OM built a 9 or 10 win team with the Portal, and we want to act like we can't replace some mediocre safeties and solid LBs? Yeah we will downgrade Watson and Wheat, but it's also possible to get a good DE and upgrade the DL pass rush and that would help the LBs indirectly. Or we could get a stud NFL LB off a G5 team that flew under the radar due to a knee injury. Who knows.

The Portal changes everything, you can't even begin to talk about the holes we have next year till the dust settles.

Personally, I think the biggest concern is Will Rogers brain- if he keeps shutting down under pressure, we will not be good. If he decides he's not afraid of hits and starts seeing the field better vs blitzes, the offense will be much better. Just that alone is a bigger variable than any portal guy or returning LB