here.

OT
Mitchell Schwartz (Browns/Chiefs)
Morgan Moses (Redskins)
Menelik Watson (Raiders/Broncos)
Corey Robinson (Lions)

Schwartz has to move to LT, but he can do it and Moses is strong at RT. This is a reasonable group. I've been trying for years to find a true LT, and it's hard to do.

G
Evan Boehm (Cardinals)
Alex Boone (49ers)
Christian Westerman (Bengals)
Dorian Johnson (Cardinals)

Boehm surprised and pleased me by moving to guard and winning the starting job, and Boone is a longtime starter who can fill the other spot. I've got two young guys at the backup roles who I hope will ascend. For some reason this has become a hard position to fill, but I'm ... okay, I guess. Maybe adequate.

C
Cody Whitehair (Bears )

Great shape here. Whitehair is a rising star.

K
Cairo Santos, K

Best in the league.

P
Dustin Colquitt

Best in the league.

LS
James Winchester

Best in the league.

FS
Jordan Poyer (Eagles/Browns/Bills)
Desmond King (Chargers)

Poyer is now a starter at FS for the Bills, and King is looking really good as a rookie. Not a standout group, but adequate.

SS
Reshad Jones (Dolphins)
Miles Killebrew (Lions)
Derron Smith (Bengals)

Jones is a star, and I've got two young backups. I'm good.

CB
Marcus Peters (Chiefs)
Steve Nelson (Chiefs)
Mitchell, Terrance (Chiefs)
Kendall Fuller (Redskins)
Kalan Reed (Titans)

We're strong and young here, I think. All of these players are ascending, and I've got one spot locked down with Peters.

OLB
AJ Klein (Panthers/Saints)
Taco Charlton (Cowboys)
Tamba Hali (Chiefs)
Ejuan Price (Rams)

Klein has emerged strong as a Saint. I'm transitioning to a 4-3, but this year Charlton will play as the primary pass rusher in a 3-4. He can do that well. Tamba is on his last hurrah and is hurt, and Price is a rookie backup.

ILB
Derrick Johnson (Chiefs)
Zach Brown (Titans)
Reggie Ragland (Chiefs)
Scooby Wright (Browns)

This unit could be good, but it's not stable. I'm relying on DJ to be back all year, and for Zach Brown to continue his resurgence. Ragland and Wright are speculative. I need my old veterans to come through.

DE
Star Lotulelei (Panthers)
Andrew Billings (Bengals)
Nate Orchard (Browns)
Michael Bennett (Jaguars)
Ifeadi Odenigbo (Vikings)

This is a makeshift group. I'm transitioning from a 3-4 to a 4-3 over time, but at the moment I'll stay in a 3-4 and move two defensive tackles out to the end spots. Orchard is moving from OLB and will be more valuable after my transition. It's not an ideal situation since they'll generate no pass rush.

NT
Brandon Williams (Ravens)
Bennie Logan (Chiefs)
Caleb Brantley (Browns)

I'm really deep here at NT because I'm building talent for my future transition to a 4-3. Right now, Williams will start as a top-notch NT with good depth behind him.

Aside from the camp fodder guys, here are our notable cuts.

Relatively easy cuts

Cyrus Kouandjio (Bills/Lions)
Damien Mama
Denard Robinson (Jaguars)
Devine Redding
Gehrig Dieter
Jah Reid
Justin March
Marcus Kemp
Marcus Rush
Nick Williams
Okine, Earl LB
Orson Charles
Person, Mike
Rey Maualuga (Bengals)
Rod Streater (Bills)
Stave, Joel
TJ Clemmings (Vikings/Redskins)

Kouandjio was a 2nd-round draft pick for me, so he kind of busted, but that's life. A few other guys are backups around the league.

Moderately difficult cuts
Daniel McCullers (Steelers)
Geno Smith (Jets)
Kenneth Acker
Nick Foles
Roy Miller (Chiefs)

These guys are all role players who could help a roster, but I didn't have room for them.

Toughest cuts
Harlan Miller (Cardinals)
Jarvis Jenkins (Chiefs)
Tyvon Branch (Cardinals)

Jenkins looked good last year, and I'm giving up on Miller early due to depth at the position. Tyvon Branch was my 54th player, but I have a very strong starter and two ascending backups. Age cost him his job.