When coaches and general managers get honest with one another this time of year, the reality of their circumstances often hits. Maybe the offensive line you thought would gel struggled during the early portion of OTAs. Maybe the receiver group is still weighed down by injury issues. Maybe there’s an uncomfortably large gap between where your scouts thought the rookie quarterback would be and where he actually is. This can be especially true for teams whose coaches are seeing those players on the field, in person, for the first time.
Either way, the draft and free agency is never the salve it’s made out to be, which is why it’s valuable to look at lingering questions at this juncture of the offseason.