{"id":637371,"date":"2026-04-29T23:40:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T23:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/637371\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T23:40:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T23:40:10","slug":"nfl-post-draft-team-needs-2023-class-fifth-year-option-tracker-and-an-apology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/637371\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL post-draft team needs, 2023 class fifth-year option tracker and an apology"},"content":{"rendered":"

This pairs nicely with my\u00a0Costco hot dog discussion<\/a>\u00a0yesterday: Our reporters shared the\u00a0best value picks for all 32 teams<\/a>. It\u2019s our low-cal alternative to that $1.50 combo.<\/p>\n

Inside:\u00a0Urgent post-draft needs for each team, plus a nod to an emerging (and forgotten) star and the\u00a0fifth-year option tracker<\/a>\u00a0for the class of 2023.<\/p>\n

This article is from The Athletic\u2019s NFL newsletter. Sign up here<\/a> to receive it directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n

Post-draft needs for all 32 teams<\/p>\n

The Browns need a quarterback. So do the Cardinals. The Jets and Steelers, too. We even got an\u00a0Aaron Rodgers sighting<\/a>.\u00a0While the post-draft period feels like a whole new year, so much remains the same.<\/p>\n

I dug into our beat reporters\u2019 post-draft depth charts and takeaways to find team weaknesses. Before I share those glaring needs, two related things I learned:<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Steelers\u00a0are confident that the 42-year-old Rodgers will play quarterback for them next season, yet they just placed a free-agent tender to\u00a0pressure him<\/a>\u00a0into a decision. Hmm.
\nThe\u00a0Bears\u00a0should be happy. Just read this from Bruce Feldman\u2019s\u00a017 NFL Draft takeaways<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cI loved the Dillon Thieneman pick for the Bears at No. 25. I was very surprised he didn\u2019t go earlier. An NFL DB coach told me this month: \u2018I would take Thieneman over Caleb Downs.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Things are less rosy in San Francisco, where the\u00a0Brandon Aiyuk saga drags on<\/a>. Moving on from him is one of 32 team needs:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll explore these plenty over the next few weeks.<\/p>\n

For a refresher, here are the\u00a0top remaining free agents<\/a>.\u00a0I\u2019d expect players like Tyreek Hill and Bobby Wagner to sign before long. On the topic of contracts \u2026<\/p>\n

Class of 2023 decisions<\/p>\n

If you have an underperforming player, but he\u2019s 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 \u2026 until this week.<\/p>\n

Teams have until Friday to decide on the\u00a0fifth-year options for those first-rounders<\/a>.\u00a0Much of that has already happened:<\/p>\n

Up-and-down quarterbacks Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud were among those whose options got picked up.
\nWith extensions, not just options, Houston edge Will Anderson Jr. and Seattle receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba are now the highest-paid players at their positions.
\nWe haven\u2019t heard from the Colts on\u00a0Anthony Richardson, but the $22.5 million price tag on his option suggests a no. He wouldn\u2019t be alone there.<\/p>\n

Where things stand as of last night:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

(Note that there was no 32nd pick in this round, as the Dolphins forfeited their pick due to tampering.)<\/p>\n

Now I\u2019ve got to come clean about a mistake. And I want you to be honest, too.<\/p>\n

Forgive me, Carson<\/p>\n

Maybe you missed it, but I was in another reality yesterday.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Yes, it\u2019s peak draft season, and\u00a0The Athletic\u00a0is probably best served by me promoting as much draft content as possible (click here for that<\/a>).\u00a0But Schwesinger deserves his due.<\/p>\n

A couple things you might not know about him:<\/p>\n

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.
\nSchwesinger 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.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0have hair like this<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Extra Points<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udccb\u00a0Next year.\u00a0Dane Brugler\u2019s\u00a0early 2027 mock<\/a>\u00a0went live yesterday. There\u2019s so much more talent than just Arch Manning or Jeremiah Smith, the presumed No. 1 and 2.\u00a0See for yourself<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2795\u00a0Giants add a DT.\u00a0New York\u00a0got a run stopper<\/a>\u00a0in 34-year-old Shelby Harris, who should help fill the void from the Dexter Lawrence trade.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc4b\u00a0Justin Simmons retires.\u00a0The former Pro Bowl safety\u00a0went out as a Bronco<\/a>\u00a0after a nine-year career. His 32 career interceptions tie him with several Hall of Famers at 178th on the\u00a0all-time<\/a>\u00a0leaderboard, including \u2026 Tom Landry, who of course went in as a coach.<\/p>\n

\u25b6\ufe0f Yesterday\u2019s most-clicked:\u00a0Our post-draft Power Rankings,\u00a0linked here again<\/a>. Dear Josh: Please move my Bengals up.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udceb Enjoyed this read? Sign up here<\/a> to receive The Athletic\u2019s free NFL newsletter in your inbox.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Also, check out our\u00a0other newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This pairs nicely with my\u00a0Costco hot dog discussion\u00a0yesterday: Our reporters shared the\u00a0best value picks for all 32 teams.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":637372,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[49,48,514,82],"class_list":["post-637371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=637371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/637372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=637371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=637371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=637371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}