Have the Cardinals finally got a guy to play across from Patrick Peterson at cornerback? It looked like the team would trade back in the draft and maybe go after LSU’s Greedy Williams, but that hole was filled when the team signed Robert Alford to a 3-year deal in February.
There's no telling how explosive the Falcons offense could be under new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter. The Buccaneers lead the NFL in yards through the air last season under Koetter, who will get to work with an all-round better cast in 2019.
Baltimore has quality depth in its secondary. The front office says it is sticking with its highest paid player, cornerback Jimmy Smith, despite Smith unlikely to have a starting role. Tavon Young also makes more than fellow cornerback Marlon Humphrey and may not start. While the price of the depth doesn't make sense versus the cap, no one will be complaining about that on Sundays.
It's hard to criticize a unit that ranked second-best in total defense last year, but the Bills need to get to the quarterback more -- whether that's through scheming; bringing in a front seven guy; or both. The Bills ranked just 26th in sacks last year and lost defensive tackle Kyle Williams to retirement this off-season.
The wide receiver corps isn't made up of show stoppers but boasts a good balance of speed, size and hand talent. Put alongside Greg Olsen and Christian McCaffrey and the team has some nice skill positions players in place. Chris Hogan was recently and likely jumps ahead Jurius Wright on the depth chart as WR3 -- despite the two having almost identical receiving numbers since entering the league in 2012.
General manager Ryan Pace has put an incredible number of stars together and built a Chicago team ready to win now. Quarterback Mitch Trubisky had a break-out season in 2018 and is set up with a strong cast of offensive play-makers around him.
The Bengals aren't letting themselves get pulled into the race for a new quarterback. New head coach - and former Rams quarterbacks coach - Zac Taylor has said nothing about needing a specific kind of signal caller for his scheme. The team didn't even do much research on this year's draft class -- Dwayne Haskins attends college in the same state but didn't get a visit to Cincinnati's building.
John Dorsey can seemingly do no wrong. NFL Media is already declaring him a Top 4 general manager, Cleveland fans are relieved they can sit out the draft's first round because they got wide receiver Odell Beckham, and bookmakers have the team ranked fifth most-likely to win the Super Bowl after the acquisitions of running back Kareem Hunt, pass rusher Olivier Vernon and defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson.
It's great that tight end Jason Witten came back from retirement. The Cowboys could have done with the future Hall of Famer last year, as three different tight end starters struggled. But Witten's one year deal should be treated as exactly that, and Dallas needs to find his replacement sooner rather than later.
The Broncos desperately need help at tight end. Jake Butt has only been healthy to play in three games since being drafted in 2017 and isn't a sure thing to be back in 2019. The Broncos have gone without a pass-catching, linebacker-blocking tight end since Julius Thomas left in 2014, and with such a deep class this draft, it's essential the Broncos rectify that in the draft.
Detroit added a strong pass-catching tight end - Jesse James - in free agency but still lacks a wide receiver who will fill the hole left by Golden Tate. The current crop - Kenny Golloday, Marvin Jones and newly-signed Danny Amendola - are a good group that lacks elite talent. The Lions need to spend on the position; potentially as early as this Friday /Day 2 of the draft.
Former head coach Mike McCarthy was identified as the cause of Green Bay's offensive problems and fired mid-2018. That puts a lot of pressure on first year head coach Matt LaFleur to help get the offense back on-track.
"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Texans fans have heard it all off-season, after Houston's offensive line allowed quarterback Deshaun Watson be treated like the team's former supposed-star quarterback, David Carr.
The Colts certainly have an enviable couple of pass-catching tight ends but the wide receiver group needs an upgrade in that department. The team is a #2 wide receiver away from being a match-up nightmare for opponents.
Considering only pass rusher and quarterback - positions Jacksonville is deep at - are projected to go before the team picks seventh overall, the Jags could bag one of the draft's top positional talents at an area of need. Trading back - and even drafting a QB of the future? - remains a possibility, but the team could opt to address its offensive line.
After losing defensive stalwarts Eric Berry, Justin Houston and Dee Ford this off-season, the team needs to heavily reinvest in some defensive play-makers. The aforementioned Mathieu signing was a start, but spending the second round pick acquired for Ford on defense could be a good way to continue. The team needs to look at defense a lot in the draft or risk downgrading an already shaky unit.
The quality of the Chargers starters gives them a lot of options in the draft. With Brandon Mebane still playing at a high level, the defensive line just needs last year's third round pick Justin Jones to step up so it can continue to be an elite group. The Chargers return all three 2018 first team All-Pro defensive backs -- safeties Derwin James and Adrian Phillips, cornerback and Desmond King. All things considered, the Chargers can have a best-player-available approach when they add to their already strong team in the draft.
Allowing defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh to hit free agency leaves last year's fourth round pick John Franklin-Myers as Los Angeles' starter opposite back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald. The Rams might change that by addressing the position early in the draft and selecting a guy that will get some attention away from Donald.
Despite having over $40 million in cap space heading into free agency, the Dolphins' only notable acquisitions were Fitzpatrick and cornerback Eric Rowe (as depth). Those signings are no where close to the adrenaline shot this team needs. The Dolphins' offense gained the second-fewest yards and seventh-fewest points in 2018. The defense gave up sixth-most points, fourth-most yards and recorded fourth-fewest sacks. Those numbers could be worse in 2019.
The bane of any Vikings fan over the last few years has been the offensive line; and general manager Rick Spielman hasn't done enough to change that this off-season. The team signed guard Josh Kline in free agency but still needs to find a high-impact player in the draft. A run-blocker in particular would help head coach Mike Zimmer's offence -- which emphasizes pounding the ball. To that end, running back Dalvin Cook also needs to stay healthy if the Vikings are to remain competitive in 2019.
Replacing tight end Rob Gronkowski should be the Patriots biggest priority in the draft. His versatility - even in a down year in 2018 - transformed the Patriots offense. Finding an All-Pro talent might not be necessary, but the Patriots will hope to find a high-impact player in a deep tight end class.
With New Orleans holding just a second round pick in the first two days of the draft, the team wisely went after its biggest needs in free agency; signing tight end Jared Cook, center Nick Easton and defensive end Malcom Brown. The team is remarkably well-rounded, with defensive end Alex Okafor the most notable free agency loss.
Expect New York to spend at least one of its first three picks - two in Round 1, one in Round 2 - on the wide receiver position. Depth behind Sterling Shepard and recently-signed Golden Tate falls off drastically.
Having gotten Sam Darnold, Le'Veon Bell and solid pass catchers in New York, the Jets offense finally looks set to create some mismatches under new head coach Adam Gase. The offensive line should be stronger in 2018 after the team traded for Kelechi Osemele. Overall this is an offense to be excited about. The wide receivers provide plenty of versatility and Chris Herndon showed he can be a threat down the stretch last year.
The team needs to focus on the defense in the draft after splashing on big name offensive players in free agency. General manager - and former NFL Media draft guru - Mike Mayock has a big decision to make with the fourth overall pick -- will he try to land Kyler Murray or go for a top tier pass rusher? He might hope the Cardinals make the decision for him and create a way for Quinnen Williams to fall to four.
Philadelphia remains a strong team despite losing the NFC East title in 2018. Its offensive skill positions are occupied by one of the best groups in the league. The trade for running back Jordan Howard filled a big need, and acquiring (former?) Philly-favourite wide receiver Desean Jackson will wipe out the hole left by Golden Tate -- who signed with NFC East rival New York for double the price.
It's not common for a team to lose two of the league's biggest stars - wide receiver Antonio Brown and running back Le'Veon Bell - without taking a huge step back. But Pittsburgh looks like it can move on relatively comfortably with JuJu Smith-Schuster atop the wide receiver depth chart and running back James Conner not missing a beat last season. Either position could be addressed in the draft, but the Steelers remain in a better situation than most teams in the league on offense.
The 49ers have a stacked running back room lead by the recently-acquired Tevin Coleman. Coleman jumps ahead of Matt Breida on the depth chart despite Breida's break-out year last season. Both guys hit 1,000 yards in 2018 and pair up with a now-healthy Jerick McKinnon -- who gained 991 yards in 2017. All three guys have spent time as a quality starter in the league despite being just 24, 26 and 27-years-old. It should make for a ferocious ground game.
Considering Seattle plays Arizona's air raid offense, LA's fifth-ranked passing game and San Francisco's speedsters twice each year, cornerback is a legitimate target for the Seahawks in the draft. Cornerbacks Shaquill Griffin and Tre Flowers are starter caliber defensive backs but aren't quite Pro Bowl talents. The Seahawks could do with refilling the game-changing, shut down role Richard Sherman occupied during the Legion of Boom years. Finding one isn't easy, but the Seahawks are in a good place to take a guy with the 21st overall pick.
Tampa Bay is set to get an answer on its future with Jameis Winston: New head coach Bruce Arians (also nicknamed the Quarterback Whisperer) has a wide receiver corp that balances talent, speed and strength perfectly for his scheme. If Winston doesn't look good in 2019, the team can confidently move on knowing it did its best for the former first overall pick.
Tennessee lost a pair of edge rushers this off-season -- 9-year Titan Derrick Morgan in free agency and 4-year Titan Brian Orakpo to retirement. Luckily it comes in a year with a deep pass rushing draft class, which is glaring need now. Last year's second round pick Harold Landry may fill the outside linebacker role, but defensive end Austin Johnson looks replaceable.
With no wide receiver talent on the open market and few teams likely to trade away one of their starters, expect the Redskins to address the position very early in the draft. The team is very thin at the position. The best possible scenario might be a trade back in the first round so the team doesn't need to over reach for a guy.
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