AFC East

Buffalo
1) WR – Remember when Josh Reed was supposed to be a star? Well they never got him any help, and he’s no good. And if they don’t do something about their WRs soon, we’re going to be asking the same question about Lee Evans in a few years.
2) CB – The team has yet to really recover from the loss of Nate Clements. There are a bunch of young bodies but Terence McGee is the only real starter of the bunch, and he’s better returning kicks than covering folks.
3) TE – Robert Royal is a decent blocker, and that’s about the only good thing I can say about him. Buffalo is playing 10 on 11 when they use a tight end.
4) OL – The Bills have worked to improve their line over the last few years, but it still has a ways to go.
5) RB – Marshawn Lynch looks like the real deal but there is almost nothing behind him. Drafting another young guy on day 2 might not help, but a veteran could.

Miami
1) OT – Vernon Carey should be hiding at RT or even RG, not bolstering the line at OT. Until the line improves, nothing else on offense will be worth looking at.
2) CB – There’s a dude named Mike Lehan starting here, from the University of Minnesota five years ago. I’m a Gophers fan and had never heard of him before. That’s a very bad sign.
3) LB – Jason Taylor and Joey Porter are still both great as pass rushing 3-4 OLBs, but everyone knows one or both will be gone soon. At ILB they need help now.
4) QB – I personally think they need to give John Beck his fair shot for at least a year. Worst case scenario, you lose a lot of games with a bad team and get another high pick next season. But they need an answer here at some point.
5) WR – No one on their roster has ever caught 50 passes in one season, and no one here is good enough to think that will change this season. Honorable mention here to TE and S as well. What do you get a team that needs literally everything?

New England
1) LB – Inside or out, the team needs young playmakers here in a bad way. Bruschi and Vrabel still seem to make the big plays, but this unit wore down noticeably down the stretch.
2) CB – Asante Samuel is gone and has been replaced by washout Jason Webster. That’s 10 INTs last season for 11 INTs in an eight year career. Even the Pats can’t magically fix that.
3) TE – Ben Watson is great when healthy, but that seems to only happen about 5 or 6 times a year. This is a team that loves to use the TE, even two TEs at once, and they’re thin again. Don’t be surprised if they use another high pick here.
4) WR – It’s hard to complain about one of the best 1-2 WR punches in football, but there is not a lot of depth there. Randy Moss can’t be more than another year or two away from leaving, and this was his first healthy season in about four years.
5) QB – All of us saw more than we ever wanted to see in Matt Cassell and Matt Guitierrez in garbage time this season. Should Brady ever even miss a couple of games, this team is completely screwed.

NY Jets
1) FS – Not that Erik Coleman was great, but his absence leaves this position as the clear top need on the roster.
2) WR – Lav Coles had his contract reworked and will remain paired with Jerricho Cotchery for a very good duo. But neither of them can stay healthy all season, and there is less than nothing behind them.
3) TE – Chris Baker simply hasn’t made enough plays. This is an offense that needs to throw to its tight ends. Sure they signed Bubba Franks too, but has ever been anything but a goal line threat?
4) CB – If they play up to their potential, it is hard to top a young twosome of Darrelle Revis and Justin Miller. But both have shown lapses and there is little behind them.
5) QB – Yes they have Pennington and Clemens, but if you ask me, neither of them looks like much of a long term answer. I still don’t think Pennington makes it to the opening day roster.

AFC North

Baltimore
1) QB – Ok, admit it, at least part of you enjoyed Steve McNair’s great run a few years ago. But that is history, and that’s where his career belongs at this point. And I think we all know Kyle Boller has no future here.
2) OT – Jon Ogden could announce his retirement any second now, and that would leave the team with really no viable starting tackles. This line was once a strength but is missing its bookends.
3) CB – McAlister and Rolle has never been quite as great on the field as it looks on paper. Both of them are aging quickly and piling up injuries, and there’s nothing behind them either.
4) DL – The Ravens’ defensive line is still great right now but is getting older and doesn’t have much depth behind it.
5) RB – Whatchyou talkin bout, Willis? McGahee was great this year but isn’t exactly a beacon of health. Quick name another RB on the Ravens roster… you can’t.

Cincinnati
1) DL – This team needs a big run stuffer inside and they also need some pass rush in a big way. Justin Smith was their best d-lineman and his absence leaves very little leftover.
2) LB – The summary: there isn’t a backer on this roster that should be starting for a contender’s defense.
3) OG – Eric Steinbach is long gone, and Stacy Andrews is clearly going to replace Willie Anderson sometime soon. The interior of this line needs some work to restore that fierce run game.
4) S – Dexter Jackson is decent but doesn’t make many plays, and the team lost Madieu Williams to free agency, so they need some playmakers here.
5) RB – Rudi Johnson averaged a paltry 2.9 YPC last year. That is abysmal. Yes Kenny Watson is a nice backup and Kenny Irons has been hurt, but there’s reason for concern here for a team that surprisingly struggled to find offense at times last year.

Cleveland
1) CB – On a suddenly great young team, this is the clear weakness. Eric Wright showed flashes last year, but it was usually the flash of a receiver running past him for a score. And he’s the only viable top 3 corner on the roster.
2) CB – Two things. Yes, cornerback is THAT bad. And secondly, it was surprisingly difficult to find more than three needs on this team. What an amazing job the Browns have done the last couple of years!
3) DL – Talk about an overhaul here as the Browns went out and got both Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers to add two Pro Bowl studs to a paltry line. But they could still use some depth.
4) RB – Jamal Lewis had a great season but looks like a year by year stopgap. In a RB heavy class, this might be the time to find a future.
5) OLB – Kamerion Wimbley is a rising star, but Willie McGinest is running on fumes at this point. He’s a great mentor but would do his work better from the bench.

Pittsburgh
1) OL – The offensive line was always a quiet strength for the recent good Steeler teams, but it has slowly eroded away and the job may be complete now that Alan Faneca is gone to free agency. They need tackles on both sides really and another guard would be nice too. Yikes
2) WR – Hines Ward is a class act and has been a top WR in the league for a long time but doesn’t have much left. Santonio Holmes is coming into his own, but there’s no real depth here nor is there any size ever since Plax left.
3) CB – This team has a bunch of 2nd and 3rd cornerbacks. It makes for great depth but also makes it difficult to shut down that one guy when you really need to.
4) S – Consider me unconvinced that Ryan Clark is worth much as a starter opposite Troy Polamalu.
5) QB – Big Ben is the present and the future, but he is not one who likes to stay healthy for seasons at a time. Though I do find it wildly entertaining that the team signed Jared Zabransky from Boise State as a third stringer, a literal clone of Big Ben but without the talent.

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Great stuff, bomb. Couldn't agree more with your views on the Stillers' needs. O-line and another wideout or two would do the team well.

Da Bomb, agree with Buffalo whole heartedly...but you forgot about Dwayne Wright Rb for them...he also was a rookie last year...and they are still very, very high on him for back up and possibly change of pace.

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i didnt forget about dwayne wright, and i actually like him. i just figure i like him more than most, and he is unproven to say the least. i think a veteran would still do them well there.

Good take Bomb.
LB - will be the first position taken in the draft and is the Patriots #1 need imo.
One issue that I'd like to point out is the loss of Rosevelt Colvin OLB.
He was a big part of their defense and leaves a gaping hole on the outside.

CB? is the next on the list... but more often than not the Patriots seem to plug in no-name guys that are able to get the job done. (see Randal Gay)

TE? Yes, Watson seems banged up quite a bit. No need to take a TE early but the
Pats always do for whatever reason.

WR? No way. Moss and Welker are as good as any 1-2 in the league at the moment.
Backups include: Jabar Gaffney, Kelly Washington, and Chad Jackson. Good enough.

QB? Matt Cassell has looked pretty good in pre-season games.
From what I hear on local radio the Patriots really like this kid.
He's far from Brady but I'd say he could win some games if it came down to it.
If you get a chance to see him in pre-season he may impress you.

I expect the Pats to trade out of the #7 spot to pick up multiple picks later in the draft.
(.... but I'm hoping they trade up and leapfrog the Jets to rob Gholston, wouldn't that go up Mangini's but sideways!)

this was moss's first completely healthy season in 5 years. plus we both know NE uses plenty of 3, 4, even 5 WR sets. their depth is chock full of guys who cant stay healthy over their career, and not entirely deep. good enough, maybe, but not great.

ive seen cassell in preseason a few different times and been quite impressed. ive also seen him in garbage time this year in real games, not playing the 3rd string scrubs from other teams, just trying to protect at 20+ point lead, and couldnt have been less impressed. bill belichick is a wizard, but apparently you cant turn a backup from USC into a second tom brady. i maintain that if he ever gets hurt for any stretch of time, theyre screwed. at least they used to have some veteran like vinny or flutie who knew what to do.

in the end, i too have them likely trading back from the #7 if possible and gaining picks for the future, like they always manage to do.

i wonder though, about WR and QB... its not like im saying its a dire need obviously. but i listed 5 needs from every team. #1 and #2 were pretty obvious for this team, and TE needs to be somewhere on the list. what would you have listed instead of QB and WR?

In a list of top 5 needs the QB and WR's make sense.
RB could also be made a case for.... as Maroney can't seem to stay healthy....
and the Patriots seem to prefer a RBBC.
These are just much, much lower of a priority than LB and CB.

Assuming they address thier needs by priority in each round of the draft,
I would guess this years draft for NE would go something like this:
1st) LB
2nd) CB
3rd) TE
3rd) RB
4th) OL
5th) QB
6th) WR

also note that Chad Jackson was a 2nd rd pick at WR 2 years ago. I think they expect
production from him this year assuming that he is finally healthy.
They've done it before with WR's like David Givens, David Patten and Troy Brown.

Either way, I could see them taking a QB or WR sooner if they felt there was enough value. Heck, the team owner (Bob Kraft) was scratching his head when the Belichick drafted Brady, already having Drew Bledsoe at QB.