6 NFL teams that cannot afford to mess up 2023 NFL Draft ft. Jim Irsay’s Colts
The 2023 NFL draft is a little over a week away and teams have been frantically preparing. There are a lot of impact players in this draft class, so a lot of teams are salivating at the idea of adding a few of them to their roster. A few teams have quite a few picks to make and are feeling confident.
Other teams don't have as many or the picks they have are far more crucial to land. It's not as imperative for some teams to nail every single pick as it is for others. Here's the teams are under the most pressure.
NFL teams that cannot afford to miss in the 2023 NFL Draft
6) New York Jets
The New York Jets will probably get Aaron Rodgers by the 2023 NFL draft, so they likely won't need to take a quarterback. However, they still need to hit on their picks. Rodgers is somewhat moody, so they need to surround him with the best possible team. He likely wants to win a Super Bowl, so the Jets need to nail their picks to get the team as close to that level as possible to ensure he wants to stay in the future.
5) Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are the defending Super Bowl champions, so they're probably not under all that much pressure. However, they lost Orlando Brown Jr. and have nothing in the wide receiver department. If anyone can survive that, it's Patrick Mahomes. However, the Chiefs need to make it as easy on him as possible in the draft. That's easier said than done when a team mostly picks last in a round.
4) Atlanta Falcons
The NFC South is wide open. The Atlanta Falcons were in the division race for a long time last season and they have a few pieces to build around. The rest of the division is very weak, even after the New Orleans Saints added Derek Carr. If the Falcons can nail their picks, quarterback or not, they have a real shot at contending.
3) Arizona Cardinals
It's not often that a team picking in the top three isn't in need of a quarterback, but that's what has happened with the Arizona Cardinals. With a new head coach, they need to nail this draft. Next season, when Kyler Murray is healthy, it's unlikely that they'll be this bad again. This might be the highest pick they have in a while, so it's imperative that they do it right.
2) Indianapolis Colts
There is arguably not a single team in the 2023 NFL draft that has been searching for a quarterback as aggressively as the Indianapolis Colts. When Andrew Luck retired, they began a cycle with Jacoby Brissett. They tried Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz, Matt Ryan and Sam Ehlinger. They need to get a quarterback and they need to get a good one.
1) Carolina Panthers
The pressure is always high when a team is picking number one. The Carolina Panthers need a quarterback and unlike other teams, they have their pick. They have to land it, because if they traded D.J. Moore and a ton of draft picks to select the wrong quarterback, it will set them back significantly. Additionally, their free agent signings (Adam Thielen, Miles Sanders, Hayden Hurst) suggest that they are just a quarterback away. It'd be best to draft the right one.