2018 NFL Draft: Biggest need for each team
By Conor Dorney
NFL Draft season is in full swing but every team across the league has positions they need to address heading into 2018.
The start to the 2018 NFL offseason has been one of the most active in recent memory. A flurry of trades and free agent signings have made the upcoming NFL Draft as vitally important for a number of franchises.
The jockeying for quarterbacks, with as many as five projected to go in the first round, could make or break the playoff chances for several teams looking to rebound from disappointing seasons.
No roster is perfect, particularly at this point in the offseason. So, without further ado, here are the biggest positions of need that all 32 teams will be looking to address in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Arizona Cardinals: Quarterback
The signings of Sam Bradford and Mike Glennon won’t do much to get you excited for the team’s long-term quarterback prospects if you’re an Arizona Cardinals fan, which is why the team could still look for the next face of their franchise in the 2018 Draft.
Following the retirement of Carson Palmer, GM Steve Keim went and found two veterans in Bradford and Glennon as a stop-gap until they find their next franchise quarterback. Whether that quarterback is in this class remains to be seen, but the Cardinals have done plenty of scouting homework on many of the top names in the draft regardless.
Picking at sixteen is a difficult spot to be in, particularly with the amount of jockeying being done in the top ten, as teams like the Jets and Bills position themselves to land the top quarterback on their respective boards. If one of the top quarterbacks unexpectedly falls, Keim and new head coach Steve Wilks could find trading up as a distinct possibility. If not, however, they could instead decide to trade down and take their pick from one of the less-heralded, developmental prospects such as Mason Rudolph or Mike White.
As the only team in the NFC West without a long-term solution at quarterback, the Cardinals need to address it quickly in order to regain their standing in the division and to engineer a return to the playoffs. With David Johnson ready to return from injury, the Cardinals could rely on the run game while they develop their quarterback of the future to take the reins in 2019 or 2020.