My idle thoughts and musings on this...
I am not a believer in tanking. When was the last time a team tanked and then won a Super Bowl within the next five years? Ever?
Tanking sets up a loser mentality/habit, players generally hate it (if player reports from tanking teams are to be believed), and it's banking an awful lot on a draft pick that is 50/50 at best, even with the number one pick. We used to make fun of the Colts for "sucking for Luck" and for good reason. They looked like fools, and turned out to be fools. Luck didn't even last beyond his second contract and the Colts never figured out how to win in big moments...maybe because some of veteran players spent considerable time developing loser habits?
We need to see what Mac Jones has, good or bad and either embrace what he is or shut the door and start again.
I personally no longer really believe he's the guy. But there's no harm at this point in making sure that he can't be a contributor on a winning team. It seems rather clear that, absent a Flacco-esque run, he's not the guy to carry a team to the Super Bowl, but if he can do enough, with a strong enough team around him, then perhaps it's something. However, that first contract is coming to an end soon and he's either going to cost a lot of money or go to another team. My money is on him going to another team and fading out as a backup somewhere, but I'm just an idiot on a message board. The risk, of course, is that we start to wander the QB desert like so many teams we used to ridicule.
Play the rooks.
Like everyone else has been saying, let's see what Pop, Boutte, Keion, Mapu, Sow, Mafi, etc have to offer and figure out who we're keeping and who is sent packing. Injury luck is forcing our hand at the WR position, where I have some hope that we've got something with Pop and Boutte. I guess it's also a good time to evaluate TT and figure out if he is going to be worth keeping around. His trajectory reminds me too much of Tate, Dobson, and all the other WRs that came with promise and left with a whisper.
Play with OL Combinations/Figure out Brown
It seems like there are some ways to make this line actually play well, if the Buffalo game is anything to go by. I have complicated feelings on Brown. He grades out highly and really seems to make some good plays. At the same time, there are clips circulating around showing him making bizarrely low effort plays. I can see why some people hate him, and why others like him. He's probably one of the most divisive OL guys we've had in a while.
Figure out what's working on defense/plan for the future
I'm not as down on the D as many here are. They are often given short fields to defend, spend considerable time on the field, and the injuries haven't really helped, especially in the secondary. We have an abundance of edge rushers, with some elite talent, some promising talent, and some egnimatic talent. I am super curious about what Keion can be, and Barmore is really starting to find his groove. With a healthy secondary, this could be a defense to build around.
The elephant in the room/BB
Honestly, I have no ****ing idea what should be done here. I guess, as a fan, I'll just soak in watching him patrol the sidelines. Whenever it is he goes, we will miss him. Like it or not, accept it or not, he played a large role in the success of this team over two decades. It'll be weird, one day, to look at the sideline and see a Harbaugh or whoever standing over there.