Caleb Harris
During the NFL Draft process, each team is trying to improve their team both in the moment and in the long term, using a hybrid of “best available player” on their board and meeting the team’s clear needs.
But for some teams, the NFL Draft It could be a chance to reshape your teams’ identity. And for these seven teams, it was not only a means to add talent to their roster, but also an important step in updating, changing and transforming the future of their teams.
The Bears entered the 2024 NFL Draft process with an obvious early overall pick: Caleb Williams, their new franchise quarterback, and plenty of questions beyond that. And even before draft weekend, it was pretty clear what their plan was: build this team to win as quickly as possible with Williams at the helm.
The team traded its fourth-round pick for Keenan Allen and its fifth-round pick for Ryan Bates to further bolster the offense. So they opted not to trade up at the ninth overall pick (to acquire more draft capital) and instead took Williams’ favorite receiver in the draft, Rome Odunze.
Add to that that they added OL depth in Kiran Amedijie and the first punter off the board in Tory Taylor, and they clearly did everything they could to give Caleb Williams and his offense every chance to be in the league’s top half unit. in his debut season.
Washington, under new GM Adam Peters, was slated to take a quarterback at No. 2 overall, but determining what identity he wanted this team to have was yet to be determined. Based on his draft selections, it’s clear he values impact playmakers over size and clear positional value.
After selecting perhaps the most dynamic quarterback in the draft, Jayden Daniels, he followed up with a dynamic but undersized interior defensive lineman in Johnny Newton, Tyrann Mathieu, clone but limited nickel scheme Mike Sainristill, and the versatile but not traditional, tight end Ben Sinnott in the second round.
Washington, a team with deep talent inherited by Peters, has the weapons and versatile players to make an early impact if these newcomers can find their feet quickly.
After much talk, the Patriots decided to go third overall and selected Drake Maye with their third pick. But after that, it’s clear that this team, now under the leadership of Eliot Wolf and Jerod Mayo, is clearly valuing heavy competition on the rest of the offense.
They drafted Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker in the second and fourth rounds, respectively, a year after drafting future Pop Douglas and two years after spending a second-round pick on Tyquan Thornton. These four players combined with veterans like Juju Smith Schuster, Kendrick Bourne, KJ Osborn and more, it’s a 9-10 man battle for the 6-7 spots on the roster.
in the Patriots’ opening 53, with no guaranteed spot in the receiver’s room.
And along the offensive line, the competition could be even fiercer. After extending Mike Onwenu, signing Chukwuma Okoafor in free agency and drafting three OLs a year ago, the Patriots drafted Caedan Wallace in the early third round to be the left tackle of the future and Lasyden Robinson in the fourth to challenge the guard. In all, the Patriots probably have about 15 players vying for the 9-10 offensive line positions on their roster.
Minnesota Vikings (very confident in lineup and depth)
Minnesota has been aggressive in the draft in recent years, but this year they took it to another level, placing a lot of trust in their previous draft picks and current overall roster.
The Vikings moved up one pick to select JJ McCarthy, their quarterback of the future, but other than Sam Darnold’s struggles, he isn’t expected to play much as a rookie.
And in a combination of two trades, one with the Texans early in the draft process and a second on draft night with the Jaguars, the Vikings traded a total of their second, fifth and sixth round picks in the 2024 draft and their second , third and sixth rounds. fourth-round picks in the 2025 draft to select Dallas Turner.
In addition to losing three picks in next year’s draft, the Vikings had just one other pick among the top 170 picks in the 2024 draft and selected Khyree Jackson at corner.
The Vikings are banking on their current roster to protect, support and guide the Sam Darnold/McCarthy offense this year and beyond.
Replacing Aaron Donald, the best defender in the NFL story, it can’t be done with one player. But just like Billy Beane did with Oakland and in the early 2000s with Jason Giambi, the Rams used the 2024 draft to try to recreate Donald in total.
With their first two picks, the Rams picked the best power edge rusher in the draft class, Jared Verse, and his college teammate, the incredibly explosive and flexible defensive tackle Braden Fiske. Pairing these two already cohesive pass rushers to play alongside Kobie Turner, last year’s defensive runner-up, will allow your defensive line to hit the ground running.
Additionally, the team added two depth pieces on Day 3 in defensive end Brennan Jackson and defensive tackle Tyler Davis, turning a positional unit that may have been a weakness into one of the strongest parts of the Rams’ roster this year and in the future. .
Many around the league and those covering the draft expected the Steelers to address their offensive line needs early in the draft. But I don’t think anyone expected how much they wanted to renovate their unit.
The Steelers drafted not one, not two, but THREE offensive linemen in the first four rounds of the draft, potentially adding their left tackle (Troy Fautanu), left guard (Mason McCormick) and center (Zach Frazier) of the future in one draft. , although there is some wiggle room over exactly where each of these three will play out.
And that’s just a step up from the Steelers drafting Broderick Jones in the first round to be one of their offensive tackles. In just two years, the Steelers could have four of their five starting offensive linemen selected from just those two draft classes.
It was no surprise that the Jets used their first-round pick to bolster their offense and help Aaron Rodgers. But it was a surprise that the Jets used not one but four of their first five draft picks on the offensive side of the ball.
They started with their left tackle of the future (and potentially their 2024 season left guard) in Olu Fashanu, but then added Malachi Corley, an impact perimeter and potentially slot receiver with incredible run-after-catch ability for Aaron Rodgers and Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis in the fourth and fifth rounds to add to their already strong running back slot.
The offensive line, receiver and running back were already strong positions heading into the year based on their previous draft picks and 2023 and 2024 off-season signings, but it’s clear the Jets trust their defense and know that everyone Their available assets need to make sure that Aaron Rodgers will remain healthy and be able to lead them to the promised land this season.
