Dallas Cowboys
Last Season’s Record: 13-3
Positional Needs: Defensive End (DE), Cornerback (CB), Strong Safety (SS)
It’s official: Tony Romo is out and Dak Prescott is in. Romo’s offseason retirement confirmed what many of us already knew; Prescott is the future of this Cowboy’s team. The Cowboys had an unexpectedly successful year with rookie quarterback Prescott behind center and rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott behind him. The team needs to add some more talent on the defensive side of the ball to make it to the next level though.
The Cowboys should look to draft a pass-rushing defensive end, a cornerback (or 2), and a safety if the cards fall in their favor. With Demarcus Ware’s ceremonial retirement, the Cowboys are left with a lack of significant potency when it comes to their pass rush. This draft is filled with strong DEs and I fully expect the Cowboys to make their best effort to get one of them.
From there the Cowboys should set their sights on a cornerback with a lot of potential. They lost Morris Claiborne to the New York Jets and Orlando Scandrick can only get them so far. On top of that, their secondary also lost Barry Church to the Jaguars, so they are weaker than they would like to be at safety as well. Look for the Cowboys to draft young talent at all three of these positions.
New York Giants
Last Season’s Record: 11-5
Positional Needs: Offensive Linemen, Running back (RB)
On paper the Giants had one of the strongest wide-receiving corps in the league last season, yet they still struggled in their passing game. Eli Manning only had 26 passing touchdowns in a season that the team looked poised to get him a minimum of 40. Manning and the WRs deserve some blame here, but some should also fall to the weakened offensive line and the team’s lack of a strong running game to set up their passing game.
The Giants should look to draft young talent to improve their offensive line. It doesn’t matter how talented a team’s wide receivers are if the quarterback can’t stand upright long enough to complete passes to them. If the Giants are smart, they will look to fill this need and then turn their eye to the available running backs left in the pool. They should dive on any diamond in the rough like a fumbled ball in the end zone. Should the right running back not be there; they can then continue to improve their offensive line of the future.
Washington Redskins
Last Season’s Record: 8-7-1
Positional Needs: Defensive Linemen, Linebackers (LB), Wide Receiver (WR), Running back (RB)
Oh the Redskins! Riddled by injuries, bad decisions, and an owner with a mind of his own. The first focus of the Skins should be locking down Kirk Cousins long term, otherwise they’ll be looking to once again draft another quarterback this time next year. As far as this year’s draft goes, improving their defensive line and corp of pass catchers should be their primary focus (unless they already know that Cousins is leaving; then it may be smart to consider a QB if the right one falls to them).
Washington has been stuck in a rotation of bringing in defensive linemen from Free Agency and then releasing them a season or two later. News flash: that is not working. It is time to stop continuously reapplying bandages and actually allow the wound to heal by drafting a couple D-linemen in this extremely talented class with a focus toward the future. The time of signing veteran linemen to one year contracts just to watch them fail and set them free next year needs to come to an end. On the defensive side of the ball the Redskins could also use some young talent at linebacker, but this should fall behind the defensive line priority.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Redskins need to tempt Cousins to stay (or prepare to welcome their next QB) with some weapons at his disposal. The Skins lost their WR 1 DeSean Jackson to the Tampa Bay Bucaneers and then lost their WR 2 Pierre Garcon to the San Francisco 49ers. Don’t get me wrong, Jordan Reed is great, but he can’t be expected to catch all of the passes. Quarterback turned wide reciever Terelle Pryor and Brian Quick were quality offseason signings, but neither of them fill the void left in the passing game. The Skins should look to draft a talented WR in the early rounds to add some potency to their passing game and encourage Cousins to stay on the team. The Skins could also use a premier running back to bring an end to the 3-4 back committee that they are currently using, but that may be too much to ask in one draft.
Philadelphia Eagles
Last Season’s Record: 7-9
Positional Needs: Cornerback (CB) x2
“Fly Eagles Fly”; a phrase that embodied the Eagles for the first few weeks of the season before their wings were clipped for the remainder. The Eagles could use some help at a number of positions, but most of all in the cornerback role.
Currently, the Eagles are touting two corners who were released by the Jaguars and the Colts respectively in Dwayne Gratz and Patrick Robinson, with 2016 seventh round pick Jalen Mills also in the mix. The upcoming class is full of talent when it comes to cornerbacks and I would not be surprised to see the Eagles take two of them, nor would I be surprised if both get quality play time this year. The Eagles should strengthen their secondary as their top priority and set themselves up to soar into the years to come.
