NFL Teams Biggest Needs by Draft Order
NFL writer Logan Lepiscopo continues to bring a series that will contain every NFL team’s biggest need heading into the NFL draft. Each article will consist of two teams going in draft order. This article will be the Arizona Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys. If a team has multiple first-round picks the team that originally owned that pick will be covered, to avoid repetitiveness and ensure all 32 teams have been written about. Logan Lepiscopo will also give his “perfect/ideal” draft for each and every NFL team.
Arizona Cardinals: Cornerback
The cornerback position was not good last year already, adding Jeff Gladney is a good start for adding talent but this young unit needs a ton more help. Sitting at 23 overall a corner may fall right into the Cardinals lap, but also it may be in the best interest of the team to try and trade up for one of the better corners in the league. Flipping to the other side of the ball, wide receiver needs to be filled in with the loss of Christian Kirk and A.J. Green is still floating around in free agency. DeAndre Hopkins and Rondale Moore are the current WR1&2 on the team but after that the wide receiver room is… well, underwhelming to say the least. The final big need for the Cardinals is a new edge rusher. The interior offensive line is in close running but with the addition of Will Hernandez I feel that position moves down the list by a position. Losing Chandler Jones is a huge hit for the team, and with J.J. Watt’s health is always in question. It is of the utmost importance for the team to find a new young star. (Mock Draft done at 3:00PM EST on 4/5/22)
RD-1-Pick 23- CB-Andrew Booth Jr.- Clemson
RD-2-Pick 55- ED-Drake Jackson- USC
RD-3-Pick 87- WR-Alec Pierce- Cincinnati
RD-6-Pick 201- RB-Zamir White- Georgia
RD-6-Pick 215- IOL-Ben Brown- Ole Miss
RD-7-Pick 244- OT-Nick Zakelj- Fordham
RD-7-Pick 256- ED-Cameron Goode- Cal
RD-7-Pick 257- DL-Jonathan Ford- Miami
Top player hitting free agency: James Conner (Resigned with Cardinals)
Cap space: $5.93M
Dallas Cowboys: Interior Defensive Line
The Cowboys pass rush was not poor last season, towards the middle of the league in pass rush and run stop from 2021. But losing Randy Gregory is definitely not an easy hole to patch, he is qualified as the defensive end, but Carlos Watkins and Trysten Hill are not the most intriguing tackles. To go along with the interior defensive line, edge rusher can be improved as well. DeMarcus being re-signed was huge for doing that, but Dante Fowler Jr. is not incredible, and his contract is going to be up after this season. The deal for Fowler is also only a three-million-dollar deal, so the Cowboys are not high on what Fowler can do so one of these young rookies would pair nicely with Micah Parsons. You may be expecting wide receiver to be next on this list, but it is not the interior offensive line. While losing Amari Cooper is rough, the number of injuries the team had to the offensive line in 2021 cannot go unnoticed. Wide receiver is up there but getting depth for the interior offensive line is more important as the team added James Washington and is actively pursuing wide receivers out in free agency. (Mock draft done at 3:45PM EST on 4/5/22)
RD-1-Pick 24- IOL-Kenyon Green- Texas A&M
RD-2-Pick 56- DL-Travis Jones- UConn
RD-3-Pick 88- LB-Christian Harris- Alabama
RD-4-Pick 129- S-Sterling Weatherford- Miami (OH)
RD-5-Pick 155- ED-Amare Barno- Virginia Tech
RD-5-Pick 167- ED-Isaiah Thomas- Oklahoma
RD-5-Pick 176- WR-Danny Gray- SMU
RD-5-Pick 178- CB-Chase Lucas- Arizona State
RD-6-Pick 193- IOL-Josh Seltzner- Wisconsin
Top player hitting free agency: Connor Williams (Signed with Dolphins)
Cap space: $13.87M