Every team will have to balance its draft boards with team needs when making selections in the 2017 NFL draft, and there's no question that in many cases, teams will choose to take the highest-ranked prospect on the board, even if they don't necessarily have a weakness at that position. But every year we see teams influenced by their biggest positions of need in deciding which players to pick.
That will be no different this year, so let's take a closer look at the five biggest needs (in order) for all 32 teams.
Note: Teams are listed in alphabetical order. To quickly get to your team, click on the links below.
ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN | CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND | JAC | KC | LAC | LAR | MIA | MIN | NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | OAK | PHI | PIT | SF | SEA | TB | TEN | WAS
Arizona Cardinals
Top needs: CB, QB, S, OG, WR
The Cardinals have Patrick Peterson at cornerback but not much else in the way of dependable playmakers after they lost Marcus Cooper (four interceptions) in free agency. Safeties Tony Jefferson and D.J. Swearinger are no longer with the team, which leaves another void in the secondary. Luckily for Arizona, this is a deep draft at both positions, particularly at cornerback. Quarterback should not be out of the question for the Cardinals in Round 1, with Carson Palmer now 37. They'd have the luxury of selecting a high-upside developmental QB such as Patrick Mahomes and letting him learn from Palmer while sitting on the bench for a few seasons.
Atlanta Falcons
Top needs: DE, OG, WR, OLB, CB
DE Adrian Clayborn ranked second on the team with 4.5 sacks, but he suffered a torn biceps in the playoffs. The good news is that Clayborn could be back for Week 1, but even if that turns out to be true, Atlanta is thin at defensive end. With the impact of free-agent center Alex Mack, the Falcons saw the value of solid interior offensive line play last season; they'll need to find someone to replace recently retired right guard Chris Chester. The best teams fill holes before they're huge worries, and I'd like to see Atlanta do that at wide receiver in the draft. Julio Jones isn't going anywhere, but Taylor Gabriel is entering a contract year, and Mohamed Sanu didn't light the world on fire in his first season with the Falcons (59 catches for 653 yards).