can you post others? have to be an insider to read.
Oops. I forgot that.
Here is the rest:
AFC EAST
Written by Aaron Schatz
Buffalo Bills
Right tackle
One tackle spot is set in Buffalo, with
Cordy Glenn signing
a five-year, $65 million extension this week. But the other tackle spot is a big question mark. The biggest problem is that 2014 second-round pick
Cyrus Kouandjio has never developed. The Bills somewhat made up for that failure by finding a passable right tackle,
Seantrel Henderson, in the seventh round that same year. But Henderson missed the last five games of last season battling Crohn's disease, and he's likely to miss at least part of the 2016 season trying to get healthy and back to his playing weight. That leaves
Jordan Mills, the
Chicago Bears castoff who passed Kouandjio on the depth chart to start last December. Mills was not very good with the Bears, which is why they cut him after only two years. Buffalo didn't draft a single lineman this year; the best remaining free-agent tackle is probably Khalif Barnes, who is 34 and started only one game for Oakland last season.
Miami Dolphins
Cornerback
The Dolphins finished
29th in pass defense DVOA, and last season's top three cornerbacks are now elsewhere. But are the new corners any better than the departed ones?
Byron Maxwell showed in Philadelphia how stretched he was as a No. 1 corner, with 9.8 yards allowed per pass according to Sports Info Solutions charting (77th out of 83 corners). Second-round pick
Xavien Howardprobably will start across from Maxwell, but even the most talented cornerbacks tend to struggle as rookies. The nickelback will be
Bobby McCain, a 2015 fifth-rounder who allowed 9.7 yards per pass in limited playing time last season. The good news for Miami is that there are some useful cornerbacks available on the market to bolster the depth, including Leon Hall, Jerraud Powers and the underrated Trumaine McBride, who put up league-leading charting stats with the Giants in 2013.
New England Patriots
Defensive end depth
The Patriots' pre-draft decision to trade
Chandler Jones to Arizona made some sense. The team simply wouldn't have enough cap space to extend all the young defenders whose contracts are coming up in the next two years, and Jones' hospitalization for a synthetic marijuana mishap in January couldn't have made coach Bill Belichick happy. However, the Patriots haven't done much to replace their top pass-rusher.
Jabaal Sheard can slide into the starting lineup across from
Rob Ninkovich, but what can the Patriots reasonably expect out of free-agent signing
Chris Long, who has started only 11 games with four sacks over the past two seasons? The Patriots didn't draft any pass-rushers, so if Long can't find the fountain of youth, they'll be depending on 2015 draft picks
Geneo Grissom and
Trey Flowers, who didn't produce much as rookies.
New York Jets
Quarterback
The greatest loss from the NFL's decision to move the draft out of New York is that we didn't get to see the reaction of Jets fans to this year's second-round selection of quarterback
Christian Hackenberg. Draft Twitter widely ridiculed the pick, and it's hard to argue; according to
our QBASE projection system, Hackenberg has one of the 10 worst projections of any quarterback taken in Rounds 1-3 over the past two decades. Hackenberg will battle for the starting job with
Geno Smith, who ranked 25th in QBR in both 2013 and 2014. Ryan Fitzpatrick is nobody's idea of a Hall of Famer, but the Jets' decision to lowball him in free agency could cost their strong defense a playoff spot in 2016.
Baltimore Ravens
Linebacker
Baltimore should survive this season with its current linebacker depth chart, but it is undeniable that
Terrell Suggs and
Elvis Dumervil are in their twilight years. Suggs, who turns 34 in October, is returning from a torn Achilles and Dumervil had his lowest sack total (6.0) since 2008.
Matt Judon (Grand Valley State) was an interesting fifth-round pick because he dominated Division II with 20 sacks last season, but the step up in competition will be huge when he eventually sees the field. The Ravens also lost veteran
Daryl Smith, so
C.J. Mosley could use some help inside.
Cincinnati Bengals
Defensive end
Cincinnati has one of the league's best rosters, so it is hard to find a glaring weakness. Wide receiver was one before the draft, but second-round pick
Tyler Boyd should help make up for the departures of wide receivers
Marvin Jonesand
Mohamed Sanu. On defense, the Bengals lack a dominant pass-rusher in the vein of
J.J. Watt,
Von Miller or
Justin Houston. Their best player is
Geno Atkins at defensive tackle, and he will eventually pair up with rookie
Andrew Billings, a run-stopper.
Carlos Dunlap did have a career season with 13.5 sacks, but when it comes to taking down a
Ben Roethlisberger or
Tom Brady in January with the game on the line, the Bengals still stack up short against their AFC rivals.
Cleveland Browns
Quarterback
We avoided the quarterback discussion in
our piece on team needs before the draft, but it's still the biggest question mark for the Browns heading into the 2016 season.
Robert Griffin III would not be the most unlikely reclamation project in NFL history, but coach Hue Jackson has his work cut out for him, especially with an offense that has to groom four rookie wideouts. USC's
Cody Kessler was an odd choice in the third round as he has a very poor pro projection in our QBASE system. It is one of the most repeated lines in football's 21st century, but it's still true: It is unlikely Cleveland's franchise quarterback is currently on the roster.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Safety
Pittsburgh broke tradition by starting its draft with two defensive backs, but Maryland's
Sean Davis projects to be a raw rookie safety after playing cornerback in 2015. His path to the starting lineup is not overly difficult with
Robert Golden and
Shamarko Thomas on the roster, but the Steelers have struggled at stopping big pass plays. Last season, Pittsburgh ranked 27th against No. 1 wide receivers and 26th against passes thrown deep (beyond 15 yards from the line of scrimmage).
Mike Mitchell has not shined in his two years with the team, so it might be up to Davis at strong safety to bring back some play-making ability at this position.
Houston Texans
Defensive end
Houston addressed its offense with its first four picks, adding three dynamic playmakers and a much-needed center. What the Texans did not do was replace starting defensive end
Jared Crick, who left for Denver in free agency. Fifth-round pick
D.J. Reader helps, but he is mostly a nose tackle and
Vince Wilfork's eventual replacement.
J.J. Watt is already playing about as much as any defensive lineman in the league and cannot do it all himself. At the post-draft news conference, coach Bill O'Brien declined to identify the starter at end opposite Watt, or even list the potential candidates. He has four months to find an answer. He might need all of them.
Indianapolis Colts
Running back
Frank Gore might seem like an ageless wonder, but he turns 33 on May 14 and is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career, averaging only 3.7 yards per carry and posting a success rate of only 40 percent,
third worst in the league among backs with 100 carries. Behind him the Colts have waiver claim
Robert Turbin, journeyman
Jordan Todman and undrafted free-agent rookie Josh Ferguson. Coach Chuck Pagano wants to run the ball to take pressure off of
Andrew Luck. If Gore falters, it seems unlikely Indianapolis will be able to do so.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Experienced pass-rushers
Jacksonville has hit the pass-rush position hard the past two drafts, between
Dante Fowler Jr. with the third overall pick in 2015 and
Yannick Ngakoue and
Tyrone Holmes this year. Because Fowler tore his ACL in minicamp last May, though, none of them has yet to play in an NFL game. The Jaguars' top veteran edge rushers are
Dan Skuta and
Chris Smith. Skuta has 7.0 sacks in a seven-year career. Smith had 0.5 sacks in six games in 2015. The young players might be good someday, but Jacksonville could use more veteran pass-rush savvy in 2016.
Tennessee Titans
Cornerback
The Titans ranked no better than 24th against each of the opposing top, second and third receivers last season. The top three have a chance to be good enough, if either
Perrish Cox or
Brice McCain can hold down a spot on the outside opposite
Jason McCourty. If they cannot, the options behind them are
Antwon Blake, who is scheme-savvy but was torched repeatedly in Pittsburgh in 2015;
B.W. Webb, who was torched repeatedly in Tennessee in 2015; and
Blidi Wreh-Wilson, who could not beat out Webb. The Titans' Day 3 picks
LeShaun Simsand
Kalan Reed should help eventually, but probably not in 2016 in Dick LeBeau's complex defense.
Denver Broncos
Quarterback
QBASE,
our quarterback prediction model, thinks it is unlikely the Broncos actually addressed their quarterback problem by trading up to draft Memphis prospect
Paxton Lynch. Based on his college stats, and in particular the weak schedule he faced, Lynch projects to have only a one-in-three chance of being an adequate starter or better. It's not just the numbers. Lynch's soft schedule means there's less evidence to show he can quickly get through his reads at the NFL level, an area in which some
scouting reports have questioned his abilities. With their great defense, the Broncos might only need adequate quarterback play to contend. Ryan Fitzpatrick, 14th in our DVOA ratings and 12th in QBR last season, is remarkably still unsigned. He would be more likely than either
Mark Sanchez or Lynch to be adequate.
Kansas City Chiefs
Offensive guard
Last season, the Chiefs had the league's No. 6 offense by DVOA and the No. 1 rushing offense, but that success masked some weaknesses on the offensive line. The Chiefs ranked close to the bottom in adjusted line yards, our measure of the yards created by the blocking, on runs to the right side. They also ranked 28th in adjusted sack rate, a mark that only falls partially on the line and partially on
Alex Smith. This offseason, the Chiefs addressed their problem at right tackle by signing free agent
Mitchell Schwartz. But the Chiefs still have a weakness at left guard, where fourth-round pick
Parker Ehinger is slotted in to compete with
Jarrod Pughsley (zero NFL starts) for a roster spot. At the other guard spot,
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif had 13 starts in his second season but mostly struggled.
Oakland Raiders
Receiving tight end
Amari Cooper, the Raiders' 2015 first-round wide receiver, helped
Derek Carrmake a huge leap forward in his sophomore season. To give Carr his best chance to advance to another level, the Raiders would ideally add a receiving tight end to complement Cooper. Last season, the Raiders had
no tight end rank in the top 30 by our receiving numbers. The Raiders currently have their hopes at this spot riding on the shoulders of 2015 third-round pick
Clive Walford, who we rated as below average last season. While Walford showed some flashes as a rookie, he also is
now battling a knee injury sustained earlier in the offseason that was just reported Tuesday.
San Diego Chargers
Inside linebacker
Coming into the offseason, the Chargers' defensive line was in the running for the NFL position group most in need of improvement. The Chargers ranked
dead last in DVOA against the run and
25th in adjusted sack rate in 2015. To address their defensive line deficiency, the Chargers signed tackle
Brandon Mebane. They also used the third overall pick on pass-rusher
Joey Bosa. Those acquisitions should help with San Diego's defensive problems, but much of the Chargers' shortcomings in run defense came behind the first line of defense. The Chargers ranked 31st in stopping opposing runners between 5 and 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage and 32nd preventing runs over 10 yards. Adding Bosa on the outside still leaves San Diego needing more from the other linebackers than they got last season.
Dallas Cowboys
Defensive end
Dallas spent a pair of midround picks on defensive linemen in
Maliek Collinsand
Charles Tapper, but neither looks like an immediate solution for the Cowboys' paper-thin pass rush. With Demarcus Lawrence reportedly suspended for the first four games and
Randy Gregory definitely suspended for four games, the Cowboys are down both of their starting edge rushers. In fact,
Tyrone Crawford is the only player in Dallas' current projected Week 1 lineup who had more than 2.5 sacks last season. There aren't many solutions left on the free-agent market; re-signing vet Jeremy Mincey, 32, might be the most logical move. If the Jets can't strike a long-term deal with
Muhammad Wilkerson, the Cowboys would be as logical a team as any to pay a king's ransom and trade for the Pro Bowler.
New York Giants
Right side of offensive line
Giants general manager Jerry Reese spread the wealth in addressing Big Blue's myriad roster holes, using six draft picks on six different positions. But none of those picks were for the offensive line, where the Giants still have question marks at right guard and right tackle. New York could run it back with
John Jerry and
Marshall Newhouse, who combined to start 22 games in 2015. Ideally, though, one or both would serve as reserve depth instead. The Giants
twice visited with Jake Long last summer but never signed him. With Long out of work after spending last season in Atlanta, perhaps the Giants actually pull the trigger on him this year.
Philadelphia Eagles
Cornerback
We listed cornerback as Philadelphia's biggest weakness in our
pre-draft guide, but the Eagles didn't spend a pick on the position until Round 5. Of course, the Eagles were drafting with one hand tied behind their back after trading up for QB
Carson Wentz. Howie Roseman chose to add a pair of offensive weapons around Wentz with his second and third picks, a perfectly defensible decision. But in doing so, the Eagles have cast their lot with a cornerback corps filled with inexperienced youngsters and middling vets who got hurt in 2015.
Washington Redskins
Center
General manager Scot McCloughan nabbed some nice values in this draft, but Washington's biggest offensive weakness went unsolved. Thus, it looks as if there will be a camp battle between
Kory Lichtensteiger and converted guard
Spencer Long for the pivot position on the line.
Josh LeRibeus, who started 11 games last season when Lichtensteiger went down, also remains on the roster. No matter who wins the starting job, the offense needs much better play from the position in 2016. Last season, Washington ranked
29th in adjusted line yards on running plays up the middle, a poor reflection on the line's interior blocking.
Chicago Bears
Cornerback
The Bears had six picks in the draft's first four rounds, and they used them to bolster the offensive line, the front seven and even the secondary, with fourth-round safeties
Deon Bush and
Deiondre' Hall. The cornerback position, though, went largely ignored.
Kyle Fuller, a 2014 first-rounder, continues to develop into a top corner, but after him the Bears are left with only aging journeyman
Tracy Porter (who has played for five teams since 2011) and
Bryce Callahan(who played better than expected as an undrafted rookie in 2015). Hall probably will wind up as the team's fourth corner when all is said and done.
Detroit Lions
Strong safety
Here's a quick look at the candidates to replace last season's starters, James Ihedigbo and
Isa Abdul-Quddus: free-agent signee Rafael Bush, a sometimes-starter in New Orleans who was limited to one game in 2015 because of a torn pectoral muscle; newly acquired
Tavon Wilson, who played in 38 games without a single start in his last three seasons in New England; and fourth-round rookie
Miles Killebrew, the ninth safety off the board in this year's draft. Abdul-Quddus is now with Miami, but Ihedigbo remains unsigned. Bringing him back on a veteran-minimum one-year deal wouldn't be the worst idea.
Green Bay Packers
Wide receiver
The Packers have one of the NFL's deepest rosters, and after they added four draft picks to their front seven and two more to their offensive line, it's hard to find a weakness on this team. Still, this offense was stymied last season without
Jordy Nelson, and even with Nelson back in 2016 you'd like to see more depth at receiver. James Jones led the Pack in receiving yards last season, but he won't be back. Green Bay is rolling with youngsters
Randall Cobb and
Davante Adams, both of whom disappointed last season, and fifth-round rookie
Trevor Davis, who was only fifth in receptions on California's team last season.
Minnesota Vikings
Wide receiver (yes, still)
The Vikings used the 23rd overall pick in the draft on
Laquon Treadwell, but at Football Outsiders we're a little lukewarm on Treadwell's chances at NFL greatness. Our
Playmaker Score ranked him as only the fifth-best receiver prospect in this year's draft, in large part because of his woeful 11.8 yards per catch in his Ole Miss career; collegiate possession receivers rarely turn into NFL stars.
Stefon Diggs gained 419 yards in his first four games last season but only 327 in his next 10, including the playoffs. Meanwhile,
Jarius Wright has never looked like more than a third receiver in four NFL seasons. This is clearly the worst receiving corps in the NFC North.
Atlanta Falcons
Defensive end
Atlanta spent three of its first four picks on the back seven but failed to address the weakest unit on the roster in the process. It's almost inconceivable that the Falcons did not draft a single defensive lineman this year. Football Outsiders measures
adjusted line yards and adjusted sack rate to judge defensive line play. The 2015 Falcons unit was below average in both departments, finishing 19th against the run and 32nd in pressuring the opposing quarterback. Atlanta still has several misfit 3-4 prototypes from the coach Mike Smith era, and it's surprising the Falcons have not invested more resources in rebuilding the defensive line.
Carolina Panthers
Defensive end
General manager Dave Gettleman's cornerback-heavy draft class was
widely panned and ignored another pressing need on Carolina's defense. In attempting to replace Josh Norman, the Panthers failed to goose their relatively thin group of edge rushers. Kony Ealy had a massive Super Bowl, but
was actually demotedlate last season. Even if Ealy discovers some consistency and locks down the weak side, the Panthers do not have much depth behind veteran Charles Johnson on the other side. Much like its offensive line, Carolina's defensive line needs to rely on its stout interior to prop up its shaky bookends.
New Orleans Saints
Defensive end
Sensing a theme yet for the NFC South? Though
Sheldon Rankins and
Vonn Bell are nice building blocks for New Orleans' broken defense, the Saints also could have used more help on the edge. Executive vice president and general manager Mickey Loomis took a fourth-round flier on intriguing Canadian import
David Onyemata, but for now, the edge-rushing rotation outside of
Cameron Jordan looks relatively barren. The Saints have continuously traded away draft capital, and with only five picks this year, no team made fewer selections in Chicago.
Hau'oli Kikaha, a tweener in coordinator Dennis Allen's 4-3 system, probably will man the strong side for another season until New Orleans can find a better solution. At some point, though, New Orleans needs to consider stockpiling rather than sacrificing its picks.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Wide receiver
The Bucs used their first two picks to address their biggest needs at cornerback and edge rusher with
Vernon Hargreaves III and
Noah Spence, respectively. But while general manager Jason Licht poured resources into the defense (and special teams, via
Roberto Aguayo), he failed to supplement the weaponry around QB
Jameis Winston. No Tampa wide receiver finished among the top 25 at his position in DVOA or DYAR, yet the Bucs did not invest a single pick on a player who might develop opposite
Mike Evans.
Vincent Jackson is entering the final year of his deal at age 33, and the options behind those top two are inexperienced and/or uninspiring.
Arizona Cardinals
Tight end
It was not a strong draft or free-agency period for tight ends. Regardless, coach Bruce Arians loves his wide receivers, and thankfully Arizona has one of the best trios with
Larry Fitzgerald,
John Brown and
Michael Floyd. However, if this offense were missing another dimension, it would be a prolific pass-catching tight end.
Troy Niklas, a second-round pick in 2014, has simply not worked out, leaving the team to roll again with
Jermaine Gresham and Darren Fells. The two combined for only 39 catches in 2015, but Fells did rank third in DVOA
compared to 38th for the slower Gresham.
Los Angeles Rams
Pass-catchers
Much like the Browns, the Rams are trying to revitalize a passing game with an unproven passer and a suspect receiving corps.
Jared Goff should be a Week 1 starter, but
Tavon Austin is still an unusual starting receiver, relying too heavily on short passes and yards after the catch. The Rams are the only team in the NFL without an 800-yard receiving season in the past eight years.
Kenny Brittmight be the one to break that streak, or if Goff can establish something with
Brian Quick, who
received no help from last year's quarterbacks. Fourth-round rookie
Pharoh Cooper is a dark horse to be this season's Stefon Diggs.
San Francisco 49ers
Pass-catchers
The defenses are still strong in the NFC West, and San Francisco's defense is clearly ahead of its offense. Regardless of whom coach Chip Kelly selects as his quarterback, that player is going to have limited receiving options.
Torrey Smithis a great vertical threat, but he never has caught more than 65 passes in a season.
Bruce Ellington and
Quinton Patton have combined for only 55 catches in their careers. The 49ers drafted only one receiver this year,
Aaron Burbridge, late in the sixth round. Kelly's offense has worked wonders at getting receivers open before, but that was with great talent such as
DeSean Jackson (2013) and
Jeremy Maclin (2014). Maybe bringing back Anquan Boldin is a necessity.
Seattle Seahawks
Offensive line
The offensive line has been a growing weakness for the Seahawks. QB
Russell Wilson, who has led the league in scrambles four years in a row, often does a fantastic job of compensating for it, but two quick pressures led to two interceptions and a 24-0 hole in Carolina in January's playoff loss. Now you subtract
Russell Okung and
J.R. Sweezy from this line and the prospects look even worse for 2016. Sure, a few draft picks were added, including
Germain Ifedi to close the first round, but this unit is very much a work in progress for one of the few legitimate Super Bowl contenders.
