2018 NFL Draft Guide One burning question for each NFC team

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2018 NFL Draft Guide: One burning question for each NFC team Published: Apr 10, 2018 at 07:08 AM Digital Content Editor Arizona Cardinals: Will Steve Keim surprise us all and trade up for their franchise QB? Strange things could happen in the desert this spring. Despite signing and to replace Carson Palmer, and , the Cards are contenders to find their QB of the future in the first round. The Steves (Wilks and Keim) were fixtures on the QB pro-day circuit. Arizona was negligent last year, when both and were within reach, but the and each hopped the Cards via trade. In retrospect, that inaction was one of last season's great blunders. Will Arizona use its 15th overall pick -- and whatever else it might take -- to make up for it? Atlanta Falcons: How will the defense replace and ? For the this draft, the focus should be on the front seven. Though Atlanta spent its first pick last year on Takk McKinley, the lo ses of Clayborn and Poe in free agency impair a defensive line in need of more pocket-crashing power. Not much changed on the offense this offseason -- aside from the exit of , as illustrated in -- so the are free to focus on this, one of their few weak spots. Alabama's would be a steal at No. 26, while fellow SEC defensive tackle and Michigan's Maurice Hurst also represent good value in the back end of Round 1. Carolina Panthers: Time to finally replace and/or ? Things are complicated in Carolina. The are in the middle of an ownership change; they hired Marty Hurney for another GM go-around after firing him in 2012; and Carolina's big offseason move was to fill a hole while simultaneously digging another one in trading 23-year-old cornerback for 29-year-old deep threat . In Hurney's first draft since '12, he must addre s Carolina's i sues outside the trenches, which have grown more prevalent ever since Norman's unceremonious ouster in 2016 and Benjamin's trade in 2017. But which vulnerable position is a greater priority for Hurney? Chicago Bears: How closely will Ryan Pace follow the ' playbook? Da ' hype train left Chicago Union Station in early January, when offensive coordinator and latest Andy Reid disciple Matt Nagy was hired to replace John Fox and coach up , a signal that the organization was looking to replicate, literatim, what the did with Sean McVay and in 2017. Chicago has since surrounded with his very own (Allen Robinson), (Taylor Gabriel) and (Trey Burton). But where will Ryan Pace find his version of , a bacon-saving offensive lineman? Chicago will keep its fingers cro sed that the top of the draft is as QB-heavy as advertised, and somehow , arguably the draft's top talent, falls to No. 8. If not, it's BPA for a young roster looking to forge its own identity -- as long as it somewhat resembles the '. Dallas Cowboys: How exactly will the Joneses choose to go on the defensive? With tabled following a pair of low-wattage receiver acquisitions ( , Deonte Thompson), the Joneses are free to play keep-up on defense. Dallas is entering the third season of the Dak-Zeke rookie-contract era, meaning it has about two more seasons to completely maximize its roster Jahlil Okafor Jersey potential outside of the QB and RB positions. The ' promising secondary still needs more work, but Dallas spent four of its first six picks last year on defensive backs. isn't getting any younger, and needs more help at linebacker, too. Dallas could also double down by taking another defensive lineman in the first round to protect against a potential departure next offseason. Big D's D needs more D-velopment, but where to start? Detroit Lions: How can Matt help Matt? is the franchise, so the new regime should try its damnedest to protect him with either skill-position or line help. 's out after four meh years. Is it time to try again at tight end in the draft? Detroit signed old-school ( ) tight end in the offseason to replace Ebron, but new coach Matt Patricia is used to practicing against multi-TE sets in New England. Might he go searching for his own Rust Belt in the middle of the first round and reach for or ? Or will the lead-head rookie signal-caller stay level-headed and protect Stafford the old-fashioned way: with help on the offensive line, where Detroit's guard of two seasons (Graham Glasgow) is taking over at center? Green Bay Packers: How'll the new guy handle his first draft on the Throne of Cheese? Green Bay is in unusual territory. Fresh off a losing season, the Pack is back in the top half of the first round for the first time since 2009, when Green Bay snagged 2010 NFC Championship Game hero B.J. Raji with the ninth overall selection. The have also taken an unconventional approach, at least by their standard, to free agency. They're participating! Brian Gutekunst's new regime addre sed roster needs by signing and , but will he continue the Cheesehead tradition of succe sfully building through the draft? Partially due to injury, Green Bay's defensive selections from last year haven't borne fruit quite yet, so Gutekunst wouldn't be blamed for tapping another rookie defensive back. After the initial run of corners and safeties at the end of the top 10, secondary options like and will likely be available for Green Bay at No. 14. Los Angeles Rams: Who will be the cherry on top of Wade Phillips' wild offseason? The masterpiece is nearly complete. Les Snead's offseason reshuffling of the defense saw three decorated defenders ( , , Ndamukong Suh) swoop in and claim starting roles, instantly improving Wade Phillips' unit from last season. But now this needs a finishing touch in the form of an edge pa s rusher or a linebacker to replace the lo ses of and . The haven't truly hit on a front-seven draft pick since taking in 2014. Unfortunately, L.A., having gone ALL-IN on 2018, sold its first- and second-round picks and doesn't draft until the back half of the third round (87th overall). Minnesota Vikings: Draft to protect and guard against Ragnarok? That mantra should be printed on and plastered on every wall in Minnesota's new Eagan complex. tells us that Cousins the for the next three years, so any and all resources further acquired should be used to keep him upright. With their tackles signed through 2021, Minnesota should look to draft the best guard available -- and trade up to get one if nece sary. With out to pasture and and new addition both in line to hit free agency next March, guard is the only high priority on an otherwise-loaded roster. New Orleans Saints: Can Mickey Loomis three-peat? Will New Orleans' 2018 draft Jrue Holiday Jersey be remembered as "Return of the Jedi" or ? Loomis and Jeff Ireland have put together back-to-back bonkers drafts by the Bayou. They snagged and in 2016 and reaped a quality quartet in 2017, one that produced Rookie of the Year awards ( and Marshon Lattimore) and took the from 7-9 purgatory to the cusp of the NFC title game. How in the wide, wide world of sports can you follow that up? With and in-house, the defense looks locked and loaded. Might New Orleans stock up on offensive talent for the stretch run of the era by drafting a late-first-round weapon like or one of the tight ends? There's also chitter-chatter about New Orleans selecting the heir apparent to Brees in this year's draft -- , and are po sibilities. But would New Orleans dare trade up from 27 to make a splash, perhaps for ? New York Giants: How will Dave Gettleman choose to alter the course of NFL history? The above question is not hyperbole. Gettleman holds all the cards in his hands -- or, more specifically, an infinitely valuable No. 2 overall pick at the top of a QB-rich draft filled with QB-needy teams licking their chops behind him. The can thank the cro stown , who , for their burdensome responsibility. Big Blue's roster is wallowing in the purgatory between playoff contender and rebuild-in-waiting, so how Gettleman attacks the draft will say a lot about the direction of the franchise he has inherited. And it will dictate the pace of the draft and the course of league history, setting into motion a chain of events that will affect the landing spots for multiple organization-altering (for better or worse) quarterbacks. (Tri-state side note: Gettleman and Co. also have the added power of dictating the ' future at QB. How much cro s-Jersey gamesmanship and sabotage will go into the pre-draft waffling and misinformation campaign?) Here are the GM's options at No. 2, ranked by sense, in my opinion: 1) Draft the QB of the future, po sibly after Cleveland nabs . 2) Trade down for an absolute haul -- potentially from Buffalo -- signaling a rebuild. 3-6) Await apocalypse. 7) Draft best player available (i.e., , , Quenton Nelson). Yes, New York would be filling a position of need, but with so many teams in need of a QB, the would be absolutely wasting the value of this pick in doing so. Nelson and/or Chubb can be acquired by trading a little farther down in the top 10; Barkley won't last past the top five. Philadelphia Eagles: What do you get for the roster that has everything? Yawn. The champion -- holy hell, that sounds weird -- had yet another stellar offseason under Howie Roseman, improving an already top-tier front seven by trading for , signing and . Philly also made a lateral -- er, vertical -- move at wide receiver by trading and signing . In e sence, the best roster in football got ... better. "SKOL," your Philly friends ince santly mock this summer. The ' first-round pick won't improve their roster demonstrably, but he might fill one of Philadelphia's few holes or shallow positions. With and out, Philly needs a second, athletic tight end, and there should be many available at No. 32. San Francisco 49ers: Best player available or trade down ? In the second year of their five-year plan, the are in a fascinating spot in the draft. San Francisco is selecting ninth, right at the end of a top 10 that could see up to five quarterbacks fly off the board. Considering their desire for young talent, the Niners are in a perfect position to trade down to a team desperately desiring the fourth or even fifth quarterback available, like Buffalo, Arizona or New Orleans. It would be the second time in two years under John Lynch that the traded down. But San Francisco needs depth in nearly every area -- defensive line and secondary are the most pre sing -- and there will be highly touted options still available at No. 9. Lynch and Kyle Shanahan's active first draft was generally regarded as a succe s, but does it behoove Santa Clara's dynamic duo to attack this year's go-around with the same free-wheeling attitude? Seattle Seahawks: Can John Schneider hit in Round 1 for the first time since 2012? John Schneider's early-round draft history ain't got no alibi -- it's ugly. A crap cocktail of trading down from late-first-round picks and just drafting poorly has left the in the problematic place they inhabit in 2018. They're too talented at certain positions (QB and LB) to completely rebuild, but too chronically hamstrung elsewhere (RB, offensive line) to look the other way. Drafting at No. 18, their highest first selection since choosing at No. 15 six years ago, the 'Hawks need to upgrade their offensive line for the season in a row, but they also must replace departed vets and at CB and DE, respectively. It's imperative that Schneider and coach Pete Carroll hit in the first round. If they don't, Seattle will have to wait until the fourth round, on the draft's third day, to try again; the have two picks in the first four rounds and six in the final three. Go figure. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Following the run on QBs, who will fall to the No. 7 slot? Keep it simple, Christian Wood Jersey swashbucklers. After focusing on the front seven in free agency, the Bucs only have a few glaring needs left to addre s early in the draft: running back (vacated by the ship-jumping Doug Martin) and defensive back. Tampa Bay is in a comfortable position at No. 7 -- not too early, not too late -- and could get lucky if falls. If not, it's best defensive back available, baby. Take your pick. , or . Whoever tickles tharrrrr fancy. Washington Redskins: After an offensive overhaul, what's the plan on defense? Washington is littered with controversy and commotion, but acro s the Potomac, the are having a quietly solid offseason, at least on offense. The 'Skins re-jiggered their attack by trading for , letting walk into a historic deal and signing . But aside from replacing the 23-year-old and 26-year-old with 31-year-old , D.C. did little to improve a mediocre defense ravaged by injuries the year before. If Washington is to contend in an unpredictable division, it will need to improve its talent on that side of the football -- snagging a linebacker like to complement the re-upped would be a steal at No. 13. This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be mi sing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an i sue.
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