Tonight, the NFL draft officially kicks off in Detroit and the festivities of the next two days after that will bring hundreds of new talent to the NFL stage. As we prepare for the first big event of the new league season let’s take a look at three of the NFL teams that provide the most intrigue with their draft position and possible moves on Thursday night with the reference point being Pro Football Focus’s analyst mock draft.
New York Giants
New York Giants (No. 6 pick) The Giants underachieved this past season after earning postseason berth in 2022 in Brian Daboll’s first year as head coach. Among the many glaring issues, the Giants offense was the most concerning. The Giants had the fourth fewest total yards of offense in the league at 4,760 including the second fewest passing yards with 2,886, and gave up 85 sacks which were the most in the league. This is where the Giants focus point should be.
Whether they give up on Daniel Jones or address the offensive line or weapons issue remains to be seen but two LSU products could be in contention for the Giants first round pick. Heisman winning QB Jayden Daniels being the first and the other being his top receiver, Malik Nabers. If the Giants decided to focus on the sack numbers they allowed then the selection of Notre Dame tackle Joe Alt could be exactly what is needed to give Daniel Jones his best chance to succeed in a probable make or break year.
Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings (No. 11 pick and No. 23 pick) The Vikings lost Kirk Cousins in free agency to the Falcons and replaced him with the free agent acquisition of Sam Darnold. How high the Vikings view this path with Darnold in comparison to quarterbacks available will dictate what they do with both their first round picks. More than likely the Vikings will use the 11th pick on a position of immediate need. The Vikings defense could be that area of focus. The defense, while improved under Brian Flores, did give up the ninth most passing yards in the league which dragged down a unit that gave up the eighth fewest rushing yards.
The solution to this could come from either a cornerback like Terrion Arnold or Quinyon Mitchell. The Vikings also could seek to solve their pass defense woes by drafting one of the top edge rushers in the draft with candidates at that position include Alabama’s Dallas Turner. It is important to note that the Vikings have shown interest in the quarterback class specifically J.J, McCarthy, if he falls to No. 11 the Vikings could decide to pick him up and address defense later in the first round which will make the National Championship winning quarterback an intriguing player to watch on draft night.
Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos (No. 12 pick) With the Russell Wilson era in Denver over and Sean Payton now able to pick his guy for the future the Broncos could theoretically pick a quarterback with their pick to compete along side Jarrett Stidham and recently acquired Zach Wilson. Pro Football Focus even has Denver trading all the way up to the third pick in order to draft a quarterback.
However, back in February when speaking with 9NEWS Denver’s Mike Klis, according to Mile High Report, Broncos General Manager George Paton, said the Broncos needed to solidify their tight end position. With that thought in mind, and considering how much success Sean Payton had with Jimmy Graham in New Orleans where he became one of the most dominant tight ends in the league, drafting Georgia tight end Brock Bowers could be the shot in the arm Payton’s offense that will be looking for more weapons.
These three teams moves along will the remaining 29 teams will be revealed tonight as the NFL Draft kicks off in Detroit ushering in new talent to Sunday’s biggest stage.
Featured image: Photo by Adrian Curiel on Unsplash
