Updated Team Needs: NFC West
By Editorial Staff
One of the most important factors when preparing for the NFL Draft is knowing each and every NFL team. NFL Mocks keeps a very close eye on each team and will bring you an updated needs assessment at the end of each month. These needs will help as we prepare to make predictions for the 2011 NFL Draft. Continue to check out our team needs page to find the most recent assessments. Also after looking at the team needs move on over to the Big Board and see what prospects might fit your teams need.
What a disappointment the 49ers have been so far this season. Many picked this team to win their division running away and down they sit in the basement of the NFC with a 0-3 record. They still have a chance to turn things around but they are going to have to do so quickly. Much of the blame has fallen on the shoulders of the coaching staff and rightfully so but the players are to blame as well. Let’s just pretend that Alex Smith isn’t the problem and he puts together a nice end of the season and if that’s the case I turn my attention to the secondary. Shawntae Spencer has played pretty well but he isn’t a top tier player so finding a top notch corner to play opposite Spencer should be a high priority. I believe this draft could been the strongest in years when it comes to the cornerback position, however many of the top prospects are underclassmen. A few players the 49ers could target in the first round are Patrick Peterson, Ras-I Dowling, Aaron Williams, Curtis Brown, Prince Amukamara and Janoris Jenkins.
I felt it was a need for this past draft and I still feel it will be a need going into the 2011 NFL Draft and that’s the quarterback position. Matt Hasselbeck isn’t getting any younger and quite frankly Charlie Whitehurst has not shown me anything to prove he is going to be an NFL star. Adding the quarterback of the future could go a long way towards Pete Carrol having a long stay in Seattle. Another need for the Seahawks is a pass rushing defensive end. Chris Clemons has had a good start to the season but this is a position that needs to be addressed one way or another in the offseason.
Well I am sure this won’t come as much of a surprise but I feel the Cardinals biggest need is at the quarterback position. The team looks like a shadow of itself since Kurt Warner’s retirement and the Matt Leinart experience didn’t last very long because of poor play and the fact that this coaching staff didn’t draft him. The pieces are still in place for the Cardinals to be successful they have a good running back tandem, decent offensive line, and they used their 1st and 2nd round picks last year on defensive players. Bringing in a star quality quarterback will help get the Cardinals back on top of the NFC West.
The Rams have a lot of holes to fill so they could go in any number of directions. However, I feel that it is highly important that they put the right pieces around Sam Bradford and getting him a stud wide receiver should be the top priority. While Mark Clayton has emerged as a nice player he isn’t going to develop in the a #1 wide out. I think that AJ Green would look great in a Rams uniform but there are several other receivers the Rams can chose from including Julio Jones, Jon Baldwin, and Michael Floyd.