Shane O’Neill At Center Back Changes The Depth Chart, But Work Shouldn’t Be Finished

He has been used as a center back before, getting most of his call-ups to the U-20 National Team in that role. He has the build and the skills on the ball to be an effective possession guy out of the back as well, though I'm not sold on his defensive ability only because I have never actually seen him play the role. (Given how well he slotted into the holding midfielder position, I won't say I would be surprised if he takes to the CB spot just as well.)

If you stick O'Neill into the depth chart, it does look quite a bit better. Let's take a gander at everyone who can play every position:

Yeah, having guys like Moor and Klute that can play just about every position in the back helps out that depth chart quite a bit. You'll notice one thing though: while the Rapids are five deep in both of the wing back positions, we're also only five deep at center back. Not only are the Rapids only five deep, but every single one of the players who can play center back (except O'Neill) are in one of the other lists as well.

Having one more true center back, of the Julien Baudet type ideally, is pretty much a necessity to avoid the same injury problems that the team had last year. Versatility is good, but having a really great central defender that you can stick in will be a lot more helpful than putting in a guy who can play all three spots in the back, but might not be at his best in the center.

Fortunately, it looks like Oscar Pareja knows that the work isn't quite done yet: