We absolutely need to shore up the drop-off in production between starters and reserves in the secondary. It seemed when Nikkel, Thompson, Patton, Surges were in they would give up big plays/TD's on the back-end (missed tackles, missed assignments, bad eye discipline). Don't need them to force turnovers but have to limit the big plays they gave up this year.
I feel like our DB play will be inconsistent if we can't put pressure on opposing QB's.
As far as safeties go, Howard got hurt but he looked solid in 2022. James also looked like a player with some pop during the non-con. Patton was a true freshman, so his inexperience showed. My hope is all three are solid in reserve roles in 2024 behind Freyler, Cooper and Verdon.
I do have questions about CB depth. Purchase, Porter and Williams could be solid, but we need 1-2 other guys to push the first 3.
In the end, our defense will only improve if our front 6 can create more TFL, hurries and sacks.