Updated NFL Draft Needs For Every AFC Team (Ep. 1985)

Summary

FantasyPros - Fantasy Football Podcast

Episode: Updated NFL Draft Needs For Every AFC Team (Ep. 1985)
Date: March 25, 2026
Hosts: Joe “Joey P.” Pisapia, Andrew Erickson, Derek “Debro” Brown

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Episode Overview

In this episode, the FantasyPros crew delivers an in-depth, team-by-team breakdown of every AFC franchise’s updated needs heading into the 2026 NFL Draft. With free agency reshaping several rosters but leaving key holes, Joe Pisapia, Andrew Erickson, and Derek Brown assess where each AFC team must focus—and where fantasy managers should pay attention.

The conversation is lively and opinionated, filled with football insight, sharp one-liners, and the hosts’ signature banter. If you want a sense of the AFC landscape before draft weekend, this episode covers every major storyline—whether you’re prepping for dynasty drafts or building next year’s fantasy cheat sheet.

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Key Discussion Points & Team Needs

AFC East

Buffalo Bills

• Offensive Line Needs:
  • Lost David Edwards at guard, need interior OL depth.
    • “Their depth is kind of thin in terms of interior offensive line.” – Andrew ([02:28])
• Defensive Concerns:
  • Return of Ed Oliver helps, but free agent signings flopped—need DT and edge.
  • Linebacker is a major hole after losing Matt Milano and Shaq Thompson.
    • “They need linebacking help…that’s a glaring hole.” – Debro ([04:02])
• Secondary and Wide Receiver Depth:
  • Corner and WR could use reinforcements; DJ Moore is only part of the answer.

Miami Dolphins

• Everything is in Play:
  • “It’s basically everything.” – Andrew ([05:55])
• Priority positions: Cornerback and wide receiver, but tackle is also crucial.
• Draft Approach:
  • Debro advocates corner in the first, WR in the third (“so many good wide receivers on the board in the third round” – Debro [06:25])
  • Andrew sees them going OL first: “They want to run the football…got to upgrade at the interior” ([07:32])
  • Emphasis on building the O-line for QB evaluation and long-term stability.

New England Patriots

• Biggest Needs: Tackle (especially right now), then edge.
  • “It's tackle number one and edge number two for me.” – Joey P ([11:25])
• AJ Brown Speculation:
  • If AJ Brown isn’t acquired, focus on tackle, as aging starters and depth issues loom large.
  • Will Campbell debate: Is he a long-term answer at tackle or destined to move inside?
    • “He does deserve a chance…this is a prove-it year for him.” – Andrew ([13:29])
  • Debro defends Campbell’s rookie year: “He wasn’t bad as a rookie, and if the arm conversation wasn’t a conversation and we just went based off of his play…” ([11:31])

New York Jets

• Massive Roster Overhaul Needed:
  • “Jets need everything. I mean, they need head coach…they need a new owner…they need quarterback…” – Joey P ([16:20])
• Quarterback Debate:
  • Hosts agree not to force a QB pick this year—better to wait for a stronger class.
    • “I am firmly out, out, out, out on Ty Simpson.” – Debro ([17:56])
• Other Needs:
  • Corner, edge, WR (to pair with Garrett Wilson), and continued OL depth.

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AFC North

Baltimore Ravens

• Team Hit Hard by Departures:
  • “They just lost a lot of talent…and that’s what happens with these top-end rosters.” – Andrew ([22:33])
• Priority Positions:
  • Center (lost Linderbaum), cornerback (Humphrey in contract year), wide receiver (“what does Lamar Jackson have to throw to this year” – Debro [26:03])
  • TE, RB, and DT also on the radar given age/injuries and shallow depth.

Cincinnati Bengals

• Defensive Rebuild Priority:
  • “They should draft all defensive players in the draft.” – Andrew ([29:26])
  • Linebackers possibly worst in the NFL, edge still needs help, and secondary needs improvement.
• Burrow Dilemma:
  • “If he went somewhere else, the Bengals would have a better chance to…restart.” ([28:30])
  • Hosts question if Bengals are “wasting” Joe Burrow’s career in current state.

Cleveland Browns

• Primary Needs:
  • Offensive tackle (especially left), then wide receiver; possibly Ty Simpson as a developmental QB.
  • Day 1 starter at left tackle could be drafted at 6 overall.
    • “Monroe Freeling, come on down.” – Debro ([33:23])
  • Safety depth mentioned for future planning.

Pittsburgh Steelers

• Top Needs: Guard (Seumalo departed), then linebacker and quarterback of the future.
• WR Debate:
  • The Michael Pittman Jr. trade signals health concerns and may leave a hole after one year; DK Metcalf is the only stable WR.
    • “The lack of compensation…says something about the state of his back and his health.” – Debro ([34:56])
• Secondary Concerns:
  • Multiple short-term contracts and poor play last year indicate need for safety/corner help.
    • “Remember how easy it was to throw on the Steelers defense last year? 4th most passing yards allowed per game.” – Andrew ([37:19])

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AFC South

Houston Texans

• OL Debate:
  • Joey P asserts OL is top three needs; Andrew isn’t so sure post-free agency upgrades.
• Defensive Emphasis:
  • Edge, linebacker (both off-ball and depth), and DT important after run defense struggles and free agent losses.
• Potential for WR or RB investment:
  • WR for depth behind Collins/Tank Dell; RB2 to pair with David Montgomery also mentioned.

Indianapolis Colts

• Linebacker and Edge:
  • “Losing Jermaine Pratt. They traded away Zaire Franklin…definitely needs linebacker help.” – Debro ([42:12])
  • Edge rushers needed after Quiddy Pay departure; focus on getting younger and faster on defense (per Ballard).
• Receiver Concerns:
  • Alec Pierce’s improvement is needed, and the team lacks an outside WR.
• Offensive Tackle:
  • Right tackle vacancy after Braden Smith departure.

Jacksonville Jaguars

• Defense First:
  • Linebacker after losing Devin Lloyd, edge to pair with Josh Allen.
  • DT and safety also viable directions, considering age/flux at positions.
  • “Jacksonville’s been very methodical…retaining their own players.” – Andrew ([44:01])

Tennessee Titans

• OL and Offensive Weapons:
  • Offensive guard replacement for Zeitler; need more firepower for QB Cam Ward (WR, RB, TE).
  • Debro: “They probably feel better about their wide receiver room than I do.” ([46:30])
• Possible Defensive Pick:
  • Coaching tendencies might lead to investment on defense with early capital.

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AFC West

Denver Broncos

• Minimal Needs, True Contender:
  • “Now you’re this close to the Super Bowl, you don’t have a ton of needs.” – Andrew ([48:14])
• Depth Targets:
  • Edge/DE after John Franklin Myers loss, guard (Powers aging/injured), possible TE upgrade, and future cornerback need.
• Best Player Available Approach.
  • “It’s BPA and honestly…they might go corner and nobody’s going to see it coming.” – Debro ([50:03])

Kansas City Chiefs

• Overhaul Required in Secondary:
  • Lost whole CB group in offseason; “they need multiple corners.” – Debro ([51:21])
• Other Major Needs:
  • Edge rusher, WR (need legit starter who can beat man), right tackle.
  • Kelsey’s “three-year deal” isn’t truly three years; succession at TE soon.
• Draft Approach:
  • Tackle run in this draft may force KC’s hand early on OL need.

Las Vegas Raiders

• Quarterback at 1, Then Protection & Weapons:
  • “What’s next [after Mendoza]? Protect him and then…get him someone to throw the ball to.” – Andrew ([54:20])
• Main Needs:
  • RT, WR, DT (after Christian Wilkins left), per Debro and Andrew.
• Positive Free Agency Remains, But Gaps Exist

Los Angeles Chargers

• Upgrades Needed at Defensive Edge, LB, and CB:
  • “They need to add somebody on edge outside of Khalil Mack.” – Debro ([55:29])
  • Secondary is held together by coaching and Derwin James; needs a legit difference-maker.
• OL Depth Still a Question Mark:
  • Guards from last year gone; need more protection for Herbert.
  • “The talent is there. It’s always there for them—it’s just about getting to the finish line.” – Andrew ([57:08])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Jets need everything. I mean, they need a head coach…owner…quarterback.” – Joey P ([16:20])
• “You could talk about edge, you could talk about safety, you could talk about long-term tackle…honestly, it’s BPA for the Dolphins.” – Debro ([06:05])
• “If the Patriots don’t take [a tackle] at that 31st overall pick, then they’re going to be left holding the bag.” – Andrew ([10:30])
• “If you look at this team, they definitely need linebacker help…they need a starter outside Alec Pierce.” – Debro (Colts, [42:12])
• “If I told you Joe Burrow was going to get to another Super Bowl…is it with the Bengals or another team? That would be my guess too.” – Joey P ([31:14])
• “Remember how easy it was to throw on the Steelers defense last year?” – Andrew ([37:19])
• “Best player available…they might go corner and nobody’s going to see it coming.” – Debro (Broncos, [50:03])
• “For everything holy and sacred in this world, can we please get a wide receiver to KC that could beat man coverage.” – Debro ([51:21])

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Timeline of Key Segments (Timestamps)

• Buffalo Bills needs discussion: [02:28] – [05:31]
• Dolphins debate (corner/WR/OL): [05:31] – [09:08]
• Patriots priorities & Campbell debate: [09:08] – [15:26]
• Jets’ roster and QB discussion: [16:20] – [21:23]
• Baltimore Ravens reset: [22:33] – [27:06]
• Bengals “wasting” Burrow?: [28:30] – [31:41]
• Browns’ tackle vs. WR: [31:55] – [33:31]
• Steelers WR, OL, and future QB: [34:11] – [37:19]
• Texans OL debate: [38:32] – [40:39]
• Colts, Jags, and Titans rundown: [42:02] – [47:58]
• Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders, Chargers deep-dive: [48:02] – [57:28]

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Overall Tone & Takeaways

• Informative, Fast-Paced, and Playful:

  • Banter and friendly digs mix with detailed analysis.
  • Hosts frequently challenge each other, especially when discussing OL needs and player evaluations.
  • They use concrete examples and cite specific players, contracts, injury histories, and coaching trends to offer actionable team needs.

• Fantasy Implications:

  • Several rookie classes (WR, OT, S) are described as deep, creating possibilities for fantasy managers.
  • Situational context—like impending free agents and one-year deals—flag which depth chart spots are most likely to change.

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Final Take

This episode delivers everything a fantasy and NFL Draft enthusiast wants: detailed team-by-team needs, strong debate, and plenty of insight into how each AFC roster might change before the season. If you’re prepping for dynasty rookie drafts, knowing which teams will add weapons or shore up their lines is must-have intel—and the FantasyPros crew brings it with expertise and energy.

(For full NFC breakdown, listen to their upcoming episode and subscribe to the Tailgate NFL channel.)

Transcript

[Podcast Announcer]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Debro]

Guaranteed human.

[Andrew Erickson]

Tyler Redick here from 2311 Racing. Another checkered flag for the books. Time to celebrate with Chumba. Jump [e-mail] let's Chumba. No purchase necessary VTW group void where prohibited by law. CTNC21+ sponsored by Chumba Casino.

[Joey P]

Park it right here, everybody. It's time for the tailgate. It's me, Joey P. Joe P. Zappia. With me Today, Andrew Erickson, Mr. Big Pot Energy and D bro Derek Brown, the king of bros himself, all here talking ball on the tailgate channel. Make sure you subscribe to Tailgate NFL and go search it on the YouTube for Tailgate NFL. That's how you find it. Subscribe. Ring the bell till it goes ding. So you never miss a show here. This is our new channel with all the bros from fantasy pros. We've had some great guests already. Go back and watch the Laquan Jones show. Go back and watch the show we did with Trevor Sigma from pff. Go back and watch Jake Sealey show. They're all great. Everything's great here at the tailgate, especially when you're plug your headphones in and then you can be heard. Because before the show it took about, I don't know, maybe five, ten minutes. We could see Andrew, but not hear Andrew. He could hear us. Turns out when you plug stuff in, it works. Ericson, how about that?

[Andrew Erickson]

Plug stuff in, you restart your computer, it works wonders.

[Joey P]

Yeah. And dbro, you call me the boomer around these parts, which is hilarious. But I feel like I have far less technical issues than you two jabronis all the time.

[Debro]

Hey, hey, hey. Well, if there's a hierarchy here, I think you and I are definitely looking down at Erickson right now. He is definitely the youngest boomer maybe in existence right now.

[Joey P]

He's got good dad jokes, though. I will give him that, too.

[Debro]

That's pretty fair.

[Joey P]

He's fully prepared with the dad jokes, which I always appreciate about Andrew Erickson. And speaking of needs, what you have here, we all need a good dad joke now and again.

[Debro]

And some of the teams we're going

[Joey P]

to talk about today have a lot more needs than others. So we're going to break down the AFC for you today. Talk about every team in the afc, what their needs are heading into the NFL draft, because free agencies kind of fix some of these needs, but not all of them. So let's start with the Buffalo Bills. Obviously, the DJ Moore signing was the big acquisition this off season for the Buffalo Bills, you've still got James Cook, you got Shakir, you got Dalton Kincaid, you got some pieces there. Defense, Bradley Chubb is there now. You got some other pieces too. Moving in. It's a matter of health more than anything. So Andrew Erickson, let's start with you here first with the Buffalo Bills. When you look at the Bills, what are some of their immediate needs that you think they have to address in the draft?

[Andrew Erickson]

So I think they need another offensive guard. They lost David Edwards in free agency, they did resign Connor McGovern to be their starting center. But who they have projected at their left guard is not like the best case scenario. So I think that their depth is kind of thin in terms of interior offensive line. So I do think that they should add one of those types of players in the NFL draft. I would also say too when it comes to the defensive tackle edge position, they're going to get Ed Oliver back. He was obviously hurt last year. He's a big boost to that defensive line. But all the free agent guys they signed last year were all massive flops, right? All these one year deals, half the guys were suspended. Joey Bosa was kind of hit or miss again. He's still available. I don't think that he's going to come back. AJ Epanessa, he's also gone as well. So yes they did bring in Bradley Chubb, but I think that anything to just further bolster, hey, can we stop the run finally? I think a defense attack would make a lot of sense and then just adding more premier pass rush off the edge makes a lot of sense for Buffalo.

[Joey P]

All right. You don't have a guard on your list. Ebro for the Buffalo Bills. You've got a lot more defense though. And I think to Andrew's point, you know, that's kind of where things are lacking a little bit. I, I still look at the Bills roster and I feel like it's a playoff roster. I don't know if it's a Super bowl roster. It's funny because you mentioned Ed Oliver Erickson too. I always for. I always feel like he's older than he is. He's only 28 years old. I feel like Caliber's been been around forever, but it's does feel like health would go a long way but also some more talent would go a long way too to kind of putting this roster over the hump. New coach, new outlook. So what does it look like in terms of needs for you when you look at this roster, Derek?

[Debro]

Yeah, guard's a good call out by Andrew here. For me though, I, I think if you're looking at like guard, you can sign a street free agent like Kevin Zeitler. Some older options are still kind of out there, so I, I think that's a need they could plug. You know, whether it's still through free agency but like looking at the draft, they've got to get some more juice off the edge. Their pass rush was terrible down the, down the back half of last year. And one thing we haven't discussed here yet, boys is like they, they need linebacking help like losing Matt Milano, Shaq Thompson. Like those are big deals and not adding enough back to that room. Like yeah, okay, Bradley Chub will play some stand up linebacker, but he's more of an edge. For me it's. I think the biggest glaring hole was probably the combination of linebacker and edge. And you could even toss corner and wide receiver into this. Like DJ Moore is good, but are we still scared of a starting trio of DJ Moore, Josh Palmer and Khalil Shakir?

[Joey P]

Not a ton.

[Debro]

So I mean we could still add another wide receiver to this room. The cornerback room is still not amazing. Like Benford's really, really good, but opposite him, Maxwell Harrison. I know that like they addressed this in last year and with the addition of Harrison, but it's not like he has hit the ground running in the NFL. And then you got cj CJG CJ Gardner, Johnson there to play what nickel? I, I still think that wide receiver and cornerback are still two spots where they look like they're kind of shored up, but they still could use some help to put them over the top.

[Joey P]

All right, let's talk about the Miami Dolphins. Clearly a wide receiver still need. I don't think Malik Washington, Jalen Tolbert and Tutu Atwell are it. I, I can't fathom that being the case. Certainly some offensive line help. I'm sure we could look to that spot here. So dbro, when you look at the Dolphins, what stands out to you of where they have to go? Maybe priorit when they enter the draft season?

[Debro]

Corner and wide receiver, it's the two biggest.

[Andrew Erickson]

I mean it's basically every. I mean it's everything. It's a team not need but you

[Joey P]

can't get everything at one time fair. You know, you just can't do that in one draft no matter how many picks you have.

[Debro]

I mean that's pretty good.

[Joey P]

Like

[Andrew Erickson]

okay.

[Joey P]

It's okay. Yeah.

[Andrew Erickson]

Tackle I'd like them to get opposite of Patrick Paul.

[Joey P]

So what's the bigger priority though, if you have your first round picks here, the Miami Dolphins, do you care so much about getting the wide receiver or do you think, hey, corners, you know, is the potential better investment long term?

[Debro]

I think if I was the Dolphins, to use that, that top 12 pick, for me, it's corner. Like if Delane is there. If you want to go the McCoy route, like definitively, I think if you're looking at how this draft class stacks up as well, it is take your corner and then see what wide receivers are available to you later in the first round. And really the sweet spot in the third round. Like we talked about this on previous shows, there's so many good wide receivers that I think are going to be on the board in the third round of the NFL draft. Whether you go the Surrott direction. Bryce Lance, Ted Hurst, Chris Brazil, any one of those guys can add a dimension to this offense. And we do. Again, yes. Like Erickson talked about, there are so many needs on this freaking team. Like, you could talk about edge, you could talk about safety, you could talk about long term tackle. Like Jackson's a free agent after this year. So I mean, really, it's, honestly, it's, it's BPA for the Dolphins, but if I were to take pick two positions, it's corner and wide receiver for me.

[Joey P]

All right, so Erickson, I'll pose the question to you. With your first pick, is the Dolphins, do you go just BPA because you do need so much, or do you prioritize corner or wide receiver?

[Andrew Erickson]

I mean, I think they're just going to go with the best offensive lineman because that's what this team is showing. They want to run the football. Right? So how helpful is it to have

[Joey P]

to run the football?

[Andrew Erickson]

Let's just add a wide receiver with our top pick in the first round when, okay, how much volume is that receiver going to see in this offense potentially, if they're going to be running the ball 20, 25 times per game, regardless of what the score is. So I just think that Miami is looking ahead to 2027 and that they want to put the quarterback of the future, whether that is Malik Willis or not, in the best position to succeed. And how do you do that? You get good blocking up front, right? You can't evaluate a quarterback if the blocking is not there. It's just really, really hard to, especially with these younger players. So I still think they have to upgrade at the interior. Again, Cole Strange is gone. They signed Jamari Soller to a one year deal. Their guard that they drafted last year dead last among all guards per PFF as a rookie. So is he even a hit? Right. Especially because he was drafted by the last regime. Aaron Brewer, Austin Jackson, both free agents in 2027. So I really think Patrick Paul is one of the few finds they have. He's a Stallworth at that left tackle spot. But I think they need a right tackle and there's a lot of right tackles that will be available for the Miami Dolphins. So I think, I just think they're going to go in the trenches, specifically on the offensive side of the football. Whereas wide receiver and cornerback, I think that you can get some of those values in the second round to D. Rose point where there is more depth at those positions where we've done it in all these mock drafts. Right. The tackle spot, you hit a certain cliff where all the tackles are gone. And if you don't get one of those top seven tackles in the class, then you're kind of left holding the bag. And I don't think Miami wants to be put in that position.

[Joey P]

All right, let's talk about our New England Patriots here for a moment. Andrew Erickson. I still say they need wide receiver and I still say that wide receivers name is AJ Brown and I still think they will get that receiver. I do believe that June 1st we're going to get that deal done. If they don't get that deal done. How would you approach this draft if you already think like maybe we're just speculating, maybe we're pieing this guy and we're hoping for that to happen.

[Andrew Erickson]

I mean, but Ricky, Ricky Scoops said it's done and then he deleted his account again.

[Joey P]

Yeah, yeah, whatever.

[Bethenny Frankel]

Can't.

[Debro]

Can't believe a dog on the Internet.

[Joey P]

Hey, but let's, but let's, let's, let's take the approach of. The Eagles have told him, hey, go screw. We're not doing this. So how would you approach the NFL Draft right now in 2026 if you're the Patriots, knowing that maybe A.J. brown is not an option for you?

[Andrew Erickson]

I still think it's tackle for me and maybe I'm in the minority here, but I just watched the Patriots play last year. It's a really easy schedule and I think that the offensive line got boosted because of that. They weren't facing a lot of premier pass rushers. And then when they finally did, the results were not great for Drake May, who was running for his life, getting banged up again. Part of the reason why they struggled so badly in the super bowl was he was hurt. He was battling through a shoulder injury because he got banged up because the offensive line could not protect him. Well, Campbell obviously dealt with the injury in the second half of the season. But look, Morgan Moses is 35 years old, right? He's not a long term right tackle. Will Campbell, is he a long term left tackle? Like we still don't know.

[Debro]

There.

[Andrew Erickson]

There are serious question marks about that. It's not that he can't be a serviceable guard, but now you have. Okay, after the season they could need two more offensive tackles. So that's a big hole. And I think that again, going back to the Dolphins conversation, there are a finite amount of tackles that can start, I think in this draft class where you feel confident about them and it's six or seven. So if the Patriots don't take one at that 31st overall pick, then again they're going to be left holding the bag. Okay, we got to roll with Morgan Moses, hope that he can be the guy again. They lost depth to Vedarian Low, signed with the 49ers. Thyron Munford, he was another guy that they had as a depth piece last year. He's still a free agent. Elliott Wolf called it. He said tackle is a need on this roster and they didn't really do much to address it in the free agency period. So I still think tackle is a big need, whether it's right tackle or left tackle and then just edge because you lost Chase on. He had 12 sacks last year.

[Joey P]

So yeah, played great. To me it's edge and it's tackle,

[Debro]

but not that order.

[Joey P]

It's tackle number one and edge number two for me. Dbro, what are your thoughts on the paths to what they need heading into the draft?

[Debro]

I think it's edge and I, I think they could use honestly a little bit of help at defensive tackle too. Dude, can we call something out here? I think Yalls homerdom is really slandering Will Campbell a little bit too much, man. Like if you look at all of his pat, his past blocking grades, he was horrible in the playoffs because he was hurt. We are going to give a pass to what Drake made because he was hurt, but you won't give the same pass to Will Campbell. If you look at the regular season, Will Campbell amongst all tackles of at least 200 pass blocking snaps, 24th in pass blocking grade. So he wasn't bad as a rookie. And if the arm conversation wasn't a conversation and we just went based off of his play, he wouldn't be getting slandered. And if he wouldn't have played through the injuries in the playoffs, again, he wouldn't be getting slandered. So I love you both.

[Joey P]

But dbro, I want to take a counterpoint to the Will Campbell thing because I appreciate the fact that he was playing hurt. Okay, that's fine. I give him credit for that. But I think when you watch the tape and you watch him against the Denver Broncos, the Houston Texans, you watch them against the Seahawks, and even to a certain extent too, against the, the Los Angeles Chargers, okay, all of those teams, he just got destroyed against them. So to me, it was bad technique more than it was physically him not being able to do what he needs to do. And you could say, well, maybe the physical issues were pushing him towards bad techniques. Okay? Except that the big thing coming out of him on college was, you know what, he does struggle against some of the more elite guys. But again, you know you're going to meet elite guys at certain points in the season. Well, guess what? He met the elite guys of the season and it wasn't 100 and he got his butt kicked there. So I'm where Erickson is. I think you kick him in the guard. I don't think he's a good guard. I think he's probably an all pro kind of guard. I don't think he's got the goods to be an outside left tackle for the New England Patriots to protect the franchise quarterback. I just don't see him being that guy after watching him for a year. And maybe I'm wrong, but that's my take on it. Andrew, you. You seem to think a little bit more like the guard move is inevitable for Will Campbell or suggested for Will Campbell.

[Andrew Erickson]

I don't think it's inevitable because I think that he does deserve a chance to debo his point. Again, he was good to start the year, but then he struggled. So you're get the tail to have. So I think this is a prove it year for him where it's like, hey, I'm gonna shut up the haters, Joe, that I can be left tackle.

[Joey P]

Yeah.

[Andrew Erickson]

In the league and then that's fine. But again, to the point, they still need a right tackle. Like Morgan Moses is 35 years old. Like, he's not. So regardless, like, again, if the Will Campbell thing works out and he's a left tackle, that's awesome. Perfect. But they're still going to need a tackle down the road at some point. So I think it makes sense to. In this type of class where there are tackles available to him or to the Patriots at 31 probably then this would be the opportunity to take it. And then you address edge, you address wide receiver, tight end, pass catcher, really deep tight end class for the rookie. So you could add a pass catcher there. Again, they will add someone from a skill position standpoint. Again assuming that it's not A.J. brown because like that's the other thing too. Right. Wide receiver gets nuked in terms of, oh, they need to draft the wide receiver. If you have a player like AJ Brown being dropped in this offense, you still have Matt Collins, you still have Kshaan Booty, still have Demario Douglas. Those guys are all under contract for at least one more season. And I think that they can get more from Kyle Williams. Again, he's a third round pick last year did not do that much as a rookie. But I think that they aren't totally like, oh, it's not like he was terrible. Just some of the other guys. Cajun Booty play really well. So I think that oh dear apparently disagrees that Kyle Williams is terrible. Last year he didn't play. Hold up.

[Debro]

I think the Patriots need to stop trying to draft wide receivers because they're obviously not good at it. I mean, Jalen Polk says hi.

[Andrew Erickson]

The draft of Keisha Booty's been pretty good.

[Debro]

Okay, so Jalen Polk, Javon Baker, Kyle Williams, those guys.

[Andrew Erickson]

Those guys are all off the team already.

[Debro]

Exactly. And they were all draft picks. They weren't good. Like, like you also need to take your medicine and understand what you're. What you suck at evaluating. Don't draft wide receivers because you apparently can't do it.

[Andrew Erickson]

I took my medicine last night.

[Debro]

Say, Howie, what do you want do it.

[Joey P]

Can I throw something out there to just, just to kind of put a cap on the Patriots here? Joe Thomas was on talking about Will Campbell and the clip that I saw, he was talking to Super Bowl. He's like, what's going on? Will Campbell here and I'm losing has nothing to do with arm length or anything. He's like, it's bad technique. He's like, and, and okay, maybe the injuries are leading to the bad technique. I don't know. We're never gonna know the answer to that. But typically I would say bad technique is not something that necessarily is going to fall into the. Oh, it happened because he's hurt.

[Debro]

So pretty good on a regular season, Joey.

[Joey P]

Yeah. But you know what, but what good is. But. But if you're, if you're now again, are you a team that has your hopes and dreams Set on being a team that makes the playoffs or makes the Super Bowl. Now you've, you have asked yourselves those questions like you're waiting for the development and maybe things just all happened a little so fast and, and you know, Will Campbell wasn't ready and the Patriots weren't ready and all that stuff. I don't know.

[Debro]

I, I do, I think, yeah, that all came very quick. But you're here now to be there.

[Joey P]

But now you're here, so what are you gonna do about it? And to Andrew's point, I'd rather be have the insurance policy attack on heading into 20, 27. So let's talk about the jets, because that'll make me feel better. Jets need everything. I mean, they need head coach. They can't drop that. They need a new owner. Can't draft that, unfortunately, can't do that. But quarterback they could draft. I don't know if they want to draft necessarily. Corner, certainly they could use. They traded Sauce Garden, so they got a glaring hole there. Edge rusher. Stop me, stop me at some point. Dbro, because I'm sure we can just go on and on.

[Debro]

Yeah, I mean you're, you're on a good track right now. We can just keep track. Okay, dude.

[Joey P]

I mean. Well, the good news for the jets is they do have a lot of picks where they can fill a bunch of these holes.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yep.

[Joey P]

So that, that's the good news here. You just got to make the right selections. Yeah.

[Debro]

Five first round picks over the next two draft classes. They've got a crap ton of middle round picks. Yes. This roster will improve hopefully if they don't screw it up in the draft. That's the one thing where it's like you get all the wonderful hopium about looking at all these picks and, and it's like, oh, what could our team turn into? Well, if you swing a miss on half those picks, you're still going to suck. It's it. So we shall see. But looking at how the needs stack up. Yeah, like I will say, I, Erickson and I both put quarterback at the top of the list here. I don't think that they should go out and add a quarterback here because they're not in the Mendoza sweepstack. They're not going to get Mendoza. So to me, I am firmly out, out, out, out on Ty Simpson. Like, no, do not invest a draft.

[Joey P]

Well, history teaches us the guys that have what, 14, 15 starts just don't track well in the NFL. It just doesn't happen necessarily. I'm just Erickson I'm with dbro. Like I'll take everything else but quarterback in this draft and then take my chances next year. That's what I would do if I was the Jets.

[Andrew Erickson]

I agree. But the jets are a dysfunctional franchise for a reason and they may, they may be licking their chops at 16, maybe even at number two and be like a Ty Simpson guy before he went.

[Joey P]

No, no, no. Not even the jets can take Simpson.

[Ryan Seacrest]

It too.

[Joey P]

Okay.

[Andrew Erickson]

Never. Hey, the minute that we start talking in absolutes when it comes to the NFL draft is the minute that I say you never know what's going to happen. So again, it's not what I would do. Personally, I agree that all the other needs are much more important. I do think it's kind of interesting that one of the corners that they signed. Again, anyone that can just get an interception, right. Aaron Glenn is still looking for his first defensive reception. Hired as a defensive head coach for the new. What happens first? Aaron Glenn gets fired or the jets get an interception.

[Joey P]

I'm gonna say interception.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah.

[Joey P]

But it's going to be cut to.

[Andrew Erickson]

The regression kings are going to cash in on the Jets. Yes. They're just going to naturally run it. They signed Nishan, right. He had five interceptions last year for the Chicago Bears. So flu, really. I think that corner makes a ton of sense here. Obviously trading away Jermaine Johnson, that means edge rusher. Again, top of the or pick of the litter when it comes to picking at the number two overall pick. Although I do think that is kind of interesting, the conversation about if they would go with an offensive player. Right. If we all kind of agree like they should not go with a quarterback at one of these picks. Well, if you're going to put a quarterback in a position to succeed in 2027, wouldn't it make sense for them to get a wingmate? Wilson vs. Adonai Mitchell or more. Again, I feel pretty good about their offensive line. I think it's actually in pretty good shape. It's not one of the things I put down as one of their needs and that's rare for a team to be picking number two overall. That the offensive line is not dog water. Right. It's like okay, like you have bookend tackles that are good. The interior is kind of intact here. Just a matter of. Okay, so yeah, I think maybe it could be a little bit fun here with Geno Smith just kind of slinging the rock. 35 year old Geno Smith. But yeah, I think that receiver is going to definitely be at top of

[Debro]

their Needs Erickson real fast. Second, their second first round pick this year. They're on the board and say, I think Delane is gone by then. I think by him running a sub 440 at his pro day like he, he's, he's a top 10 pick. So he's gone. Jermod McCoy and their top wide receiver say it's Tyson or Lemon or whoever it is, which direction do you think they go?

[Andrew Erickson]

Wide receiver.

[Debro]

I agree with you on that. I agree with you on that. And I think the, the point you made about setting up a quarterback in 2027 was Sage.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah, I think that makes a ton of Again, if they're not trying to win this year, then how do they make the next quarterback's life as easy as possible? It's. You get them another player because what happened to this offense with Garrett Wilson? Garrett Wilson led the team in receiving yards last year and he stopped playing after week six.

[Debro]

Well, also, if you get somebody that can also work, the intermediate with Wilson lets AD Mitchell go back into like a field stretching role, which he's probably more, you know, it's better suited for anyway, instead of a higher.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah, there's a, there's a lot of ways they could go with a wingmate for Garrett Wilson where they could get a slot guy. They could get more of an outside clasher type of wide receiver. So they really should be in a good spot, I think. Six, I would be surprised, especially if one of those big three receivers is still there at 16, if they don't go in that direction.

[Debro]

Agreed.

[Joey P]

All right, before we get to the AFC north needs here, you all need some free stuff. So we're going to give away a free Saquon Barkley autograph jersey this month courtesy of our [e-mail] Again, you win it for free by subscribing to our new channel, the Tailgate right here at Tailgate NFL. And drop your comments below. And that's it. That's all you got to do in order to enter this drawing for the Saquam Barkley Eagles autograph jersey from Pristine Auction. And don't forget to ring the bell to that goes ding for notifications so we can let you know if you're the big winner of the jersey. And you never miss a new piece of content here on the Tailgate channel. Got NFL draft stuff coming here all April long and a lot more fun stuff after the draft as well leading up to the NFL season. Let's start with the Ravens. You got a lot of needs here for The Ravens, both of you. It's almost off the page. I feel like when I'm looking at what you guys want here, why so many needs for a team that was a Super bowl favorite going into 2026? I mean, not going into 2025, I should say, and. And honestly into 2026 as well. Erickson, is this just a situation of, you know, injuries and everything just broke wrong for the Ravens last year, or is it just a deeper underlying issue here for this whole roster?

[Andrew Erickson]

Well, they just lost a lot of talent, right? And that's what happens with these top end rosters that are deep. That's why we like the Ravens. If you look at them on paper, I agreed last year it made a lot of sense for them to kind of be the super bowl favorite or one of the top teams. But you lose a stalwart piece like Tyler Linderbaum, right? I mean, arguably the best center in the NFL, like, that's hard to replace. And I think that when the center that they then put into that position makes it tougher for those guards that are now paired with him. And the offensive line for the Ravens was really inconsistent last year. Eric Tacosta called that out in terms of the NFL combine, one of his pressers, that offensive line was not up to snuff last year. So they did bring in John Simpson. But I still think that center is kind of a big need for them. At cornerback. Marlon Humphreys in the final year of his deal, they signed a woozier back. He wasn't good last year and they brought him back. So, like, that's telling you how this team is feeling about, like, okay, we're kind of trying to plug holes. And then half the team of the free agents all went to New York to go with Harbaugh again losing two safeties. Gilman, Washington, those guys are both gone. Losing Draymond Jones to the New England Patriots, they lost two tight ends. Charlie Kohler was a blocking titan. Isaiah likely, he's gone. So, yeah, they lost a lot of talent. And again, they did make the splashy move by signing Trey Hendrickson. But that's addressing the defensive side of the football with the edge. So I do think that, you know, I have listed here, so center, cornerback, defensive tackle, tight end, I could see them needing another wide receiver. Rashad Bateman really hasn't been. Has not lived up to his draft capital. And then one thing that I mentioned here as well, I kind of threw in at the end is actually running back, right? Derek Henry's not getting younger. They lost Keaton Mitchell to the Chargers and Justice Hills in the last year of his contract. So again, we're talking about this running back class how who's going to be the number two guy behind Jeremiah Love? Well, I think one of these rookie running backs might get nuked, at least for this year, 2026, because he's going to be Derek Henry's backup and he's probably never going to sniff the field.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Debro]

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[Debro]

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[Joey P]

Ask your rheumatologist about Cosentyx. All right, DBRO for you. Who are the Raven's needs and priority?

[Debro]

Dude, again, this roster has way more holes in it than a lot of people would understand. Like just talking about the conversation of the Ravens. Like I put wide receiver and cornerback as my top two. Like you can make a case like Erickson put center to lead the the lead the charge here, but I don't think. I think a center is somebody that you can still address in the middle rounds of the draft. Where if I'm looking At the early rounds of the draft, I'm looking at wide receiver and corner and yeah, he talked about it, man. Like you've got upcoming in 2027, not even just for this year. Marlon Humphrey and a woozy A are both free agents. So what are you going to do with those positions outside of like, okay fine. Nate Wiggins is an answer for you. Corner. And dude, they're past kitchen core like tight end, wide receiver. Like what is Lamar Jackson going to throw to this year outside of Zay Flowers and Rashad Bateman, devontez Walker, Lajante Wester, Dayton Wade, Cornelius Johnson, Durham Smythe. Oh yeah, Mark Andrews is thrown in there but what does he have left in the tank?

[Joey P]

Like it's not much. No, look, I mean they've, it's been years since they've gone and gotten another wide receiver too. Like, I mean this the, the DeAndre Hopkins. They drafted Zay Flowers and he's been okay, but Zay Flowers isn't a dominating wide receiver. He's a nice possession guy that can help but he's not going to win, you know, at the goal line, you know, and getting 40 year old DeAndre Hopkins last year wasn't exactly the way to go either. You know, they've got to find something else there. Let's talk about the Bengals. Obviously Edge Debro is the biggest priority. But besides edge, which is so obvious, what else do you think the Bengals should do?

[Debro]

Their linebacking room is honestly, you can make a case to be the worst in the entire freaking NFL. Demetrius Knight. No thank you. Barrett Carter, Oren Burks, Shake A Hayward, Joe Gillis, Liam Anderson. If you don't know half of those names, it's because they don't play and they're not very good. So for me leading the charge, like the Bengals need to address their linebacking room. You can even talk about edge. I know they signed some guys but Boya Mafe helps that so does. But Miles Murphy, what have they gotten out of return from him? So I don't think like having Miles Murphy and the same thing with Shamar Stewart. Like you're still looking for answers and you don't know if those right guys are even in the building. So keep adding to the problem that you still have and you haven't solved.

[Joey P]

Erickson. I feel like the Bengals are in a state right now where I don't think they can win with the roster. They have to be honest. Like I, I just, I have a hard time buying that. But if you're going to get Better. I feel like the one chip that you have is. Is Joe Burrow. I. I don't know. I mean, I. I know it sounds kind of absurd to even talk about, like, because you have a franchise quarterback or you don't in the NFL, but I feel like they have a franchise quarterback and they're basically wasting him. And I feel like if he went somewhere else, the Bengals would have a better chance to kind of tear this all down and restart. I just don't think they're. I don't think they're playoff material the way they're currently constructed, despite the fact that they have a fantastic quarterback and they've got all World Jamar. Chase and T. Higgins is great. I mean, offensively, they've got weapons, but the problem is I don't know if they can protect the quarterback, and I don't know if they can get after the opposing quarterback.

[Andrew Erickson]

Well, it's not that they haven't invested in offensive line like, you look at the team needs. Neither of us put any offensive line pieces.

[Joey P]

No, they've invested.

[Andrew Erickson]

They only put defensive because that's the thing. It's like, what do the Bengals need?

[Joey P]

Defense.

[Andrew Erickson]

Like, I don't need to, like, overthink or overanalyze. If they draft, they should draft all defensive players in the draft because we know the offense is going to cook no matter what, as long as you have Joe Burrow. But that's the other thing. It's like he's getting hurt. Like, he gets banged up. He's not been the healthiest quarterback since entering the NFL, dating back to his rookie season.

[Debro]

Still on the Andrew Luck track, I

[Andrew Erickson]

think that as long as they just add more defensive pieces, I think that it is at least encouraging for Bengals fans that the Bengals defense did start to turn the corner a little bit in the second half of the season. They did have a new defensive coordinator stepping in. Al Golden. You started to see a lot of those younger players just get reps. Right. And there's going to be growing pains, especially again to the linebackers, of how bad they were last year. Well, they were rookies kind of thrown in the fire. So what were you expecting? Yeah, that's why they got absolutely eviscerated by tight ends every single week. But at least they now have that experience that. Okay, now you add in a dynamic safety, one of these dynamic linebackers from the draft, another edge rusher to replace Trey Henderson, who, again, he was MIA last year. Like, he wasn't playing for this team. So someone that can help Stewart, you know, Take a developmental step in year two. I think that and I think the other thing too that doesn't get credited enough is when you look at how do you think that defense feels when Jake Browning is the quarterback on the other side of the field?

[Joey P]

Well, you know what?

[Andrew Erickson]

We're not.

[Joey P]

You know what, how does that defense feel when you lose to the jets and you lose 39, 38 in a game in October? Like that. That's. That's when you gotta start looking yourself in the mirror and talk about like what kind of football team.

[Andrew Erickson]

But, but I do think it, it. I think the defense not only played better because of the scheme and the kind of buying more into the system, but I think that when Joe Burrow is on the field, you feel better as a team's like, hey, of course versus when Jake Browning was starting all those games, the defense, the defense knew that we're going to lose no matter what. Like we have Jake, we don't have.

[Joey P]

If I told you Joe Burrow was going to get to another super bowl and I give you a choice to say is it with the Bengals or another team? What choice would you take?

[Debro]

Another team?

[Joey P]

That would be my guess too probably, if I was wagering.

[Andrew Erickson]

Right.

[Joey P]

That's. That's how I feel about the situation too.

[Andrew Erickson]

So he's already done it with the Bengals once. So like, like that's the thing.

[Joey P]

Like, I agree. But if he's gonna do it again,

[Andrew Erickson]

I feel like coach same.

[Joey P]

I hear you.

[Andrew Erickson]

Same. Same dysfunction.

[Joey P]

And he still got the same dysfunction. Nothing's changes. Speaking of same dysfunction, let's talk about the Cleveland Browns needs that. About that everybody. What a perfect transition. Cleveland Browns offensive tackle. I think Andrew Erickson is the big one that we're all circling. Right. What else do they need?

[Andrew Erickson]

It's offensive tackle and wide receiver. Like those are the top two needs. It's pick your flavor at six. They go receiver and then they go tackle at 24 and vice versa. So. And then it comes down to, well, do they address the quarterback here? Because someone's going to draft Ty Simpson, right. At some point during this NFL draft. And the Browns have done extensive work on the Alabama quarterback. So I think that he is in play with one of these picks potentially. Maybe they trade back up into the first round if they want to get that fifth year option on a player that doesn't have a lot of experience. Right. That's one of the big knocks on Ty Simpson is just does not have a lot of game tape on his resume, especially with him being healthy. So, yeah, wide receiver and tackle for me are just like the two glaring big needs. And then mostly I said safety is another option just because they have a couple starting safeties are gonna hit free agency in 2027. But Jerry Judy, we know, isn't a true alpha. He is a beta wide receiver when it comes to. I would say too, I think they want Titus Howard to play right tackle, you know, when the trade first went down, because Titus Howard has shown that he can play kind of across the offensive line, kind of like a Swiss army knife. Whatever you need, I can do. They signed Tab Jenkins, they signed Elton Jenkins, they signed Zion Johnson. So they have interior options. But I do think that left tackles position specifically because day one, Jones, he's still rehabbing another injury and I don't think they can necessarily trust him even though he's had some moments. So left tackle, for me especially, it's a premium position. It makes too much sense that number six overall, they just take the best left tackle they can.

[Debro]

Monroe Freeling, come on down.

[Joey P]

Yeah, I agree. D bro. I would take tackle over wide receiver too, if I'm then too, because you're still too far away. Like, you need more things.

[Debro]

You probably get like, if not your choice of tackle at six, you're getting like probably your second choice of tackle, like whoever your second best tackle is on the board, maybe your top tackle. So, yes, you take that and then you figure out wide receiver because again, we're talking about and we've discussed this draft class, it's deep at wide receiver. If you wanted to go another position, even in the first round, like, I'm not saying like you, but you could do it. So. And I also threw in D tackle here because Malik Collins will be a free agent after this season.

[Joey P]

Season. So, Deborah, where do you go with the Steelers here for needs? I mean, we all know they need the quarterback of the future, but I don't think this is the class to get it. Oh, they addressed the wide receiver hole that they had. But where do you go next if you're the Pittsburgh Steelers?

[Debro]

Yeah, we both put quarterback to lead the conversation here, but I think they should just quit doing the Aaron Rodgers BS and go sign Kirk Cousins. Be done with that. For me, the top knee would be guard because Isaac Simalo, like, is a giant hole in their offensive line, like him leaving. So for me, the top knee would be guard. Vegaoni, come on down. Outside of that, it's probably linebacker. And I'll throw in wide receiver here because. And I noticed Erickson, you don't have wide receiver in here. Like the thing for wide receiver for me. If we go back, dude, were y' all surprised by the lack of compensation? Like how cheaply they got Michael Pittman Jr. From, from the Colts? Like they basically got him for. For a dusty old ham sandwich like it was nothing in picket.

[Joey P]

Yeah, but now that you got him, like, I'm not still going. I' using draft capital for wide receivers.

[Debro]

But my point is that I think that also says something about the state of his back and his health because a full, healthy Michael Pitman should cost more on the open market. Like you're telling me DJ Moore goes for a freaking second round pick and Michael Pittman Jr. Is basically like a. A pick swap and a burger.

[Joey P]

I think timing is everything with that. I think DJ Moore was early and the bill's overpaid. And I think conversely, conversely, Michael Pittman was super late and there weren't a lot of teams left looking.

[Debro]

Dude, it's still really light on the cop.

[Joey P]

It's fine, it's fine. Like as you said, there's a good depth in this wide receiver class. But Erickson, for me, when I look at the Steelers again, this is more just BPA kind of scenario and treading water till you find that next quarterback. But you keep winning eight, nine games every year, you're going to keep being in the middle and that's gonna be a tough thing to do.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah, I think you guys really summed it up. I don't have too much more to add, I would say on the wide receiver front, I didn't put it on there, but I probably should have included. To Debro's point about Michael Pittman, is he cooked at this point? The Colts did not try to retain him. Right. And they sold him for a bag of peanuts to the Pittsburgh Steelers. And I just kind of looked up his contract because I was interested, because I knew that he had signed an extension when he signed with the Steelers. But there's an out in his contract at the end of the season. So if he comes out and is terrible, then we're going to be having this conversation. Well, the Steelers need another wide receiver because they have no one besides DK Metcalf. So we're just kind of saying the same thing. And I always try to avoid looking at team needs when it comes to a lot of one year deals. Right. They signed a bunch of one year contracts with Jaquar Brisker, Darren L. Savage, safeties both on one year deals. Joey Porter Jr entering contract year, cornerback Brandon Echols cornerback entering a contract year. Asante Samuel Jr. One year deal. James Pierre, he was a cornerback who played a lot of snaps for them last year. He left in free agency. So I do think that the secondary is actually one of the bigger needs. Remember, remember how easy it was to throw on the Steelers defense last year? 4th Most passing yards allowed per game. So again, a really talented safety class where you're looking at, we're going to see at least three go in the first round. I wouldn't shock me if they end up taking a stab on one of these top end safeties with pick 21. If the top three wide receivers are all off the board at that point and maybe they feel like we can kick offensive guard a little bit down the road into round two.

[Joey P]

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[Andrew Erickson]

See, I don't agree with that as much as everybody else because I looked at their offensive line and they've kind of they have completed the rebuild. You have ursary who they drafted last year at the top of the second round. At left tackle you have Wyatt Teller, who they signed from the Cleveland Browns. He was hurt last year, but he's been really good when he's been effective. Jake Andrews at center, Ed Ingram, who they resigned a three year deal at right guard and then they signed Braden Smith from the Indianapolis Colts. So look again, I can't tell you if this offensive line that they put together in the free age, he's going to necessarily be amazing or good. But at least on paper to me it looks like it's better than last year.

[Debro]

So.

[Joey P]

So where would you go then if you think the offensive line is okay? What's your main priority for them?

[Andrew Erickson]

I think that would be a best player available type of approach. I know that I also put down on my list edge rusher, linebacker and defensive tackle. We saw last year when they had some injuries at the defensive tackle spots, they got run over by opponents running backs. So I think that another again you have Will, you have Will Anderson, you have Daniel Hunter. Like those guys are absolute monsters off the edge but getting a little bit more depth, adding a third pass rusher because they did lose some players. D Nico Autry, Derek Barnett are both free agents currently. So I think that that could be a potential option that they take. I just don't think that need to be pigeonholed into oh, they got to draft an offensive lineman and I don't think that's necessarily wrong either because again, no, I get as many assets as possible but I don't think it's just oh well, they have to draft it on the lineman no matter what because I think what they did during the free agency period has at least given them the flexibility of okay, we at least have a starting five that we feel somewhat good about entering the season. If we don't, if we feel that the value of the pick of offensive line at number 25 is a reach, okay, then maybe we can draft somebody else instead. What about again, running back two is also I think a knee potentially with Dave Montgomery coming in that's for someone to pair him with. And also off ball linebacker too. I think this class has a lot of strong off ball linebackers. They have EJ Speed, but they did lose a couple other guys during free agency. So I didn't think that's another option they could go if they don't go offensive line.

[Joey P]

Al Shayer is still there, Toto still there. Now on the defensive tackle side they got Togi Eye and Rankin still there, dbro. So would you go on the defensive side of the football? The offensive side of the football.

[Debro]

So I, I Don't disagree that they might feel good about their offensive line. I don't feel good about their guard situation. Man. Like Evan Brown. Wyatt Teller, can he even stay healthy? And what do you get out of him at this point? Ed Ingram has been not good. Same thing with Evan Brown. Like so for me I put offensive line to lead the conversation only because I think they still need help. Help at guard, both guard spots. Now they could have addressed those things but to me it's, it's you draft an offensive lineman that maybe could be your new Titus Howard. Were can he put, can you kick him into guard? Can he be a tackle? Answer for you if Ursary can't be that guy. Braden Smith can't stay healthy like all these different parts. So I, I will say that I, I'm not as sold on their offensive line plan. The second part, we, I mean we kind of already alluded a little bit to it. Linebacker. I think this is a massive need because if you look at 20, 27, Toto is going to be a free agent and so is Al Shayer. So really you need to get ahead of that possible need. And the other thing that I'll throw in is that they could easily take a wide receiver here too. Like I feel good about Jane Higgins and Jalen Noel, but what do they think about Noel? Tank Dell, do you get anything? Nico Collins cannot stay healthy. So wide receiver could honestly, if that's the, the bpa, like the best player they have left on their board, I would not be shocked if they took a wide receiver in this draft class for the Colts.

[Joey P]

D bro, you and Erickson both have linebacker as a top priority and I would agree. I think that's where I would start with the Colts. So why don't you talk to me about the Colts where they should start at linebacker and then what they should do after.

[Debro]

I mean losing Jermaine Pratt. They traded away Zaire Franklin. Like I, I, I, I think you're looking at this team definitely needs linebacker help. Outside of that, losing Braden Smith is massive. So you go linebacker, you can go right tackle. The other thing about this is yeah we're all hopeful that Alec Pierce can take a step trading way of Michael Pittman Jr. Josh Downs is not going to turn into a perimeter wide receiver for you. So that wide receipt. They need a starter outside Alec Pierce like Nick west for the keynote. Okay. Yeah. Touchdown luck. That'll help.

[Joey P]

No.

[Debro]

So the Colts need to draft, they need to take the Ballard approach again. Okay. Who's big and fast in this draft? Let's draft them and see if they develop.

[Joey P]

Erickson, what are your thoughts on the Colts needs?

[Andrew Erickson]

So I actually had edge ranked a little bit higher on my needs for them. They lost. Quiddy pay to the Raiders is also gone. They signed Arden Key, they signed Michael Clemens, but I still think they need a little bit more of a proven pass rush opposite or to kind of pair along with their fierce defensive tackles between DeForest Buckner. So he's also in the final year of his deal. He's missed some time with some injuries. So the Colts have always had this really strong defensive tackle presence. But I still they could do a lot more on the edge again. Balor just talked about I want to get younger, I want to get faster on defense. So speed off the edge I think is an important thing that they need to address. Again, they also don't have a first round pick because they traded to the Jets.

[Joey P]

All right, let's talk about the next team on our list here in the AFC South. We've got the Jacksonville Jaguars, so it seems like they're good with running back now. So we're not going to go there after they sign Chris Rodriguez to back up Tootin or timeshare, whatever you want to talk about here. Erickson, once again, I feel like just with the Colts linebacker is another one too, where maybe that's where Jacksonville begins. Maybe some edge rushing too.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah, I think that linebacker makes sense. Losing Devin Lloyd I think the Jaguars off season has just been really fascinating because you look at what they've done, they really haven't made it a ton of moves, right? They've been kind of retaining their own players. They're not making these splashy free agent signings. And when usually teams do that, they usually come out on top, right? They're not trying to project, oh, how will this player work in our scheme? Because that's how you get a lot of busts, especially on the defensive side of the football where this guy was really good in this scheme, famously by the Patriots, right, they had all these cornerbacks that were amazing in the Bill Belichick system. They go to another team and they're absolutely terrible and then next thing you know they're playing for the Patriots again on the league veteran minimum because the other team is paying their contract. So I think Jacksonville's been very methodical. Again, Devin Lloyd left Ark Armstead is in the final year of his deal at 33 years old. So I do think an edge rush again to pair with Josh Allen I think makes a lot of sense so, and then cornerback I was kind of on the fence about. But the fact that they are going to move Travis Hunter more to that full time cornerback role, I think that they're probably in a decent spot with corner. So linebacker and edge for me were the two biggest needs.

[Joey P]

Dbro, what are your thoughts on the Jags needs?

[Debro]

Yeah, for me, I mean obviously linebacker leads the day. I, I think D tackle is also a really good shout out with Armstead. But also Devon Hamilton's not been like a road grader for you. Like he's not a guy that. That's been amazing too. The other thing I'll shout out here too is could they go tackle? Anton Harrison is a 2027 free agent. Maybe they retain him, maybe they don't. So I think looking at their needs, it stacks up for me. Linebacker, D tackle, you can also make another case for safety too. It's not like Antonio Johnson. The safeties, they have have been huge difference makers. So the other thing about this is not only just fitting needs but where they're drafting. Can they upgrade positions? So like if you have like a league average starter or somebody that's a little bit below average, can you bring a guy in that can compete in camp and beat him out and upgrade that position for you?

[Joey P]

All right, next up on our list here, Tennessee Titans dbro, where do you want to start with their needs for 2026 in the draft?

[Debro]

Dude, I mean, it's edge. Offensive guard is also a big need. Losing Zeitler was huge. We could still talk about wide receiver. They probably feel better about their wide receiver room that I do. Like, what do you get out of Ridley at this point in his career? I don't know. I'd say just looking at their top two needs, I would have some depth there.

[Joey P]

I mean, they still have DK and we'll see. What? I don't want to give up on IO Manor yet. I don't want to do that too. He had some, you know, it wasn't the rookie season people were hoping for, but again, yeah, let's not give up quite yet there. Erickson, are you in the same mind as Debro too in terms of the needs? Because I feel like you want to start with guard probably as well for the Titans.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yep. Offensive guard Zeitler gone. Christian Berry released. Just weapons for Cam Ward. Whether it's wide receiver, running back, tight end, don't care. Just. Just something to add more juice to his potential. Taking that step into year two with a more competent play caller calling the shots. Brian Dabel coming in again. Wanda Robinson I think is a good piece, but not an alpha by any way, shape or form. Good complementary piece can be a nice option for Cam Ward, but you got to add more explosiveness to this offense. You got that from DK Elkai Manor to your point. Yeah, he could be fine, but he could also just be that. You know, talk about those sacrificial X players where he's just outside just running like go routes. Just that's all he's doing. He's not really doing a lot. So I hear.

[Debro]

Colonel so good.

[Joey P]

Yeah. But the X factor here is the fact that it's a defensive minded coach. So I mean, I don't. I think guard is smart, but sometimes those defensive minded coaches, they come in there and they want to get some sort of impact defensive player right away.

[Debro]

Same defensive minded head coach that drafted a wide receiver in round one and drafted a running back.

[Joey P]

That's fair.

[Debro]

His tenure with the jets, so.

[Joey P]

And now he's not the coach there anymore.

[Andrew Erickson]

Sauce Gardner first. Yeah, he did draft the defensive player first.

[Joey P]

He did. That's fair. That's fair. All right, let's go to the AFC West. Let's start with the Denver Broncos. You're a team that's pretty damn good, Erickson. So I don't know a whole lot of needs here. I think this is more wants for them when it comes to the draft. What do you think?

[Andrew Erickson]

Think, well, you finally got your wish because I know you were pouring cold water on the Broncos. They're not doing anything.

[Joey P]

If you're not moving forward in the NFL. If you're, if your status quo, you're getting passed over.

[Andrew Erickson]

Well, Sean, Sean Payton watched our last episode. Was like, wow, Joe's really hating. I'm gonna go trade for.

[Joey P]

And Sean's a fan of the show and I appreciate Sean, you know, so

[Andrew Erickson]

yeah, I'm just busting you.

[Joey P]

I, I think worked with his daughter a couple times. Very nice.

[Debro]

Very nice person.

[Andrew Erickson]

The move to acquire Waddle made perfect sense. That's what they needed to kind of take that next step as a Super bowl contender. Get them over the hump. So when you're this close to the super bowl, you don't have a ton of needs. I think it's just really filling out. Okay. How do they replace John? Franklin Myers. Right. Probably their biggest contributor last year that's no longer with the team. Signing a bigger deal with the Tennessee Titans. Everything else, to me, it's just nitpicky again. I think maybe an offensive guard. Ben Powers got Injured last year. He's in the final year of his deal. So again, maybe another piece on the offensive line. Tight end Mercedes Lewis. He's not coming back. Evan Ingram wasn't really a hit with this offense.

[Joey P]

No, he was not.

[Andrew Erickson]

So can they upgrade at that position as well? Same thing with linebacker. Again, a couple depth pieces here and there, but really it was, hey, can we add a splashy signing at wide receiver or just weapon? And they did that with Jaylen Waddle. So there's a reason why they're not picking in the first round. And I think that they're fine with that because I think that they went through the exercises, the mock drafts of, okay, who could we get at our pick versus trading these picks for Jaylen Waddle? Do we like our roster better or worse? And I think they all decided, oh, no, we like our roster way more with a guy like Jalen Waddle versus who we would get there based on our window quarterback on a rookie contract. Makes all sense in the world. At the Denver Broncos again, Super bowl contender.

[Debro]

Well, Peyton doesn't like rookies a ton either. I mean, we have to throw.

[Joey P]

No. So I just think they're going to BPA this thing that. That mean. Don't you think he. Bro, it's just a BPA situation.

[Debro]

I think it's bpa. And honestly, the one. One position that I put that Erickson didn't have, and I think this is honestly where I think they go.

[Joey P]

If you.

[Debro]

If you look at how teams. It's not only addressing needs, it's not only upgrading positions, it's getting ahead of future needs. 20, 27. Jaquan McMillan and Riley Moss are both free agents. I think they're alive to go corner and nobody's going to see it coming.

[Andrew Erickson]

But didn't they go corner? They went corner last year with Baron in the first. Like, that's the only pushback. So they have. They have certain. They have Baron and then they lose

[Debro]

two after this year, and then they need a corner.

[Andrew Erickson]

But then, I mean, they can't resign one of those guys. Like, that's the only one I would do.

[Debro]

I mean, so you get them cheaper on rookie contracts and the variability with corners. Do you want to pay. Here's the thing. Do you want to go draft a guy right now, have him on your roster? Do you want to go pay one or both of these guys 12, 10 to $12 million a year? I would draft the guy.

[Andrew Erickson]

Well, you're going to have at least one rookie on or one star as a. On a Rookie contract because Baron will probably be a bigger role.

[Debro]

Fair. But you still have one cornerback need you still. You're going to need to fill that other spot somehow. So why not fill it in the draft right now?

[Joey P]

What are the Chiefs doing here? Dbro. When you look at the needs of this roster.

[Debro]

Speaking of another team, Corner, Ravens. That has way more than anybody.

[Joey P]

They got a whole corner.

[Debro]

They got a whole. They. They.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah.

[Debro]

They need multiple corners. Considering the Rams just basically signed their secondary or traded for them. So corner is the big need here. I'll also. Dude, Edge. Carloft has got way overpaid. They need to address Edge. They've got to rush the passer better. And if for everything holy and sacred in this world, can we please get a wide receiver to KC that could beat man coverage. Please, please, please, please. And that's bigger than a damn toothpick.

[Joey P]

I would love it or can do it without being arrested. One of the two things also.

[Debro]

Rashid Rice, a free agent after this year.

[Andrew Erickson]

Speaking of.

[Joey P]

All right. Andrew Erickson, Kansas City Chiefs needs. What do you got?

[Andrew Erickson]

I had corner, edge, receiver, offensive tackle, tight end. Even though I mean Trav, what was Travis Kelsey's new deal? It's a three year contract.

[Debro]

Three year deal.

[Joey P]

It's got.

[Debro]

It's got to be basically a one to one. Like that's not a real very much.

[Andrew Erickson]

Hey, we gotta figure out when we're gonna cut Travis Kelsey after this guy. It's not an actually. But again, if he's like, no, I

[Debro]

really want to play for three years,

[Andrew Erickson]

I guess there's an avenue where he can do that. But I think the only thing that we didn't talk about is probably just offensive tackle.

[Debro]

Yeah.

[Andrew Erickson]

Jalen Moore is a free agent in 2027. Taylor got cut this off season. So I think that a long term answer at right tackle, potentially especially going back to. Again, we've talked about it, but it's important to note that there is a cliff with this tackle class. And if you are trying to get one, you need to get on it before all of them run out. So the Chiefs with the picks that they have need to be smart with. Okay, when do we address our tackle need potentially here? Do we dress it earlier in the draft or do we wait? That's the thing about cornerback where maybe they don't go corner with one of their first picks because Spagnola has had a lot of history of just turning these later corner round picks into legitimate starters. So maybe they feel like they can draft a cornerback later in the draft and address the trenches. But whether it's an edge rusher, again, I can't see them passing on edge rusher. If there's one at number nine, I can't either.

[Joey P]

Raiders are up next. We know they need quarterback. They're probably going to get the quarterback. They actually had a pretty good off season in terms of free agency. Erickson. I know we've talked pretty highly about what the Raiders have done so far. So what's left for them after they take Mendoza at one right tackle?

[Andrew Erickson]

That's kind of the missing piece, I think for them. Their tackles that started last year were just absolutely atrocious. They were actually first and second ranked in sacks allowed. The Raiders quarterbacks never really had a chance. Colton Miller is also coming back from an injury now. He was really effective when he was healthy last year, but. But again, tackles, dealing with injuries can always be a concern. So I think that the tackle position is something that they need to address. Just getting guys back and healthy will be really helpful. So that's the first thing that I would do. Again, you have your quarterback in the future. What's next? Protect him and then after that getting someone to throw the ball to. So it's quarterback, offensive tackle, wide receiver. Just the premier positions on the offensive side of the football to help your rookie quarterback progress.

[Joey P]

Dbro Raiders for you, wide receiver.

[Debro]

I mean he needs people to catch freaking passes, man. Like adding Jayla Naylor. Jack Besh's rookie season was basically a wash. Trey Tucker is not him. So you need somebody else to catch passes. Outside of Brock Bowers, I'm a little bit higher on DJ Glaze like right tackle. I'm not saying that he's amazing. I think he can give you competent league average right tackle play. The other position that I'll throw in here and that with the the Christian Wilkins fiasco is they have to upgrade a D tackle. Like I think their edge. Like they added a lot of players on the defensive side of the ball, but D tackle was still bad.

[Joey P]

All right everybody, that is a look at the afc except for one more team. Oh wait, it's the Los Angeles Chargers. A team that I think is a lot better than people realize and worry. And Hampton is in a really good spot. I don't think they need running back. They don't need quarterback, that's for sure. They need the offensive line to stay healthy. So DBRO defense is pretty good. Again, it feels like the Chargers are in a position where it's more want than need. But what do you think they need? If you had to put something on there.

[Debro]

They need to upgrade the defensive spots. They need to add somebody on edge outside of Khalil Mack like you brought him back on another one year deal. He's not the long term answer there. I think that is the biggest need they need to address. Plus losing away signing the massive contract with the Commanders. So edge is number one for me. Linebacking core is number two. But you could honestly flip flop that with the cornerback room because the thing that I keep going back to like how they've constructed their secondary. Derwin James is a freaking star. But Cam again kind of going back to the Will Campbell conversation. But not when the Chargers face these really good offenses. And losing Jesse Mentor is also going to be a big part of like how much they schemed it up to help this cornerback room. Like is Dante Jackson, Dion Leonard, Cam Hart, Tereb still. Are any of those cornerbacks striking fear in any offensive coordinator's heart?

[Joey P]

I don't think so.

[Debro]

No. No. So a lot of scheme is helping this cornerback room where really it's you need a difference maker in that room. So I think it's edge and corner is probably their second biggest need.

[Joey P]

Erickson, do you agree?

[Andrew Erickson]

I also added offensive line. I think that that kind of goes without saying. Both their starting guards from last year are gone. They signed Cole Strange, Makai Becton was bad last year. They got in the oddish after he got cut from the Commanders and they got ahead of the center run in free agency, which I think was really smart. I still think they need a legit starting guard because you keep Justin Herbert upright in this offense and you could see them running the table in the AFC West. The Los Angeles, the talent is there.

[Joey P]

It's there.

[Andrew Erickson]

It's always there for them. It's just a matter of putting the the pieces together, getting them to the finish line. Now again, their offensive line is significantly worse than let's say the Denver Broncos offensive line. But the tackle's back and healthy, just another guard. And I think you could see this unit at least being average, which I think is all you need to potentially make a run at the conference.

[Joey P]

Yeah, the Chargers are very intriguing to me this year, 100%, especially with the new offensive coordinator. They've got two good head coach, good quarterbacks. They just got the Denver Broncos in that division. The rest of the division is a little soft right now with Patrick Mahomes being hurt and the Chiefs being where the Chiefs are. So that's a look at the afc. The NFC is coming at you. We're gonna do that show as well. So if you haven't already subscribe to Tailgate NFL again, this is our new channel. We're just talking ball. We're going to break down all the needs of the NFC teams. And if you're just jonesing for football, man, this is the place to be this time of year. Don't worry, we'll be back sooner than later. But in the meantime, we're here to help you fill that gap with all the NFL we could possibly talk about. That'll do it for us. But the story of the game goes on. We gotta get out of the parking lot here. They're kicking us out. For Andrew Erickson and Debro, I'm Joey P. See you next time, kids.

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[Debro]

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