NFL Draft: Five Teams That Helped Their Playoff Chances in 2016-2017
By Jason McIntyre
Arizona: Playoff team the last two years, and got run over by Carolina in the NFC Title game, 49-15. Turnovers by Carson Palmer hurt, but the Cardinals got crushed at the line of scrimmage and permitted 476 yards. Solution? Improve on the line with a Top 10 talent (Robert Nkemdiche) who scared teams off in the interview process and had a strange drug-related fall off a hotel balcony. Is he a game-changer immediately? Individually, no, but when you add him and Chandler Jones in the trade from New England, you’ve got two studs to join Calais Campbell on the defensive line.
Washington: The Redskins had a Top 5 draft, adding multiple players who will have an immediate impact. TCU WR Josh Doctson probably has 30-40 catches as a rookie, maybe more if Pierre Garcon is cut before the season. USC safety/linebacker Su’a Cravens could be a starter defensively somewhere by mid-season. Before last season, Virginia Tech’s Kendall Fuller was considered a 1st round pick; then he suffered a knee injury and entered the draft anyway. Between signing Josh Norman and Greg Toler, plus drafting Fuller (should be 100% in September), your secondary went from the bottom 10 to maybe in the top 10. Seventh round steal Keith Marshall was a major high school star who got injured at Georgia and then buried behind Todd Gurley and Nick Chubb. The Redskins hit the jackpot with another SEC back, Matt Jones; I can see Marshall making the team and breaking a few big plays.
Houston: Playoff team a year ago the Texans replaced their mediocre QB with maybe a better one (at least admit Osweiler has more potential than Hoyer), and then went hog wild in the draft adding weapons: Speedy Will Fuller in the 1st round and explosive Braxton Miller in the 3rd. Notre Dame’s Nick Martin will replace center Ben Jones, who left for Tennessee in free agency. When you add all that up, plus DeAndre Hopkins and RB Lamar Miller, the potential is there to be one of the top offenses in the AFC. But Andrew Luck will be back, the Jaguars had (another) good draft, and the Titans had a strong offseason. So the division will improve, but the hunch here is the Texans grab a wild card and get to the playoffs.
Tampa Bay: Loved getting CB Vernon Hargreaves in the 1st round. He’ll start from Week 1. Not a huge fan of Noah Spence because of his off-the-field history, but it’s undeniable that he’s a terror on the edge. He’ll at least make offensive lines think they need to block someone besides Gerald McCoy. The Bucs are getting crushed in many corners of the web for drafting a kicker (trading up a few spots, technically) in the 2nd round, but that’s not an awful move. Connor Barth was 17-for-17 inside 39 yards and missed one XPT. He was, however, 6-for-11 beyond 40 yards. The pressure will be on FSU’s Roberto Aguayo to be virtually automatic inside 50. I wouldn’t have done it, and here’s something to remember – after Aguayo went 59th, two defensive backs went off the board at 61 and 62 in the division – Vonn Bell (Saints) and James Bradberry (Panthers). Jameis Winston should improve on 58 percent completions and cut down on the 15 interceptions. Tampa was close to the playoffs in Week 12, before fading; I think they can pull it off in 2016.
Oakland: Charles Woodson retires, and the Hall of Famer will be replaced by promising Karl Joseph out of West Virginia. The Raiders also went defensive end in the 2nd round, grabbing raw talent Jihad Ward out of Northern Illinois. They went defensive in the 3rd round, too, getting another defensive end, this time Shilique Calhoun of Michigan State. Khalil Mack will face many more double teams on the other side; a mere 7-10 sacks total from those two rookies would be a victory. Toss in three other big defensive moves – CB Sean Smith, safety Reggie Nelson and OLB Bruce Irvin – and the Raiders really do feel like a playoff team in the AFC. The West may have significant turnover: The Broncos will start Mark Sanchez and the defense suffered losses; let’s see how the Chargers rebound from a 4-12 season (9-7 previous two years).