In terms of final finish at 7-9 this was a very disappointing year when looking back to July/August expectations.
But with a quarterback who had one step out the door and 20 players on IR during the season, it wasn't a surprise as the season started to unfold.
The one silver lining is the number of younger players the team has acquired in the draft that seem to have a future here as NFL performers.
Jonathan Allen came in and lived up to his draft status and pre-draft bio in terms of being NFL ready.
Matt Ioannidis worked himself off the proverbial scrap-heap after being a
#5 pick that was actually a final 53 cut in 2016 to being a starter in 2017.
Montae Nicholson, Quinton Dunbar, Fabian Moreau and Joshua Holsey look to be contributors with the first two figuring to be starters.
When healthy we have a good offensive line and Moses, Scherff, Long (if resigned), Roullier are all 27 or under. Trent is one of the top LTs in the NFL.
We need more depth here and the draft is the best way to stock up on cheap talent that can contribute. I would not be an advocate to signing a veteran LG for big dollars in the offseason, not with Scherff needing an extension down the road.
So, one can be optimistic about the OL and our ability to add those one or two pieces to round out the unit.
The skill positions, though, are where the major question marks are. Not only do we need a veteran WR to be the
#1 in 2018, we have to watch closely to see whether Jamison Crowder's so-so 2017 season when the team needed him to step up is a sign he is simply a
#3 or
#4 receiver on a good offensive team or capable of more.
Doctson seems to me to be an Alvin Harper clone. Go deep, jump for the ball and make that uber athletic play every once in awhile.
Ryan Grant at 26 appears to have topped out as a
#4 receiver (again on a good offense). He may have been more than that here in 2017 but it was to me simply a response to a depleted depth chart that brought him that far up rather than him emerging as a true talent.
Running back I am more confident the team can and should use the draft to find a runner who can pose a dual threat as a runner and receiver.
We have Chris Thompson as a big play performer, but when he was not in the game in 2017 defenses sagged on Kelley, Perine and the others.
We need an early down back that you can't fall asleep on in the passing game and just assume it is 3 yards and a cloud of dust.
That's one of the things that make New England's offense hard to stop is the fact that ALL of their backs can not only run the ball but be viable options for Brady in the passing game.
Whenever the Patriots line up they have a lot of flexibility with their runners and their wide receivers as well.
We need to be more like that.