The first question is the abilities of the recruits. I don't know about Talalelei Grey, but I hope he is a replacement for Palu. Phipps is not a huge improvement on the incumbents. Jono Lance - what positions does he play? What are his kicking abilities? There are probably guys around who could tell us.
The other thing is that many of the problems that need addressing are a question of training, so I presume (hope) Cheika is addressing them.
I haven't seen Tala Grey play much in the last couple of years in France but I am an Easts fan and watched him play many times for Easts. I assume he's improved a fair bit since then (he was only quite young) and I think he'll be a solid player for the Tahs. Currently I'd think he's more likely to be a bench player initially but he should be in the matchday 23. I think he's a good recruit. He's pretty physical and should cover 6 and 8 well.
I think Phipps is going to be a key signing for the Tahs. I think he will be a significant improvement on McKibbin and arguably halfback is about the Tahs weakest position.
Jono Lance is a good rugby player who definitely fits the mold of a utility player at this point.
Overall I think Cheika's recruitment is focusing on players he considers to be good rugby players who are strong defenders, ball runners and have good skills. I figure he's looking for players that have the basic template for what he's looking for in a rugby player and plenty of room for Cheika to train to play the way he wants them to.
He wants guys that are keen to sign up to the way he does things and play the way he wants.