On Monday, new Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett told SI’s Albert Breer what we’ve been hearing—and observing—silently behind the scenes for two years now. There is no longer such a thing as a “rebuild” or even a “build.” There is no more “time” when it comes to creating a roster and a culture. Sean McVay did it in a year. Owners believe the next guy can, too. It’s far easier to rifle through coaches making $4 million or $5 million a year (NFL salaries are coming back down to earth, by the way, despite a collegiate coaching salary boom) on four-year contracts than it is to sink a ton of resources into a true build—the manifestation of a culture or a coach’s idea of a team that may never come to fruition.
We haven’t really discussed what that means for the draft, but we should. Sure, GMs are trading more of their picks for known entities. But they’re also drafting players they feel can guarantee them a higher rate of success. They’re trying to more intensely quantify maturity and intelligence; they’re preparing to be as impatient with these young players as their owners are with the people making the choices and calling the plays.
Some teams are also getting better at the pipelining process. The Bengals have been blurring the lines between scouting and coaching for decades, and in 2021 we saw the fruits of that approach. The 49ers and Colts have a similar vibe.
What does that mean for the casual observer? This year, when a general manager or coach tells a fan base that they’re just going to take the best player available, feel free to laugh. They’re going to plug a position of need and cling desperately to the idea that said player will fill the hole diligently. Or else it may be the end of the line for everyone involved far sooner than they’d all imagined.
Here, then, are team needs for all 32 franchises.
Mark Konezny/USA TODAY Sports
AFC EAST
Buffalo Bills
Needs: cornerback, linebacker, interior offensive line, running back, wide receiver
Keep in mind that some of these are going to feel like obvious, pressing needs for certain franchises and nitpicking for others. Save for the loss of their offensive coordinator, the Bills return one of the most complete teams in football. That doesn’t mean they’ll throw up their hands and say, “No thanks, we’re good,” when pick No. 25 is on the clock. While the unanimous push seems to be for a cornerback, I doubt we’ll see the Bills reaching here. They already drop a ton of players into coverage on each down and have two of the best safeties in the league, hence the signing of Von Miller. Sean McDermott and Leslie Frazier can make up for a dip at the position. Dynamic offensive weapons out of the backfield, in the spirit of re-signed wideout Isaiah McKenzie, and some more interior thickness both on offense to generate a run push and defensively to slow down a surge of downhill running offenses in the division would seem like more of a fitting priority.
Miami Dolphins
Needs: offensive line, linebacker
Look at the most active teams this free agency on the offensive line front. They are almost all helmed by coaches running an offense inspired by Kyle Shanahan’s system in San Francisco. Mike McDaniel is unique in that no one has had more of an influence in shaping Shanahan’s system, though it doesn’t change the necessity of certain types of players to make the basic tenets work. After securing Terron Armstead at left tackle in free agency, the draft could be a pipeline for McDaniel to get his own Alex Mack. Flexible, mobile offensive linemen are a must, and the Dolphins’ porous unit is not currently equipped to run the kind of quick game McDaniel is hoping to operate to feature Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
New York Jets
Needs: cornerback, wide receiver, linebacker, pass rusher
The Jets obviously told on themselves with a hot pursuit of Hill before he chose the Dolphins. They know they need help at the position, despite some solid groundwork done by general manager Joe Douglas. Braxton Berrios, Elijah Moore and Corey Davis is probably a good enough receiving corps for a team with above average quarterback play. Zach Wilson is in the throw money and resources at him phase of his rookie deal, which means he’ll have little excuse when it comes time to make a long-term decision. The Jets have a ton of capital in this year’s draft—five picks in the top 70—in a period that will define Douglas’s tenure in Florham Park. This is the kind of draft in which Douglas should be able to secure immediate contributors at wideout and linebacker, with the elusive cornerback spot being more of a depends-on-your-preference toss-up. Robert Saleh would love to create enough conflict from his front four to ease the burden on the back end. The Jets wanted a pass rusher in the first round of last year’s draft, but Alijah Vera-Tucker was too critical to their offensive scheme to pass up.
New England Patriots
Needs: cornerback, interior offensive line, fullback (!), edge rusher
We always have ideas as to what Bill Belichick might do, and then he ends up finding a hybrid coverage linebacker from Harvey Mudd College who ranks second in PFF grades during a standout rookie season. Something interesting to note: The Patriots’ coach has become far more collaborative in his efforts over the last year, a departure from his old modus operandi, which may have formerly left some scouts feeling boxed out of the process. New England has always been coverage dependent, and after losing some significant cornerback talent over the past few years, could find itself in need to replenish. The Patriots may still want to improve their wide receiver depth chart and will also need to figure out a hybrid backfield blocking option. Jakob Johnson, their former fullback who is now on the Raiders, recently told a European press service that the Patriots told him his position no longer existed. I find that hard to believe. The Patriots know how effective that position is in dictating base defenses from their opponents. Maybe Belichick is envisioning some other way to get it done, which also must be accomplished through the draft.
AFC NORTH
Cleveland Browns
Needs: wide receiver, edge rusher, interior defensive line, tight end
The Browns play a lot of 12-personnel, though they may be abandoning their offense alongside their morals amid this new lineup. David Njoku remains, but Austin Hooper is now a member of the Titans. It would make some sense to see Cleveland attempt to find another seam-dominant tight end who could also contribute as a run blocker. Njoku is adequate as a run blocker, but is better served running routes down the field. It’s been an interesting offseason for the Browns, a team that upgraded under center but is gambling heavily on the development of certain players and the remaining juice of others. A heavy-handed running game fixes a lot of problems, but Deshaun Watson has spent a good deal of his time in the NFL surrounded by playmakers with huge catch radiuses. The Amari Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones tandem isn’t exactly a healthy Will Fuller–Randall Cobb–Brandin Cooks combination, nor are they close to DeAndre Hopkins. Cleveland also needs to continue an effort to toughen up through the middle of its defense and figure out what a Plan B might look like if Jadeveon Clowney realizes how significant his leverage is in Cleveland and decides to really test the market.
Cincinnati Bengals
Needs: tight end, interior offensive line, cornerback, linebacker
The Bengals caught lightning in a bottle last year, but they also played incredibly sound defense which complemented the play of a quarterback whose greatness in 2021 we may not fully understand for quite some time. Cincinnati is going to double down on what it’s done well: Rush the passer by wearing down opposing offensive lines and flood available passing lanes with speedy corners. While Eli Apple is fine, having some developmental pieces would be nice. The same could be said for their offensive interior. I can hear Bengals fans screaming, “But look at all the guys we signed this offseason!” And I’ll remind them that injuries happen. The salary cap happens. And at some point, you’re going to need homegrown talent to step up. Joe Burrow cannot survive another season getting pummeled as frequently as he did last year.
Baltimore Ravens
Needs: cornerback, defensive interior, edge rusher, offensive line, quarterback
We’ll get to the last position there in a minute. But first: Baltimore wins on defense by overwhelming offensive lines. Even though Don Martindale is no longer the defensive coordinator, it seems that directive will stay the same. In a division with the most sacked-quarterback in the NFL (Burrow), Mitch Trubisky and Watson, who held the ball at a Russell Wilson–like number back in 2019, they will rush extra defenders and try to force game-changing turnovers. The plan there is clear: Find more pass rushers, and find corners who can hang in man coverage even when quarterbacks extend the play. The Ravens still have some work to do on the offensive line, and as Lamar Jackson approaches the final season of his rookie contract without an extension offer in hand, the Ravens must be prepared for the worst-case scenario. All sides are telling us to remain calm right now, but there are so many ways this entire situation could get dicey. Jackson could get hurt. The Ravens could play poorly. Jackson could get a bad taste in his mouth negotiating for himself. The list goes on. The Ravens punished the NFL by getting a QB no one thought could succeed late in the first round a few years ago. Could they try to do it again to guard themselves from disaster?
Pittsburgh Steelers
Needs: quarterback, inside linebacker, cornerback, offensive line, defensive line
I think we’ll find out a great deal about the Steelers’ developmental offensive line this year when there’s a quarterback under center who isn’t getting rid of the ball in 2.5 seconds. Whether that’s Trubisky or someone who is drafted, the line’s pass-blocking acumen is going to be tested heavily in a division full of talented edge rushers. Their defense feels like it could be a saving grace again in 2022, which means dipping into the class’s strengths: stout edge defenders, some thick run stoppers and a handful of off-ball linebackers. Pittsburgh routinely nails these positions due to the synergy between the scouting department and coach Mike Tomlin. But if the first pick has to be quarterback, we’re in fairly uncharted waters here.
Robert Scheer/IndyStar/USA TODAY Network
AFC SOUTH
Indianapolis Colts
Needs: secondary depth, developmental quarterback, wide receiver, left tackle
The Colts are now out-pacing Van Halen in terms of veteran frontmen employed over the last few years. While most of these quarterbacks, save for Carson Wentz, fit a similar athletic profile, that doesn’t mean there won’t be some significant retooling. The Colts need to upgrade at their anchor spot, though general manager Chris Ballard has been rightfully complimentary of the stopgap Matt Pryor, who filled the role admirably in a handful of games last year and will get a crack at the job out of camp. Obviously a Gus Bradley defense is going to ask more of a secondary, which means more coverage help. Realistically, this isn’t going to be easy with two picks in the top 100, both coming from the Commanders in the Wentz deal. Though, with the depth of certain positions in this draft, there should be a chance to bolster the team with picks Nos. 42 and 73.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Needs: offensive line, edge rusher, wide receiver, cornerback, linebacker, support tight end
I’d take Evan Neal with the No. 1 pick, but the Jaguars have plenty of options and plenty of needs. They’ll be able to sell us on pretty much anything. I’m intrigued by Trent Baalke’s praise of Cam Robinson and am willing to believe he can be a long-term option at the left tackle position, so their top selection will be telling. Doug Pederson comes into the post–Urban Meyer era with work to do but with an impressive haul in free agency to work with. Folorunso Fatukasi beefs up a defensive line that should have been replenished via the draft last year while Meyer was busy trying to field an Elite 11 7-on-7 team. Josh Allen will need more help to shine, but the position group I’m most fascinated with here is inside linebacker. New defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell comes from the Todd Bowles school and had arguably the best off-ball linebacker tandem in football over the past few years. There are some intriguing options that should fall into their laps in the top 106.
Houston Texans
Needs: quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, cornerback, defensive line, edge rusher, linebacker, safety
Houston’s wayward rebuild continues. The nice thing for Nick Caserio is that he could blindfold himself and back-shoulder throw a dart at the team’s draft board and hit a player who operates at a position of need. It’s impossible to trust the team when it comes to the head-coaching position, so it feels unlikely that Lovie Smith will get to use their significant draft capital to set himself up for a Tampa 2 system. That said, this draft may come to define Caserio’s tenure in Houston, with the return from the Watson trade starting to pour in. Houston has six picks in the top 107 but needs just about everything. It’s important to note that the Texans’ scrappiness last year (and two of their four wins), came partially from the grace of an awful, serially underprepared Jaguars team. They won’t have the same benefit this year, so some of the “core” players who flashed are going to need to prove themselves again in a much-improved division.
Tennessee Titans
Needs: quarterback, offensive line, cornerback depth, running back depth
I was clobbered a year ago for including Ryan Tannehill in the 2022 quarterback carousel conversation on this site, but in hindsight … how far off were we really? I was present the moment the Titans’ season ended in Nashville, and from the second Mike Vrabel walked off the field he was on the defensive about his quarterback. This might be a good season for the Titans to land a developmental prospect, assuming they’re not going to be picking high enough in ’23 to land an immediate successor. That said, the trend in the NFL is moving away from lengthy builds, and while Vrabel and Jon Robinson have a long-term future in Nashville, they might not want to spend Derrick Henry’s remaining years breaking in a new option under center. Speaking of Henry, the Titans have done a good job of lining their backfield with supplementary options, but they have to start thinking long term if the plan is to run outside zone for the foreseeable future. The Titans’ acquisition of Robert Woods most certainly tips their plans for ’22 that we’ll see a more traditional, 49ers-esque version of the offense. Speaking of the outside zone, the Titans got old and injured quickly on their offensive line, which might be the most realistic destination for them with two picks in the top 90. The Titans need right-now starters, future stalwarts and flex options. This could be the draft to get it done.
AFC WEST
Denver Broncos
Needs: edge rusher, offensive line, tight end depth, inside linebacker
Hackett is bringing a win-now mentality to the Broncos, a franchise that had been plodding and building for some time. He walks into a situation that is favorable on defense, though some of their current solutions are obviously short term. A long-term pair with Bradley Chubb on the edge and some stoutness at middle linebacker would go a long way toward bolstering first-year coordinator Ejiro Evero’s defense. I’m not sure if anyone is talking about how good a job George Paton has done ensuring that there is still some kind of draft capital to build with after the Wilson trade. Yes, Denver will be out on the premium edge market at the top of the first round, but some believe there is depth into the fifth round with this class. The Broncos could find themselves mining the offensive line class in the middle rounds or finding a long-term tight end solution following the departure of Noah Fant. While Hackett found his ass-kicker in Eric Tomlinson, the blocking tight end position is so essential for the Broncos, and they’ll have to find a way to match the feel Hackett’s offense cultivated in Green Bay with Marcedes Lewis.
Los Angeles Chargers
Needs: defensive thickness, cornerback, wide receiver, tight end, running back, offensive line
Brandon Staley calling a timeout before that fateful first-down conversion by the Raiders was one of the more telling moments of last season in terms of a coach pointing out his own roster’s flaws. The Chargers have been trying to beef up for years now, albeit unsuccessfully. In a flash, this division turned into a smash-fest, with the Broncos and Raiders favoring a run-first approach buoyed by Pro Bowl backs or really good, developing offensive lines (Josh Jacobs in Las Vegas and Garrett Bolles & Co. in Denver). The Chargers did a fine job getting Khalil Mack to pair with Joey Bosa off the edge and pecked at the interior defensive line market in free agency, though they are still a ways away from becoming the kind of 2019 49ers-esque defense that simply folded offensive lines in front of them and walked to the quarterback. On the running back front, Justin Herbert is one of the most strategic and prolific check-downers in the NFL. Austin Ekeler is an integral player who fits what the Chargers want to do in that regard. Ekeler finished second behind only Najee Harris in catches by a running back last year, but he doesn’t have a ton of upside on the bench behind him. It may not hurt to take a stab at someone with explosive upside in the later rounds.
Kansas City Chiefs
Needs: cornerback, wide receiver, edge rusher
The Chiefs are still among the best teams in football, but are now glaringly thin at a few critical positions. Their personnel team has done a remarkable job of patching up their offensive line on short notice and are now unfairly expected to do the same at both the cornerback and edge spots. One still has to wonder why Tyrann Mathieu was let go, given how much he can offer the cornerback and linebacker positions as well as the safety spot. The Chiefs find themselves in an interesting spot at the edge position. It’s curious that they haven’t translated to more of a simulated pressure type of defense in order to maximize the interior rushing they do have, versus blitzing at least once a series. Either way, edge rusher remains an elusive unicorn for the Chiefs, who are not going to draft high enough any time soon to secure one we’ll write fawningly over on draft weekend.
Las Vegas Raiders
Needs: safety, cornerback, defensive interior, linebacker, offensive line,
The Raiders’ needs illuminate what a beyond-fantastic job Rich Bisaccia did helming the Raiders last year. This was a team perforated by controversy and turmoil and, oh by the way, fairly needy on the personnel front. That said, the addition of Davante Adams opens up possibilities for Derek Carr, whose potential may finally be realized after a string of disastrous front-office decisions. Carr has been playing the best football of his career and will be embraced by a matchup offense stockpiled with weapons to ease his process in the backfield. Still, the Raiders need some help on defense, especially across the interior, and across their offensive line. While the Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock era did provide some benefits, their massive swing and miss trying to microwave a dominant offensive line stands out as a significant red flag.
Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports
NFC EAST
Dallas Cowboys
Needs: edge rusher, linebacker, defensive interior, offensive line, cornerback
Looking back at the Cowboys’ 2016 draft and their decision to take Ezekiel Elliott over Jalen Ramsey or perhaps moving up a pick to get Bosa, it’s difficult to wonder what life would be like in Dallas right now if they had edge bookends or a true half-field shutdown corner and how that might change the team’s dynamic. Elliott won two rushing titles behind a great offensive line but never seemed to add the punch befitting of a player at that draft slot. The ’16 draft was deep with star power. At the worst, we’d be looking at a tandem of DeMarcus Lawrence and DeForrest Buckner. Instead, the Cowboys are back in the market for what Jerry Jones might call a “War Daddy” despite Dan Quinn turning Micah Parsons into a world-beating pass rusher. Dallas also needs to start restocking two units that, just a few years ago, we felt they had better serviced than any team in football: off-ball linebacker and offensive line. The compiling of Dallas’s dominant unit took years. Can Mike McCarthy pull it off in just a short offseason?
Washington Commanders
Needs: linebacker, safety, cornerback, running back, wide receiver
The only way the Commanders’ 2022 turns out to be a success is if their defense takes over and flattens the rest of the division. While it’s not impossible—we’ve seen defensive lines with more or less equivalent talent take control of a football season—they’re going to need a supporting cast. Ron Rivera talked at length last year about the need for a MIKE linebacker, which is not an insignificant utterance from a guy who had Luke Kuechly for years in Carolina and drafted Jamin Davis in the first round last year. At pick No. 11, it would seem the full scope of the linebacker class will be available to them, alongside an intriguing buffet of pass catchers and a handful of corners who would have to fit Rivera’s preference for a 33%/33%/33% man/zone/pressure package, which is what he strives to come out of each game with. Washington was dreadfully thin at the position last year and after losing some punch off the edge with Chase Young’s ACL injury halfway through the season could not function defensively like the team had planned.
Philadelphia Eagles
Needs: linebacker, safety, developmental offensive line depth, wide receiver, cornerback, defensive tackle
I think the current Eagles coaching staff has made some wonderful chicken salad out of the remaining years of a dominant offensive line. That said, the way Nick Sirianni & Co. want to run the ball and mix zone read with standard power football, there will have to be some youth in the pipeline. With two picks in the middle of the first round, the Eagles are uniquely poised to bolster themselves for either Jalen Hurts or whoever supplants him in 2023. The Devonta Smith selection lays the groundwork for a potentially dominant receiving corps if the Eagles can pair him with a legitimate No. 2 and allow Jalen Reagor to either take on a specialist role more aligned with his skill set or get dealt during the draft to aid in Philadelphia’s developing ’23 war chest. This is a strange roster in that it still has some pretty good pieces from its Super Bowl run a few years ago, but is much older. Perhaps that is why GM Howie Roseman has bucked the recent all-in trend of fellow executives and is acquiring picks at a time where they’ve been viewed as risky and expendable. The Eagles know they must rebuild a foundation.
New York Giants
Needs: quarterback, offensive line, edge rusher, inside linebacker, cornerback, safety, tight end
Dave Gettleman had a vision for a roster that I think would have been successful if the personnel had worked out. The Buccaneers won a Super Bowl against a thinned-out NFL with a thumping, duo-heavy run game and a thick defensive interior. The Giants weren’t the only club viewing the throwback-type players as a market inefficiency. However, they are the only club that nearly burned its roster down in an attempt to create it. The Giants have little outside of a few intriguing skill-position players on offense and a quarterback whom some NFL coaches still think can compete at the professional level. That said … we don’t know what Daniel Jones looks like long-term, both in terms of his health and his ability to dissect defenses, and it’s awfully late in the process to start figuring that out. The Giants should be entering this draft relatively open-minded and are positioned extraordinarily well with two picks in the top seven and five total in the top 100. They are in reaching distance for two of the positions that Gettleman so desperately tried to solidify: offensive tackle and pass rusher. Perhaps the new regime can quickly rectify some fresh wounds.
NFC NORTH
Chicago Bears
Needs: everything
This roster doesn’t look a whole lot better than a Texans team that last year we were calling one of the worst in modern times. Part of this is obviously by design. Jason Fitzgerald at OverTheCap was first on this, reading the salary-cap tea leaves leading toward some planned demolition. It really is the only way. The Bears are also reminiscent of the Texans in that there isn’t a ton of draft capital to fix their problems right away. Thanks to the Justin Fields trade, Chicago isn’t picking until Nos. 39 and 48, the latter of which came via the Mack trade. The Bears need offensive line help, a defensive front, a secondary and a linebacking core. Their best player may be Robert Quinn, who was drafted in 2011. Any direction they turn will represent an improvement. Smart money would trend toward offense given Matt Eberflus’s ability to squeeze the most out of undermanned defenses in the past.
Detroit Lions
Needs: quarterback, defensive interior, linebacker, secondary
The Lions are better than they were a year ago but still a long way from nipping the Vikings or Packers at the top of the division. While they had a promising run in free agency, they still don’t possess the kind of defensive interior or linebacking core to handle the rigors of a steady downhill rushing scheme. They will struggle against the likes of A.J. Dillon, who will tear up the division this year with relatively fresh legs. Chances are if Dan Campbell is allowed to have a say in personnel—and who is going to keep that person out of the GM’s office?—the Lions can toughen up the defense significantly with the No. 2 pick and then come back with No. 32 and still net themselves a serviceable offensive player. I’m not as bullish on receiver being a position of need as others. D.J. Chark can play, and as we saw in Philadelphia, one capable wide receiver and tight end can be schemed off each other well enough to create open routes. Replacing Jared Goff is an option, though the Lions oddly have too high of a pick. They will find themselves with a potentially game-changing edge rusher in their laps at No. 2.
Green Bay Packers
Needs: wide receiver, cornerback, tight end, offensive line of the future
Now that Aaron Rodgers has a stake in personnel, it would be enjoyable to see the Packers go wide receiver, wide receiver, wide receiver, tight end with picks Nos. 22, 28, 53 and 59. This isn’t a tight end class in which Green Bay will likely find a suitable leading man, but the Packers have plenty of ammunition to rebuild their receiving corps on the fly … which got us thinking. Initially, the Adams trade felt like a disaster, but Rodgers is playing the long game here. With a new contract that effectively walls off Jordan Love, he’ll have enough of a runway to develop and mold the receivers how he wants, even if Rodgers’s process is notoriously difficult. The Packers also need to help themselves in the secondary. While they can coast through most of their divisional schedule without too much trouble, their foray into the postseason will end in disappointment again if they struggle to find a third cornerback and perhaps some safety competition.
Minnesota Vikings
Needs: cornerback, linebacker
The Vikings are far more likable on paper after free agency than they were a few weeks ago. We stress: on paper. While this is a trap we often fall into, signing Za'Darius Smith and praying for health is better than nothing. Their depth at cornerback is troubling, as is the middle of their defense, which is going to get tested frequently by both the Packers and Lions. Harrison Phillips may end up being one of the best signings of the offseason, but that shouldn’t prevent the Vikings from throwing resources at the defensive line, especially players with edge versatility.
Jonathan Dyer/USA TODAY Sports
NFC SOUTH
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Needs: interior offensive line, defensive interior, cornerback, wide receiver
The Buccaneers are currently rolling with Russell Gage as their No. 3 wide receiver, but we saw last year the kind of gymnastics the team went through to try to legitimize Antonio Brown’s spot on the roster. The reason? A potent third receiver makes this offense unstoppable. Saying this Buccaneers team has “needs” feels nitpicky, but the defense does require space-eating defensive tackles to allow their off-ball linebackers freedom to operate. They could also use some depth at the secondary position, which will allow Bowles to freestyle a little bit more defensively. I’d be curious to see what they would do if a high-upside edge rusher fell into their laps in the draft. Anthony Nelson came on at the end of last season and is worthy of some full-time snaps.
Atlanta Falcons
Needs: quarterback, wide receiver, linebacker, offensive tackle
The Falcons are odd in that they have some really good players—a great tight end, a great cornerback, an exceptional pulling guard—but are counterweighted by a roster that is still a strange mashup of two completely different systems. Those good players are not good enough on their own to outweigh the strange landscape that is Falcons football. Losing Calvin Ridley due to a ludicrous year-long suspension doesn’t help matters. Head coach Arthur Smith has his work cut out for him, creating a system that Marcus Mariota can succeed in that is not the outside-zone system that made him a hirable coach candidate in Nashville. Mariota struggled to operate in that offense and was eventually supplanted by Tannehill. The major question here is whether the Falcons will actually draft a quarterback. On one hand, some of the odd functional parts of the roster are wonderful complements to a developing young passer. On the other, it doesn’t feel like the Falcons should take the rookie QB plunge now until they see what the post–Tom Brady NFC South looks like.
Carolina Panthers
Needs: quarterback, cornerback, offensive line
This is as good a place as any to unleash my Panthers QB take: Allowing this regime to draft a passer in the first round would almost assuredly sink this franchise into a kind of wayward, Giants-like banishment from relevance. If I were David Tepper, I’d go full Frank Langella in Draft Day and make the pick at a waterpark hours before the start of the draft (and ensure my pesky GM didn’t do anything sneaky). The Matt Rhule regime was a bit doomed from the get-go, but the current situation is dire. There isn’t a ton of evidence pointing toward Rhule lasting beyond this season, save for a miraculous turnaround. There isn’t a ton of evidence pointing toward Ben McAdoo being any better an offensive coordinator than Joe Brady, who is now the Bills’ quarterbacks coach. There wasn’t a bum rush of free agents migrating to the East Coast to patch up some of the myriad holes on this roster. It’s not going to be a pleasant situation for a rookie. It’s going to be harder to try to find someone to clean up the mistake next year.
New Orleans Saints
Needs: quarterback, safety, offensive line, wide receiver
The Saints’ aggressiveness via trade to climb into the teens likely signifies a desire to be positioned for a quarterback of the future, which makes some sense for New Orleans. Jameis Winston was always going to be a bridge candidate, as the team was one of a few in the Watson sweepstakes walk of shame. Beyond that, the Saints need to start planning to either bolster Michael Thomas or get rid of him and recoup the draft capital, which is another avenue they could take with multiple picks in the first round. The Saints are always going to be worth watching, given that Dennis Allen is still there and this defense is among the best in football (though it could use some cornerback help in the draft, as well as some pipeline blood on the defensive line to replenish and add some dimension to their scheme). Will Allen understand that his first draft as head coach will likely necessitate passing up players on his side of the ball for a few rounds?
NFC WEST
San Francisco 49ers
Needs: defensive interior, edge rusher, wide receiver, safety
The more consistency Shanahan sees with his offense, the more his disciples and disciples of those disciples are going to be picked off for head-coaching jobs. This makes his free agents nearly as valuable. The 49ers lost offensive line help via free agency and (likely) had to compete with other teams looking at complementary pieces like slot wide receiver and swing tight end. The draft is where they can even out the playing field a bit. San Francisco needs to get heavier up front, needs more of a presence on the edge and needs more help on the back end, even after the signing of Charvarius Ward.
Arizona Cardinals
Needs: offensive line, cornerback, edge rusher, defensive interior
The Cardinals would be best served finding penetrating defensive tackle help, which could both bolster J.J. Watt and free up their former first-round picks at linebacker, who have been suspiciously uninvolved despite the premium equity devoted to their selections. It makes all the sense in the world that Arizona would want game-changing off-ball linebackers, but less sense that there doesn’t seem to be a pathway for them to see the field at the moment. The Cardinals are old in a ton of places. They need help on the offensive line, they need a satellite back who can gel with Kyler Murray and help him improve the quickness of his release, they need a receiver who can lift the unit if Hopkins sustains injury. They’re not going to be able to accomplish all of this in the draft, though it would seem finding high-quality players at positions that can fortify their places of strength makes the most sense.
Los Angeles Rams
Needs: tackle, wide receiver, running back, guard, edge rusher
The Rams’ Super Bowl game plan a year ago centered around Odell Beckham Jr., given how tightly Cooper Kupp was bottled up. It would seem McVay went into this offseason knowing he’d have to diversify and not leave himself in a similar situation, which is difficult for a coach who is so far ahead of the pack for most of the season. The Rams’ offense feels more functional now with Allen Robinson in that they might have fewer explosive plays but finish the year as a more efficient offense overall. It would be interesting to see if the Rams took a crack at a versatile, over-the-top weapon in the later rounds to further that effort. More than likely, they’re going to smartly try to fill their offensive line holes with their mid-round selections. As freewheeling as Les Snead has been with his early-round picks, his mid-round selections have been economical, like Ernest Jones.
Seattle Seahawks
Needs: edge rusher, linebacker, offensive line, quarterback
John Schneider has four picks in the top 100 this year, the first two thanks to Wilson and the Broncos. The Seahawks are utilizing that equity to move on to their next chapter as an organization. They are incredibly well-positioned to fortify themselves this year and make a move for their quarterback later on. With a top-10 pick in this year’s draft, one would assume the Seahawks could invest in one of the premier tackles or edge talents expected to populate the early portion of the first round and avoid the talent dropoff that inevitably happens in the late teens. Here’s a bit of an unpopular take: I’m starting to talk myself into a world where Drew Lock keeps this job for the majority of 2022 and plays well. DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett—Metcalf especially—can be the kind of presence Lock needs to reestablish himself as a good downfield thrower. For some time, I’ve heard the comparison between Lock and Goff in terms of what they need presnap in order to be successful. Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron can help in that regard. With Seattle’s mid-round picks, it could be worth peppering in some YAC-forward receiving talent who can layer the intermediate five-to-10 yard range and help Waldron create enough of a threat to push the ball deeper.
