Whilst replying to the "My response to 1st Round QB BUSTS..." i began to ramble into looking at the perceived holes in our squad that will likely need addressed in the 2011 draft and why, in my opinion, the holes arent quite as bad as first thought, and why this should encourage us to take a risk on a QB in the 1st....

Leaving the QB issue aside for a moment, it was largely agreed that areas potentially requiring attention in this years draft were as follows:

- Offensive Line

- Defensive End

- Cornerback

- Wide Receiver

However with a new Coaching Team in place, bringing with them a new set of ideas, there might be cause for a bit of optimism when it comes to our current roster. OC Musgrave has already said that he plans to tailor the Offence around the talents of the players, which I think could see a marked improvement in the OL should we get away from zone blocking, allowing our big O Linemen to dominate their player and giving AP more success on the ground.

The re-signing of Robinson at DE also gives me some confidence about our DL going into the new season. I, like many others felt that Robinson should be a starter opposite Allen in the DL and with Edwards almost certainly away, gives him the perfect opportunity to to step in and own LDE. This also gives Griffen a little more time to mature as a backup to Robinson (hopefully).

Cornerback is an issue that we have to address in the draft, but with Amakamura and Peterson likely off the board when we pick at 12 I'd be happy to draft a CB in the 2nd / 3rd (presuming we can aquire a 3rd) to compete with Cook and Griffen, both who will hopefully be fully recovered from their injuries for the new season.

If we lose Rice in the offseason and either Green or Jones fall to #12 it would be very difficult not to pull the trigger, but if we are able to retain Sidney on a new contract then drafting more depth at WR should still be a priority in the first 4 rounds with Berrian and co. not producing the goods.

With all of that said, QB is the position in real need of addressing in the off season, and personally i'd like to see us go for a QB in the first. I can actually see the top 4 QB's going in the first round, 3 at the very least. Newton and Gabbert will be gone by #12, which is fine cos i'm not high on Newton at all. I also think that Locker wont make it past Seattle at 25, in fact i think they might even be tempted to move up a little to get him, and Mallet could go anywhere from #5 to well into the 2nd.

If we want one of these guys we may well have to pick him at #12.

Personally, I think we could move back 5-10 spots, aquire a 2nd or 3rd rounder and pick up Locker, allowing us to then focus on CB, WR, LB and S in the rest of the draft.

of course - this could all be completly wrong and we go BPA in all of our rounds, which is never a bad idea either.