Updated Team Needs: NFC South
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.
I think after last weekend’s game against the Eagles you will be hard pressed to find a Falcons fan not wanted to upgrade their secondary. There were just to many plays made down the field and that is going to bring the spot light directly on the safeties. Now no one but the coaches know exactly what coverage they were in but the fact that Jeremy Maclin was able to get past everyone on a couple of occasions means someone was out of position. This draft has a few safeties to consider but Rahim Moore of UCLA might be the best coverage safety.
Carolina Panthers
It might be able to name the positions that the Panthers don’t need help with but I will try to narrow the needs down to 1 big time need. I think the recent benching of Jimmy Clausen is a real issue as they might have hurt the confidence of the young quarterback. Thus far he hasn’t looked very impressive and I believe that has more to do with this lack of offensive weapons than his overall skill. I am sorry but it is not going to be easy for any quarterback to succeed with an all rookie starting lineup at wide receiver. I also have to think that the Panthers will give Clausen some time before selecting another quarterback, so I think they could look to go with someone to help out like AJ Green. One thing to keep an eye on is the inevitable coaching change and how that impacts Clausen’s standing with the team. New coaches like to bring their own guys in at quarterback.
The Saints seemed to get back on track last week as they dominated the Bucs. However, I still feel that this team needs to upgrade the talent on the defensive side of the ball and mainly at linebacker. There are a few really good ones that might be available but where they are selecting they might be better off waiting until later in the draft to address that position. So with that said they could also look to add a pass rushing defensive end.
I really like the direction of this team, they add some very talented players in key positions and you have to feel good about the development of quarterback Josh Freeman. I would love for the Bucs to add a running back somewhere in this draft and they might be in a position to look at Mark Ingram (if he comes out early), his tough running style will fit right in with what the Bucs are trying to do. They could also look to target some safety help or a pass rushing defensive end. At this point they have several positions of need and should balance the team need with the best player available and make the right choice.