Test the calendar.
It’s April.
All due deference to the boys’s and girls’s NCAA basketball tournaments and the Masters, however this 12 months April is NFL Draft month. The festivities start on Thursday, April 25, with the primary of seven rounds slated to get underway. Over three days in Detroit all 32 NFL groups will try to form their current .. and future.
Now that free company is winding down, right here at SB Nation we’re beginning to flip our focus to the NFL Draft. Given the strikes which have already been made, we now have a greater understanding of the place all 32 groups stand, and what they nonetheless have to deal with.
Let’s begin by wanting on the draft wants for all 32 groups, working division-by-division. We begin within the AFC East, with one of many groups selecting close to the highest of that first spherical.
New England Patriots
With Mac Jones now in Jacksonville backing up Trevor Lawrence, Bailey Zappe and the recently-signed Jacoby Brissett are the 2 major choices at quarterback for the Patriots. That will surely push QB up the listing of wants in Foxborough, however it isn’t the one one. Plus, with the Patriots sitting at No. 3 general, they may discover themselves deciding between QB quantity three on the board, the most effective non-quarterback accessible, or perhaps a commerce down if a group gives them a king’s ransom for that choice.
Moreover, there are different wants on the roster. Including a large receiver will surely assist whoever is taking the snaps subsequent 12 months, as would bolstering the offensive line. On the defensive facet of the ball, getting Christian Gonzalez again after an damage reduce his promising rookie season brief ought to assist, however bolstering the secondary in addition to the defensive position must be choices on Days 2 and three.
New England Patriots draft alternatives
- Spherical 1, Choice 3 (Decide No. 3 general)
- Spherical 2, Choice 2 (Decide No. 34 general)
- Spherical 3, Choice 4 (Decide No. 68 general)
- Spherical 4, Choice 3 (Decide No. 103 general)
- Spherical 5, Choice 2 (Decide No. 137 general)
- Spherical 6, Choice 4 (Decide No. 180 general)
- Spherical 6, Choice 17 (Decide No. 193 general)
- Spherical 7, Choice 11 (Decide No. 231 general)
Miami Dolphins
A mixture of exits, accidents, and damage considerations headline the Dolphins’ wants this spring. With Christian Wilkins off to the Las Vegas Raiders, including alongside the defensive position ought to catch the attention of Miami, and gamers corresponding to Byron Murphy and T’Vondre Sweat from Texas, in addition to Jer’Zhan Newton from Illinois are potential targets.
Bolstering the offensive line, beginning with the inside, can also be a necessity. The group added Isaiah Wynn from New England and so they doubtless slide him to the within, however ensuring their IOL is solidified is a giant want for Miami. Jackson Powers-Johnson from Oregon is a well-liked choose for the Dolphins in current mock drafts, They may additionally look to the sort out spot, including depth on Day 2 or Day 3.
Then there’s the EDGE spot on protection. The Dolphins are getting Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb again from season-ending accidents (Phillips with an Achilles’ damage and Chubb from a torn ACL) however giving them an alternative choice on the sting could be a sensible play.
Miami Dolphins draft alternatives
- Spherical 1, Choice 21 (Decide No. 21 general)
- Spherical 2, Choice 23 (Decide No. 55 general)
- Spherical 5, Choice 23 (Decide No. 158 general)
- Spherical 6, Choice 8 (Decide No. 184 general)
- Spherical 6, Choice 22 (Decide No. 198 general)
- Spherical 7, Choice 21 (Decide No. 241 general)
Buffalo Payments
Relying on who you speak to, the listing of wants for the Buffalo Payments may fluctuate broadly. Many take a look at the huge receiver group and consider the Payments could be good so as to add at that place, even with Stefon Diggs, the newly-added Curtis Samuel, and an rising slot weapon in Khalil Shakir. Others look to the defensive position and consider that Buffalo ought to herald some expertise on the sting, in addition to the inside.
However then you definitely take a look at security. Lately Buffalo may look to maybe the most effective security tandem within the league with Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, however the tandem won’t be again for 2024. Poyer is in Miami with the Dolphins, and Hyde is a free agent. Whereas Sean McDermott left the door open to Hyde returning, that’s nonetheless up within the air.
Both method, security may very well be a giant want for the Payments.
One factor is obvious, the Payments have numerous draft capital on Day 3. So they may look to make use of these picks and add depth, or transfer up in some unspecified time in the future within the draft.
UPDATE: Wednesday’s gorgeous commerce of Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans doubtless propels WR up that listing of wants.
Buffalo Payments draft alternatives
- Spherical 1, Choice 28 (Decide No. 28 general)
- Spherical 2, Choice 28 (Decide No. 60 general)
- Spherical 4, Choice 28 (Decide No. 128 general)
- Spherical 4, Choice 33 (Decide No. 133 general)
- Spherical 5, Choice 9 (Decide No. 144 general)
- Spherical 5, Choice 25 (Decide No. 160 general)
- Spherical 5, Choice 28 (Decide No. 163 general)
- Spherical 6, Choice 13 (Decide No. 189 general)
- Spherical 6, Choice 24 (Decide No. 200 general)
- Spherical 6, Choice 28 (Decide No. 204 general)
- Spherical 7, Choice 248 (Decide No. 248 general)
New York Jets
The New York Jets entered the offseason with a urgent want.
Fixing the offensive line.
Basic Supervisor Joe Douglas used free company to try to clear up that exact downside, including Tyron Smith, Morgan Mosen, and guard John Simpson over the previous few weeks. These additions give Douglas the liberty to deal with different spots within the draft, though he may look so as to add depth on the sort out spots.
New York additionally added Mike Williams in free company, giving Aaron Rodgers a stable 1-2 mixture of Williams and younger WR Garrett Wilson. A slot possibility may very well be in play for them later within the draft, except they merely love somebody earlier. When it comes to receiving choices, giving Rodgers a dynamic tight finish may very well be a transfer for the group, and if Georgia tight finish Brock Bowers is offered when the Jets are on the clock, that may very well be the transfer for them. Bowers has been a standard choose for the Jets in current mock draft.
Defensively, wanting on the secondary must be in play for the Jets, beginning with the protection place. Bolstering cornerback depth is also a smart funding later within the draft.
New York Jets draft alternatives
- Spherical 1, Choice 10 (Decide No. 10 general)
- Spherical 3, Choice 8 (Decide No. 72 general)
- Spherical 4, Choice 11 (Decide No. 11 general)
- Spherical 4, Choice 34 (Decide No. 134 general)
- Spherical 6, Choice 9 (Decide No. 185 general)
- Spherical 7, Choice 36 (Decide No. 256 general)
- Spherical 7, Choice 37 (Decide No. 257 general)
