Post Draft NFL Team Rankings
Written by Nolan Thomas, Saturday May 09 2009
Now that the 2009 NFL draft is over, I have realized that there are some teams out there that have made some significant improvements through free agency and the draft. Then again, some teams have not and they still do not think much of it. To each their own, I guess.
Therefore, I think there are five teams that I believe should show improvement from last year, and for a variety of reasons.
There is no specific order of who improved the most, but here are the five teams I believe will show a noticeable improvement in 2009. Not necessarily enough for a Super Bowl run mind you, although anything is possible, but improvement nonetheless.
The Philadelphia Eagles have added veteran tackles Stacy Andrews and Jason Peters, as well as tight end Cornelius Ingram on offense and defensive backs Ellis Hobbs and Sean Jones. In the draft they added speedy playmakers in Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy. Donavan McNabb must be drooling at the thought of the possibilities to come this season.
The Chicago Bears got significantly better with the acquisition of quarterback Jay Cutler. They also made key improvements on the offensive line in acquiring offensive linemen, Orlando Pace, Kevin Shaffer, Frank Omiyale, and last years #1 pick Chris Williams is healthy this season. That is a big improvement over the turnstiles that they had last year. Cutler is also much better at avoiding the rush and making plays on the run then either Kyle Orton or Rex Grossman ever were.
The Seattle Seahawks acquired much needed size for the defensive line in acquiring Cory Redding and big boy Colin Cole. Wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh was a huge acquisition. Getting Ken Lucas back at right corner after four years with the Panthers adds size to the secondary. In addition, having Hasselback healthy again behind center is a big boost as well.
The New England Patriots will improve for two reasons. Bill Belichick worked his magic again on draft day to enable the Patriots to add a lot of depth to the squad and the main reason, Tom Brady will be back behind the center.
The Detroit Lions only have one way to go and this is up. I would have to say that you cannot get any worse then a 0-16 season, so even if they only have one or two victories it will be an improvement. Although, I would not be surprised to see the Lions win 6-7 games this season.
With that all said, here is my post draft rankings of all the teams.
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2 comments
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I said it to Peter King, I'll say it to you... If you can't understand what Eric Mangini is doing in Cleveland, then you don't understand professional football and what it takes to build a competitive team. No way will the Browns be the worst team in the NFL this year. Don't repsond, just watch.
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Solid reasoning with Green Bay, but I think they'll show improvements. Has every team that switched added what will likely be a pro bowl NT and a solid OLB during the off season as well? I think they should have been in your five changed teams up top really. Same with Buffalo, although the division they're in will hurt them a great deal since despite their improvements I just don't see them taking down NE, NYJ, or Miami, maybe one game against one of those teams, but that won't be enough to push them too far up the rankings or earn them a playoff spot. That being said, the future battles for the top spot in the AFC East, at least as things look now, should involve Buffalo and the Jets as they both have great young talents on their team.