This pairs nicely with my Costco hot dog discussion yesterday: Our reporters shared the best value picks for all 32 teams. It’s our low-cal alternative to that $1.50 combo.
Inside: Urgent post-draft needs for each team, plus a nod to an emerging (and forgotten) star and the fifth-year option tracker for the class of 2023.
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Post-draft needs for all 32 teams
The Browns need a quarterback. So do the Cardinals. The Jets and Steelers, too. We even got an Aaron Rodgers sighting. While the post-draft period feels like a whole new year, so much remains the same.
I dug into our beat reporters’ post-draft depth charts and takeaways to find team weaknesses. Before I share those glaring needs, two related things I learned:
The Steelers are confident that the 42-year-old Rodgers will play quarterback for them next season, yet they just placed a free-agent tender to pressure him into a decision. Hmm.
The Bears should be happy. Just read this from Bruce Feldman’s 17 NFL Draft takeaways:
“I loved the Dillon Thieneman pick for the Bears at No. 25. I was very surprised he didn’t go earlier. An NFL DB coach told me this month: ‘I would take Thieneman over Caleb Downs.’”
Things are less rosy in San Francisco, where the Brandon Aiyuk saga drags on. Moving on from him is one of 32 team needs:
We’ll explore these plenty over the next few weeks.
For a refresher, here are the top remaining free agents. I’d expect players like Tyreek Hill and Bobby Wagner to sign before long. On the topic of contracts …
Class of 2023 decisions
If you have an underperforming player, but he’s on a rookie contract, it might still be worth hanging on to him. Tough decisions about members of the 2023 class could keep being delayed … until this week.
Teams have until Friday to decide on the fifth-year options for those first-rounders. Much of that has already happened:
Up-and-down quarterbacks Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud were among those whose options got picked up.
With extensions, not just options, Houston edge Will Anderson Jr. and Seattle receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba are now the highest-paid players at their positions.
We haven’t heard from the Colts on Anthony Richardson, but the $22.5 million price tag on his option suggests a no. He wouldn’t be alone there.
Where things stand as of last night:
(Note that there was no 32nd pick in this round, as the Dolphins forfeited their pick due to tampering.)
Now I’ve got to come clean about a mistake. And I want you to be honest, too.
Forgive me, Carson
Maybe you missed it, but I was in another reality yesterday.
In that universe, Nick Emmanwori was the Defensive Rookie of the Year. Unfortunately for me, this newsletter is sent in the reality where Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger won the award. Thank you to everyone who reminded me of that.
Yes, it’s peak draft season, and The Athletic is probably best served by me promoting as much draft content as possible (click here for that). But Schwesinger deserves his due.
A couple things you might not know about him:
As a rookie out of UCLA, he was the only player in the NFL to record 140-plus tackles, 10-plus tackles for a loss and multiple interceptions. It was a Roquan Smith season at age 22.
Schwesinger was the first inside linebacker to win DROY since 2012, when Panthers legend Luke Kuechly won it. Prior to Kuechly, it was Brian Cushing, Jerod Mayo and Patrick Willis. Elite company.
And yes, Schwesinger is probably a second cousin of Thor. Maybe not in our reality, but somewhere in the Marvel multiverse. He must be, to have hair like this.
Extra Points
📋 Next year. Dane Brugler’s early 2027 mock went live yesterday. There’s so much more talent than just Arch Manning or Jeremiah Smith, the presumed No. 1 and 2. See for yourself.
➕ Giants add a DT. New York got a run stopper in 34-year-old Shelby Harris, who should help fill the void from the Dexter Lawrence trade.
👋 Justin Simmons retires. The former Pro Bowl safety went out as a Bronco after a nine-year career. His 32 career interceptions tie him with several Hall of Famers at 178th on the all-time leaderboard, including … Tom Landry, who of course went in as a coach.
▶️ Yesterday’s most-clicked: Our post-draft Power Rankings, linked here again. Dear Josh: Please move my Bengals up.
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