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5 teams that failed to address major needs in the draft

Bob Levey / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Matt Williamson is a former scout for the Cleveland Browns and spent the last 10 years at ESPN as a scout and co-host of "The Football Today Podcast."

Many NFL general managers tell the public that they simply took the “best player on the board” with each pick in the draft. But isn’t it surprising that these so-called “best players available" almost always coincide with an area of need for these teams? While it would be wonderful to truly be able to approach a draft by simply selecting the best player available without regard for the position that young man plays, it just isn’t reality.

With seven rounds of the draft now in the books, there are a few areas of weakness around the league that were not rectified. Of course, downtrodden teams like San Francisco and Cleveland didn’t come close to solving all their immense problems, but here are others that stand out as holes that remain unfilled.

Texans - Defensive end

J.J. Watt is the best defensive player in football. Actually, he is on pace to be a historically great player like Dick Butkus or Lawrence Taylor. Yeah, he is that good. But he isn’t good enough to play both defensive end positions in the Texans’ 3-4 scheme at the same time. Right now, Houston has a combination of Christian Covington, Brandon Dunn, Devon Still, Jeoffrey Pagan, Gerald Rivers, and Dan Pettinato. That is just a slight drop off from Watt!

Saints - Edge-rusher

First-round pick Sheldon Rankins is a very good interior pass-rusher, and the Saints only had five total selections, but it is still very surprising that New Orleans didn’t add something in the form of help for their ailing edge pass-rush. Cameron Jordan is an excellent player that can align all over the defensive front, and Hau’oli Kikaha did some good things during his rookie season, but by no means should he be the best pure edge-rusher on any NFL roster.

Giants - Linebacker

As is rightfully said over and over, there isn’t a team in the league that ignores one specific position like the Giants ignore linebacker. Carl Banks was the last linebacker New York selected in the first round. The top five on New York’s linebacker depth chart were J.T. Thomas, Keenan Robinson, Devon Kennard, Jasper Brinkley, and Jonathan Casillas leading into the draft, and they still waited until the fourth round to add B.J. Goodson to that nondescript crew. But this is what we have come to expect from the Giants.

Jets - Offensive line

Arguably the Jets’ biggest need (besides quarterback, of course), New York didn’t add any big men up front until the 158th-overall selection when they picked Brandon Shell. The starting five might work out, but there are certainly questions around Ryan Clady, and the best center of this generation, Nick Mangold, is now 32-years-old. Plus, the starting guards are ordinary at best, with little depth to speak of. The Jets’ offensive line is on very shaky ground.

Redskins - Running back

Matt Jones has some lead-back traits, but was all over the place during his rookie season. It seems unwise to trust him for the lead job without competition, but apparently that is exactly what the Redskins are willing to do after merely throwing a seventh-round pick at the position. Keith Marshall was that selection. Marshall blew up the combine, and there was a time that he was considered on par with Todd Gurley at Georgia, but obviously a lot has happened since then. Washington is doing a lot of good things as an organization overall, but right now their running backs are Jones, Marshall, Chris Thompson, the suspended Silas Redd, and Mack Brown, who has never been given the ball in an NFL game. Pierre Thomas could be re-signed, but he can only do so much. If this running game can’t be counted on, asking Kirk Cousins to pick up that slack could be a frightening formula for Washington.

Honorable mentions

  • Falcons - edge-rusher
  • Panthers - offensive tackle and running back
  • Eagles - running back
  • Buccaneers - offensive line
  • Chargers - safety

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