Biggest Positional Holes Left to Address for Fantasy This Offseason

The most exciting part of the NFL offseason is watching plans unfold in real-time.

Free agency gives teams their first crack at making roster changes in the new year. Players get signed, some even traded, but it’s not the final step in the process of building out the Week 1 lineup.

Of course, we still have the NFL Draft ahead of us. That’s why not every team uses the free agency period to solve all its problems; plenty of rookies will plug perceived depth chart holes. But right now, we’re in that ‘tweener portion of the calendar in which plenty of potentially fantasy-relevant situations are still in flux.

Let’s highlight three of the most intriguing question marks hanging over a few teams’ heads to watch as April draws nearer.

(All stats per FTN’s NFL StatsHub unless otherwise noted)

Remaining Needs to Address This NFL Offseason

Houston Texans’ Offensive Line

You know the old saying — when the going gets tough, burn it to the ground.

The Texans’ offensive line was a massive problem in 2024, allowing the sixth-highest sack rate (8.1%) and ninth-highest QB hit rate (16.1%) in the league. Keeping quarterback C.J. Stroud upright was a significant challenge, and the team failed to do so frequently.

Addressing these woes in a significant fashion this offseason makes sense for Houston, but starting the overhaul process by trading away LT Laremy Tunsil to the Washington Commanders certainly came as a surprise.

The five-time Pro Bowler had served as the functional anchor of the line since 2019 and was essentially the only part of the Texans’ front that worked last year. Tunsil registered the fourth-highest pass-blocking grade (89.1) among all tackles, according to PFF, so why not continue building from there?

Who knows.

It’s a bold move, but pivoting away from a 30-year-old earning $25 million annually to start over fresh and save some cash makes some arguable sense for a young roster. The aim here is to frame the Texans’ situation, not litigate the logic of this specific choice.

Although they’ve continued chipping away, notably adding former Minnesota Vikings’ LT Cam Robinson on a one-year, $12 million deal, it seems likely that the team will have to load up on offensive linemen in the NFL Draft next month to solidify this unit.

Will it be enough to help Stroud bounce back to his excellent rookie form? Hopefully, we get some answers soon.

Green Bay Packers’ WR Corps

Another young signal-caller steeped in looming concern is Jordan Love.

Despite seeing the NFL’s eighth-highest catchable air yards rate (60.8%) in 2024, the Packers’ pass-catching corps tied for a league-worst 4.9% drop rate last season. Just imagine how much more potent the Green Bay offense could be if Love’s receivers were more sure-handed.

But Green Bay’s concerns go beyond that anecdote.

This team is severely limited in terms of its dimensional capability with the passing attack. The whole machine operates at a very low average depth of target and churns primarily in the short-to-intermediate portions of the field.

Plainly speaking, Love doesn’t have the personnel to launch the long ball and try to take the top off of defenses.

To highlight this fact, consider that a total of 70 different wide receivers and tight ends registered an average of 50 air yards per game or more in 2024. On the Packers alone, they had just two pass-catchers that exceeded that threshold: Romeo Doubs at 61 and Christian Watson at 62.

In fact, Watson is the only Green Bay pass-catcher from last season to notch an aDOT significantly above double-digits at 16.7 yards; Doubs barely cracked the threshold at 11.0.

The team’s leading target earner, Jayden Reed, tallied just 34.6 air yards per game with a 7.9 aDOT. Tight end Tucker Kraft, who led the Packers in route participation at 88.8%, saw a meager 18.7 air yards per game with a very low 4.5 aDOT — you see the pattern here.

It’s a problem that the team could theoretically solve with their $28,733,486 in effective cap space, per OverTheCap. Veteran options like Stefon Diggs, Amari Cooper, and Tyler Lockett are out there, but none are at a point in their career(s) to make a significant impact.

Don’t be shocked if the Packers dip back into the wide receiver pool for a downfield threat in the NFL Draft.

Pittsburgh Steelers’ QB Situation

At this point, the Steelers seem the furthest away of any team from having a concrete plan at quarterback.
The Tennessee Titans hold the first overall pick in the draft and haven’t inked any notable veteran option to a free-agent contract this offseason. If they’re not taking Cam Ward from the University of Miami or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders at No. 1, who knows what the “plan” is now.

The same goes for the Cleveland Browns, who hold the second overall pick, and the New York Giants, who select third and recently secured the bridge services of Jameis Winston on a two-year, $8 million contract.

Multiple reports have indicated that Pittsburgh has a standing offer to former NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, but the 41-year-old’s prolonged delay in making a decision leaves the franchise in limbo.

Should they even keep waiting around?

I argued in last week’s newsletter that the team should just bring back Russell Wilson, who ranked 10th in deep throw rate (13.4%) and second in deep throw completion percentage (46.7%) among qualified quarterbacks last year.

Though the Steelers skew conservative under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, having registered the NFL’s seventh-lowest pass rate over expectation in 2024 at -6.3% per NFELO, they posted the sixth-highest explosive pass rate (11.0%) in the league last year with Russ at the helm.

If the right guy is installed to toss bombs downfield to George Pickens and the recently acquired DK Metcalf, there’s room for fantasy relevance; the Steelers are quite literally built for this.

Pittsburgh is a sleeper team that could go the NFL Draft route to address the quarterback spot, whether it be in the form of potentially trading up for Jaxson Dart from Ole Miss or waiting on a long-term project like Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, but their options are limited picking at 21st overall.

It’s a problematic bind for a consistent playoff contender, but hopefully, April will bring some clarity.