Burning Needs Left Unfilled By The Draft
By Zack Trapp
You can’t fix everything in one draft. If you can find three starters in one class, your general manager has more than done their job. Jim Irsay likes to say that you must let the draft come to you, not the other way around. That leaves something to be desired. When it’s nearly impossible to balance need and value, there are going to be some things that slip through the cracks.
More often than not, you get beat not by your lack of strengths, but by your most glaring of weaknesses. Players are too talented and coordinators too smart not to smell blood in the water. Whether because of how the draft fell or lack of foresight, some teams now find themselves with such wounds that need to be healed.
New York Giants: Left Tackle
The Giants spent a top ten pick on Ereck Flowers in 2015. Two years later, they need to find his replacement. Slow feet and looking lost have become the third-year starters trademark.
The Giants like to get rid of the ball quickly, but poor tackle play can short-circuit an offense in a hurry. The Vikings found that out last year when starters Matt Kalil and Andre Smith went down with season-ending injuries.
In the NFL you don’t necessarily need elite tackle play, but you can’t get by with an outright liability on the edge. Jerry Reese could kick the tires on Ryan Clady or King Dunlap on a veteran minimum deal.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Quarterback
Although most people have learned to tune out the offseason noise from Jacksonville, you can’t ignore the lineup Dave Caldwell has put together. With one of the most talented defenses in the AFC and a cadre of playmakers on the outside, Jacksonville looks poised to finally justify the hype and make the leap. Telvin Smith, Jalen Ramsey, and Calais Campbell are stars. Allen Robinson, Allen Hurns, and Marquise Lee make up one of the better trios around. They just need the right man at the helm.
However, they are hamstrung by a quarterback who has been among the least effective in the NFL since he was drafted. Bortles doesn’t consistently see the field well and has an overly-long delivery, making his passes easy pickings for defenders. Unless he finally starts to live up to his draft billing, the Jaguars could waste another year with this inspiring young nucleus. It wouldn’t be crazy to call up Jay Cutler or Colin Kaepernick as a contingency plan.
New York Jets: Cornerback
Todd Bowles has long centered his aggressive defenses around a dominant cover corner. In Arizona, it was Patrick Peterson. Before age caught up to him, Darrelle Revis played that role in New York. Bowles wants to cook up ambitious pressure designs, but he can’t do so without a secondary that can hold up in coverage. However, Mike Maccagnan opted to pass on premier cornerback talent twice in favor of finding a new safety duo.
Bowles will be forced to retool his defensive plans for 2017. They can’t head into the season with injury-prone Morris Claiborne and career slot man Buster Skrine as their top two options. They could opt for the services of Jason McCourty, Brandon Flowers, or Sam Shields to help out on the back end.
Baltimore Ravens: Wide Receiver
Ozzie Newsome abandoned his MO in 2015 when he reached for speedy Breshad Perriman in the first round. Perriman hasn’t been able to stay on the field and become the number one receiver that Joe Flacco has lacked since their Super Bowl run.
Mike Wallace exceeded expectations last year, but they have a glaring hole opposite of him. Michael Campanaro is currently penciled in as the second outside receiver. If that name doesn’t ring a bell, it’s because he has 12 career receptions to his name. That’s a problem. Anquan Boldin, Michael Floyd, Jaron Brown, and Steve Johnson are some notable names on the market.
New Orleans Saints: Edge Rusher
The Saints traded away Brandin Cooks to accumulate the picks to fix the eternally open door masquerading as their defense. Then they went and spent two of their first four picks on Ryan Ramczyk and Alvin Kamara.
Grow up, Micky Loomis.
The quickest way to transform a defense is to add a lockdown corner and blue goose edge rusher. While the back end of their defense is coming along nicely, New Orleans needs help getting to the quarterback. Cameron Jordan is great, but is more of a runs stuffer than a true edge bender. It might be useful to give Dwight Freeney, who has excelled as a hired-gun situation pass rusher, a call.