2020 NFL Draft: Teams with glaring needs on Day 3

The second day of the 2020 NFL Draft is officially in the books. Now, it’s on to the third and final day. With most of the premier talent off the board at this point, rounds four through seven are mostly about rounding out the back-end of the roster. While there will be a handful of players who develop beyond expectations and become quality starters, most of the work is in finding quality depth. Simply put, day three isn’t a day for filling team needs beyond depth.

Most teams have done an adequate job using the first two days to address the glaring holes in their rosters. The Denver Broncos knew that they needed to get more weapons for their young, strong-armed quarterback. They did just that with the additions of wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and K.J. Hamler.

The Minnesota Vikings came into the 2020 NFL Draft with significant holes on both sides of the ball, namely at wide receiver and cornerback. Stefon Diggs left the team in a trade to the Buffalo Bills, and corner has been an issue in Minnesota for years. Their front office identified the need and brought in Justin Jefferson, Jeff Gladney, and Cameron Dantzler. All three should immediately improve the roster for the Vikings.

However, there are always teams who look back at the first two days and regret not filling a major need. For some teams, it’s because they had a premium talent fall into their laps that they simply couldn’t pass up. Other organizations just didn’t have the draft capital to address all of their needs.

Before we move on to the third day of the 2020 NFL Draft and put a bow on this wonderful event, let’s reflect on who still has some severe holes in the roster.

Las Vegas Raiders

The Oakland Raiders have moved to Las Vegas. This year’s draft was supposed to be their spotlight. A chance for a new beginning in a different city. Things didn’t go quite to plan on that front, as the NFL ended up holding their first virtual draft this season. Things may also not have gone quite as planned for the Raiders, as there are still some glaring team needs heading to day three.

Make no mistake about it, the Raiders absolutely got better in this draft. Their inclusion here isn’t meant to diminish what they accomplished in the first two days. Drafting wide receivers Henry Ruggs III, Lynn Bowden, and Bryan Edwards makes them a better team. That offense has improved and given weapons to their quarterback. But when you take three players at the same position in one draft, you’re likely ignoring a glaring need elsewhere.

The Raiders entered the draft with needs on the defense behind their front four. In the first round, the team addressed their need for a cornerback with Damon Arnette, and they addressed the demand in the secondary with Tanner Muse on day two. But the team also has a need at linebacker that wasn’t addressed. Muse could potentially drop down from safety to play linebacker, but it’s not his natural position. Opportunities were there for the Raiders to take a linebacker instead of taking another wide receiver. In a class that was deep on WR talent and rather thin at LB, this may come back to haunt them.

The other primary need the Raiders are putting off until day three is a quarterback. Las Vegas has made it clear they have reservations about Derek Carr as the future of the franchise with the signing of Marcus Mariota. Mariota, a former second-overall selection, has questions in his own right after his unceremonious exit from Tennessee. Lucky for the Raiders, there’s still plenty of QB talent on the board on day three to fill this team need. Look for guys like Jacob Eason and Jake Fromm to come off the board early tomorrow.

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers have been one of the most puzzling teams so far in the NFL Draft. They are a perennial playoff team, but one who is aging and needs to re-tool for their All-Pro quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, to make one more Super Bowl run. The Packers came into the NFL Draft with needs for depth along the offensive line, a legitimate pass-catching threat to pair with Davante Adams, and at linebacker.

With their first pick, the Packers selected quarterback Jordan Love from Utah State. Love has a cannon for an arm and has arguably the highest ceiling of any QB in this class. But he’s a project who will likely sit on the bench for two to three years behind Rodgers. On day two of the NFL Draft, Green Bay took running back A.J. Dillon. Dillon won’t be a starter, either, sitting behind incumbent RB Aaron Jones. Dillon also does not provide the team much, if anything, in the passing game. Another questionable pick.

With their second pick on day two, Green Bay took a pass catcher. But instead of taking one at wide receiver, which they desperately needed, they opted for Cincinnati tight end Josiah Deguara. Green Bay lost starting tight end Jimmy Graham in the offseason but drafted Jace Sternberger in last year’s draft. With Sternberger coming back off injury and the glaring need at WR, this is another head-scratcher.

New England Patriots

It’s the beginning of a new era in Foxboro, Massachusetts. For so long, Tom Brady has been synonymous with the New England Patriots. He, along with head coach Bill Belichick, led the team to six Super Bowl titles and presided over one of the longest, most dominant dynasties in NFL history.

While Belichick remains at the helm for New England, Brady doesn’t. Tom has moved on to Tampa Bay and has taken former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski with him in the process. This left the Patriots with a massive hole at both quarterback and tight end heading into the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Patriots knew they had a need at the tight end position. Their moves on day two reflect as much. They made not one, but two draft-day trades to move up and select tight ends. However, the moves they made were confusing at best, as were the picks. The Patriots, not typically one to give away capital, traded several picks to draft Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene.

It’s unlikely that either Asiasi or Keene would have been taken in round three, and New England gave away multiple picks to come up and draft both players. A move unlike most that Belichick makes on draft days. In doing so, they also completely ignored the need for a quarterback. Most believed New England would have their eyes on Jordan Love or Jalen Hurts. Now the Patriots are left to fill this glaring team need on day three. Like Las Vegas, Jacob Eason and Jake Fromm would make sense for New England.