(1) Chad Pennington -- I like Henne as our QB of the future, but it would be very difficult to replace Pennington's veteran presence/leadership, accuracy, and decision-making skills on the field.
(2) Jake Long -- Protecting our QB's blindside is a must, and despite improvements from Nate Garner and the promise of our rookie LT A. Gardner, I do not trust the depth behind Long.
(3) Jason Ferguson -- As with Long, depth behind Jason is very suspect. The NT is the most important 3-4 position and losing Ferg. would place a huge responsibility on the immature, but very talented, Paul Solai. Rather not go there...
(4) Ronnie Brown -- Yes, I know he splits carries with Ricky, and if Brown did go down Williams could fill in well for him. However, Brown is our triggerman for the Wildcat, and has arguably the biggest playmaking potential on our offense. Losing Brown would likely embolden opposing defenses to play to our passing game and force us to run on them with an aging Williams and a utility back in Patrick Cobbs.
(5) Channing Crowder -- I think this is the year Channing steps up and makes the big plays he is capable of, especially given he has the continuity of playing in the same defense and being able to make calls faster and more efficiently because of it. Of all the linebacking positions, losing Crowder at ILB would leave a lot of responsibility up to Ayodele and whomever he's be paired with (Torbor or Kershew, neither of which are the caliber of player Channing is).
