Is the NFL Draft about need or opportunity?

For many teams, this is the essential question that is asked not just globally or generally as they set their draft board and prepare for the weeks and months leading into April but also as each and every pick approaches. How the team answers this question decides how far they “reach” for a player as well as how well their cupboards will be stocked well into the future.

One extreme—always grabbing the greatest need—isn’t as ideal as many pretend it to be. Simply checking off boxes during draft weekend means not only passing on more talented players, but it also results in a roster that’s simply mediocre or passable at every position and a team with no identity.

On the other hand, drafting with no regard to need is not only foolish, but also ultimately impossible. Need for certain positions permeates the draft process from Step 1. Boards are set with the idea that certain positions will matriculate a little higher or find themselves scrutinized a little more closely. No matter how many times a general manager repeats “best available player,” there will always be some impact of “need” in their draft…as well there should be.

Please note, that these teams are not teams that necessarily had “bad” drafts. They simply leaned more toward the second extreme, which can be OK! Think of this list less as a criticism and more as a reminder that these teams still have work to do and questions to answer.

Cleveland Browns—Wide Receiver…Still

The Browns are finding it difficult to quit Josh Gordon.

For two years in a row, the Browns have completely eschewed the wide receiver position and continue to act as if the position doesn’t exist, let alone that they might need to spend a quality pick on one. Left to show for it: a bunch of average talent and free agent pick ups like Brian Hartline and Dwayne Bowe.

Overall, the Browns still found themselves with quality players like Danny Shelton and Cameron Erving, which should pay dividends down the road, but it’s going to be awfully hard to examine quarterback Johnny Manziel (or anyone else) at quarterback when there’s no one to throw to.

Oh, and the tight end position got worse this offseason too, yikes.

Buffalo Bills—Quarterback AND Linebacker

I hope people didn’t really expect the Bills to come away with a quarterback in this draft class. Do they need one? Absolutely! But, the team has done just about everything it could both in recent years and certainly with Rex Ryan at the helm to showcase their desire to eke out everything they have before drafting a new starter and starting a new rebuilding plan.

Much like Ryan’s Jets, the quarterback position is going to be an afterthought in Buffalo…

Feel the excitement.

So, they head into 2015 with Matt Cassel, EJ Manuel and Tyrod Taylor. Manuel clearly has all the physical tools, but Cassel should be able to win the job simply by playing it safe. With investments along the offensive line and with running back LeSean McCoy, expect to see a lot of handoffs.

However, after losing Kiko Alonso and with David Harris re-signing with the Jets, it wasn’t as foregone a conclusion that linebacker would be off the table. Ryan’s defense should be just fine with one of the better defensive lines in football driving it, but they’ll need to find a thumper and/or a tackle hound in the middle as they transition from Jim Schwartz’ 4-3 scheme.

Detroit Lions—Defensive Beef

Haloti Ngata is not a long-term solution.

In losing Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley this offseason, the Lions have completely changed the face of what made them a potent defense in recent years. Though they’ve added Ngata and Tyrunn Walker, the former is an aging superstar who played his best football two-to-three years ago and the latter is a low-risk/high-reward player that may not pan out.

They drafted Gabe Wright in the middle rounds, but he falls into a glut of mediocre talent with guys like Caraun Reid and Darryl Tapp, where if one of them ascends to be an important rotational player, the Lions will be ahead, but not quite where they need to be.

Understand that the Lions will be, at best, fine at the position where as they were once dominant.  There’s an equal chance that everything falls apart and the Lions one year as a dominant defense will be their last in a while.

New York Jets—Offensive Line Help

The Jets important some offensive line free agency assistance from the Seattle Seahawks, which is all well and good until one remembers that pass blocking was a serious issue there in recent years and the Seahawks had pretty compelling reasons not to keep Breno Giacomini and James Carpenter around.

Now, Geno Smith and Co. get to attempt to thrive with huge potential catastrophes at three of the five offensive line positions, next to nothing at tight end (unless Jace Amaro hits a huge jump in production) and quite the boom-or-bust group at wide receiver.

Dallas Cowboys—Running Back

Speaking of boom-or-bust, your 2015 Dallas Cowboys draft crop!

I have nothing against the Cowboys draft…In fact, if one throws in undrafted free agent La’el Collins, that’s three potential first round talents now on the roster in one draft class—a rare feat! However, there’s also much to be said about Byron Jones’ athleticism being much greater than his tape, Randy Gregory’s weight and off-field issues and Collins’ still being connected to a potentially messy and embarrassing situation.

Overall, though, this was a team defined by its running game in 2014. The running game took loads of pressure off of quarterback Tony Romo and allowed the defense to stay off the field for long stretches. Now, that running game is in the hands of Darren McFadden and Joseph Randle. Yes, the offensive line is going to be great, but blocks only get a back so far.

It was a ridiculously deep class at the position, and the Cowboys just ignored it.