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Looking Ahead: 2011 NFL Draft Team Needs – AFC

Looking Ahead: 2011 NFL Team Needs – AFC

In his first article looking ahead to the 2011 NFL Draft, Consensus Draft Services’ Craig Strachan takes a look at what the AFC teams may look for in that draft.
Projecting what positions an NFL franchise will look to draft players at is difficult work at the best of times and before the new season has even kicked off is certainly not that. However I have taken a look at all 32 NFL teams’ rosters and come up with areas where I think they may look to strengthen themselves in the 2011 NFL Draft. Here I look at the AFC franchises.

AFC North
Baltimore Ravens
Wide Receiver – The Ravens added Anquan Boldin to their offense in the offseason but with Derrick Mason close to retiring and none of their other receivers ever looking like a starter, they may need to look at this position again in 2011.
Center – Matt Birk may only have a couple of years left in the tank and allowing a young guy to learn from one of the league’s best wouldn’t be a bad thing. Plus 2011 looks like being a good year for centers in the draft.
Cornerback – The NFL is quickly becoming a pass-happy league so you can never have too many corners. I’m also not that high on Dominique Foxworth who may well start for them this year.

Cincinnati Bengals
Running Back – Call me a cynic but I’m still not sure about Cedric Benson as a starting running back and the Bengals need to keep Carson Palmer healthy by developing their run game.
Strongside Linebacker – I’m not sure if USC have a ‘Sam’ coming out this year but if they do they could have a trio of Trojans at linebacker. Either way, adding a guy alongside Rey Maualuga and Keith Rivers would give the Bengals one of the best young linebacker groups in the league.
Safety – The Bengals have Leon Hall and Jonathan Joseph entrenched at corner but adding some help in the secondary would give those two a big boost.

Cleveland Browns
Quarterback – Eric Mangini says the Browns’ quarterback job in Jake Delhomme’s to lose – and that’s a problem. This team needs a franchise QB to help them get over the LeBron fiasco.
Wide Receiver – Browns fans will recall the days of Braylon Edwards, Joe Jurevicius and Donte Stallworth with some fondness, at least in comparison to Mohammed Massaquoi and Josh Cribbs anyway.
Inside Linebacker – Do you know what the most impressive thing about the Browns inside linebackers is? That they all still have NFL jobs. This group needs quality.

Pittsburgh Steelers
Offensive Line – I’ve been crying out for at least two years for the Steelers to do something about their offensive line. Now with injuries hitting them before the season even starts they might finally see how bad their depth is.
Defensive Line – The Steelers front three have all been exceptional players at their positions but none of them have very much left in the tank. The Steelers need to find heirs for these guys.
Wide Receiver – After trading the Super Bowl-winning Santonio Holmes and with Hines Ward on the decline, this team needs to find at least one starter going forward.

AFC South
Houston Texans
Wide Receiver – Kevin Walter is getting up there in age and aside from Andre Johnson I struggle to find a decent target on this team for Matt Schaub.
Weakside Linebacker – With Brian Cushing at DeMeco Ryans set in the other two linebacker positions, the Texans could do with a ‘Will’ to make this a very good trio.
Cornerback – After losing Dunta Robinson in the offseason the Texans did little to address this position. They might be wishing they did come the 2011 draft.

Indianapolis Colts
Left Tackle – The Colts thought they’d hit a home run with Tony Ugoh a couple of years back but he’s since gone downhill and left Charlie Johnson protecting Peyton Manning’s blindside. That’s not a situation they can let go on for too long.
Defensive Tackle – At some point the Colts have to address their lack of size at the defensive tackle position as they continue to give up large amounts of yards against the run.
Center – Jeff Saturday has anchored their offensive line for so long that it’s hard to imagine anyone else doing that job. Still, he’s not going to be around much longer so they need to find his eventual replacement.

Jacksonville Jaguars
Quarterback – If, as I expect, the Jaguars are picking high in the 2011 NFL Draft it will be because their quarterback simply has not been good enough. David Garrard cannot carry this franchise any higher than mediocrity and they need someone who can.
Wide Receiver – Hands up if you can name any of Jacksonville receiving corps. Anyone? No, me neither. That’s precisely why they need to address this position.
Safety – Reggie Nelson’s play has declined significantly in the last year or so and Gerald Alexander has never really struck me as a quality starter.

Tennessee Titans
Center – It looks less likely by the day that the Titans will re-sign former Pro Bowler Kevin Mawae so they’ll need to do something about that position. In a good year for centers they may well find another Pro Bowler.
Defensive Tackle – The Titans front 7 wasn’t the same after Albert Haynesworth left for the megabucks in Washington D.C. Finding a dominant guy to fill that hole would be a smart move.
Linebacker – This franchise has a lot of solid linebackers in its ranks but none of them really stand out as being ‘the’ guy. Adding a young star on one side would really give this defense some bite.

AFC East
Buffalo Bills
Left Tackle – After trading Jason Peters the Bills did absolutely nothing two drafts on the trot to address their left tackle spot. That simply cannot go on if they want to keep their QB, whoever he might be, upright and healthy.
Quarterback – That melee of Trent Edwards, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Brian Brohm should never be allowed to compete for a starting job ever again. This franchise needs to find an image and that starts with a QB.
Nose Tackle – After deciding to switch to a 3-4 defense many thought the Bills would target one of the ‘heavyweight’ (see what I did there?) nose tackles in the 2010 draft. They will certainly need to look at this in 2011.

Miami Dolphins
Running Back – Neither Ronnie Brown or Ricky Williams fill me with much confidence anymore and if the Dolphins want young QB Chad Henne to succeed then they need a good ground game to work with him.
Safety – I like the Dolphins defense a lot but the weakest link in my mind is at safety. Adding some firepower in the secondary would really make that unit look stronger.
Wide Receiver – Brandon Marshall aside, the receiving corps looks mediocre at best and Marshall is just another McDonalds’ paper bag away from missing several games. Having a better number two guy would help this offense.

New England Patriots
Outside Linebacker – The Patriots always seem to shock me with the production they seem to get out of older outside linebackers in their system. Adding a youthful playmaker who can cause havoc on this defense would be an improvement for them though.
Running Back – Laurence Maroney never really panned out quite how they would have liked and finding ways to cut down the number of throws Tom Brady has to make would help their star QB last an extra year or two. For more advice on aging quarterbacks see Favre, B.
Inside Linebacker – Teaming another young stud with Jerod Mayo would solve all the Patriots problems at the position for the next decade or so.

New York Jets
Right Tackle – The Jets have done the right thing in addressing the left side of their offensive line recently by adding Vlad DuCasse in the 2010 draft but now they need to look at improving their run game and adding a mauler at right tackle.
Defensive Line – Apparently Rex Ryan had to convince Kris Jenkins not to retire this offseason and the guys who start alongside him are no spring chickens. They need to find young guys to take their places sooner or later.
Safety – Getting Darrelle Revis under a long-term deal will help the Jets secondary no end, but adding a playmaking safety to help him out would also benefit this defense.

AFC West
Denver Broncos
Quarterback Nose Tackle – Sorry, I almost forgot about Kyle Orton! The Broncos are another team who have switched to a 3-4 defense and not yet drafted a nose tackle. Jamal Williams is a decent one-year stop-gap but he can’t become any more than that.
Center – This team has a reasonable offensive line but the weak link as far as I can see is at center. Finding an anchor for that line would be good, especially if he’s also handy at snapping to a QB in shotgun.
Defensive Back – With Champ Bailey nearing the end of a stellar career and no obvious successor in place the cornerback position needs to be addressed. They could also use an upgrade at safety too. Guys at both positions would help improve the Broncos’ secondary.

Kansas City Chiefs
Wide Receiver – Coach Todd Haley doesn’t seem especially enamoured with Dwayne Bowe who just so happens to be the only decent target Matt Cassell has on that offense. Finding someone to either complement or replace Bowe might be necessary come the 2011 draft.
Outside Linebacker – The key to playing the 3-4 as I see it is getting pressure on the opposing QB from the outside linebackers. Right now I don’t see anyone who I’d trust to do that consistently on the Chiefs roster.
Center – The Chiefs have slowly been revamping their offensive line over the last couple of offseasons and the next piece of the puzzle should be a young center. They need to protect their investment in their quarterback.

Oakland Raiders
Offensive Tackle – I know they drafted 2 guys at the position in April but one may move inside to guard and the Raiders need to replace both their tackles in any case. They may like Mario Henderson on the left side but I certainly don’t.
Defensive Back – I know they always draft one or two anyway, but with Nnamdi Asamough only having one year left on his deal and the safeties not being anything to write home about the Raiders need to look at this area early in 2011.
Wide Receiver – This group has a lot of undeveloped potential in the form of Louis Murphy, Chaz Schilens and Darrius Williamson-Bey (error intended) but they need someone to really kick on and be ‘the’ guy. To find him, they may well need to look to the draft.

San Diego Chargers
Offensive Tackle – Marcus McNeill isn’t happy at how the Chargers have treated him this offseason and may well look to get out next year if he can. On the right side, the guy with the horrendously long name doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.
Wide Receiver – Replace the above sentence about Marcus McNeill with Vincent Jackson because the story is exactly the same. If Jackson goes the Chargers receiving group will lose a piece that will need to be replaced.
Cornerback – Giving up on Antonio Cromartie is certainly understandable but it does lose the Chargers one heck of talent at cornerback. They need to look at adding another guy at this position to restock the shelves.

That’s it for the AFC – I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful in some way. Next week I’ll be taking a similar look at the NFC.
 

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