NFL Draft: Biggest Needs NFC East Edition with FA Breakdown
Less than a week away from the NFL Draft and teams should finally be narrowing down their draft board to a couple of choices. With the mock drafts looking crazier than ever and the predictions flying high, we might as well throw out ours as well!
If you’ve missed any of the other NFL Draft prediction pieces we’ve created, be sure to click on the division!
However, stay tuned as we wrap these up before Thursday so you don’t miss any coverage regarding your favorite team!
Enough stalling, let’s jump right into one of the most criticized and watched divisions in the whole NFL.
NFL Draft: Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles have made some major additions when it comes to the offensive side of the ball. The signing of not only Alshon Jeffery, but Torrey Smith as well could cause some matchup problems for a good amount of opposing secondaries.
Smith’s speed paired with the big physical nature of Jeffery is something Carson Wentz should be able to abuse. They also brought in a couple more offensive pieces signing former:
- Chiefs QB Nick Foles
- Titans G Chance Warmack
- C/G Stefen Wiseniewski (re-sign)
These offensive line additions were necessary and with the signings they can focus on the great defensive players in this NFL Draft.
Biggest Need: Cornerbacks
The Eagles secondary was middle of the pack last season and with a young quarterback, a solid defensive unit is needed. Their current cornerback depth chart includes:
- Jalen Mills (7th round draft pick)
- Dwayne Gratz (3rd round draft pick)
- Aaron Grymes (Former CFL Grey Cup Champion, aka un-drafted)
Possible Pick (1): Gareon Conley, CB, Ohio State
From the list of corners provided above, it’s no secret this team needs a playmaker.
Conley is an experienced corner at both spots and with 4.4 speed standing at 6-foot, he’d make an impact right away. Gareon is great at using his length to play around receivers and break up passes without seeing yellow.
There’s a possibility we see Marshon Lattimore and Gareon Conley both go early on Thursday night. What do you think?
Possible Pick (2): Quincy Wilson, CB, Florida
Wilson is super competitive and not afraid to talk your ear off, but his speed is something that could drop him in this draft.
He has great size for a corner and his ability to read a route and react is basically unteachable. Also, he possesses a solid amount of power when he’s coming in to stuff the run.
However, Quincy could be better suited at the safety position later on in his career, and like we mentioned, the lack of speed could hurt him.
NFL Draft: Washington Redskins
The redskins were close to the playoffs last season and Kirk Cousins has shown everyone that he is the real deal. So far, their biggest additions this off-season have consisted of former:
- Browns WR Terrelle Pryor
- Cardinals FS D.J. Swearinger
The trade-off of loosing Pierre Garcon and adding Terrelle Pryor would have made this receiving core better. However, the loss of Desean Jackson is what really hurt them. Jackson was the one who could take the top off the defense at any moment. This would leave a guy like Jamison Crowder to scrap down-low and get easy dump passes.
Also, the addition of D.J. Swearinger is big. Swearinger is coming off his best season where he doubled his career total with three interceptions for the Cardinals in 2016. He’s also still a 25-year-old who can play all over the secondary lining up at both safety spots and as a DB last season.
Biggest Need: Defensive Line
The Redskins rush defense was last in the division in 2016 allowing 119.8 rushing YPG. This needs to be addressed in the draft or Ezekiel Elliott could go for another three touchdowns on this team in 2017.
Possible Pick: Zach Cunningham, LB, Vanderbilt
Cunningham is a solid player but his ability to get after the ball is what sets him apart from others in this class. His 4.6 speed could be deadly coming off of the edge, but without an already established defensive line, he may not fit.
However, this is Cunningham’s absolute ceiling in this draft and if some pass rushers slip it would make this pick look very unappealing.
NFL Draft: New York Giants
The Giants haven’t made a lot additions this off-season. With the moves they did make, however, heads were definitely turned in their direction. They’ve added more offensive weapons with the signings of former:
- Jets WR Brandon Marshall
- 49ers RB Shaun Draughn
The addition of Shaun Draughn is something I fully agree with in place of a guy like Rashad Jennings. Although Shaun’s YPC were absolute trash last season at 2.6, his ability to catch passes out of the backfield will compliment this team well.
Biggest Need: Offensive Line
If the Giants can protect Eli next season, his career numbers could be set a little bit higher. He’s never had a wide receiver core consisting of this much talent. Odell Beckham Jr., Sterling Shepard, and now Brandon Marshall? Sounds like a matchup problem waiting to happen.
Possible Pick: Forrest Lamp, OG, Western Kentucky University
If Cowboys lineman Zack Martin was reincarnated into a rising rookie, you’re looking at him. Lamp was a four-year starter at Western Kentucky and his strength combined with athleticism could help him lock up defensive ends in this up-coming season.
He’s someone who could help a whole offensive unit due to his versatility on the offensive end. Forrest can play anywhere on the O-line and his durability is something every scout loves. He only missed two games in his whole college career.
NFL Draft: Dallas Cowboys
No real moves to note for the Dallas Cowboys this off-season. Unless you want to discuss the releasing of Tony Romo, but I’m guessing we’ve all had enough of that.
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The Cowboys stunned a lot of people last season when Dak Prescott looked poised and dominant as a rookie coming out of the fourth round. That should just show you how useless these pre-draft quarterback rankings are but I digress.
The Rookie tandem of Dak and Zeke ended up being one of the most dynamic rookie combo’s I’ve ever seen, but without defensive help the Cowboys couldn’t take that final step into the Super Bowl.
Biggest Need: Defensive Line and Cornerbacks
The secondary of Dallas ranked seventh to last when is came to passing yards allowed per game (260.4), but the run defense was ranked number one overall only allowing 83.5 YPG on the ground.
This is great right? Maybe! But this should be taken with a grain of salt as we look at the running back in that division last season.
- Eagles: Ryan Matthews, Darren Sproles
- Redskins: Robert Kelly, Matt Jones, Chris Thompson
- Giants: Paul Perkins, Rashad Jennings
Scary, I know! They also played the Packers, 49ers, and Browns so the scariness continues, but the point is, this defensive line needs some work as well.
Possible Pick: Takkarist McKinley, DE/OLB, UCLA
McKinley is a grinder and is always after the football. When the ball is snapped it looks like the football is a piece of cake and he Takkarist has a massive sweet-tooth.
If Takkarist can improve on his pass rushing mechanics and hand usage in the run game he could become one of the elite 3-4 linebackers in the game in due time.
Tell us what you think! Follow us on twitter @FantasyCPR, and let us know who you want your favorite team to draft!
Next: AFC East Pre NFL Draft Breakdown
Stay tuned to Fantasy CPR as we lead up to the NFL Draft with our fantasy football breakdowns by division!