Now that free agency is underway, teams throughout the NFL are searching for players to sign, as another year of football will be underway before we know it.
Denver looked to beef up its defense and cut some of its fans’ most beloved players with Champ Bailey and Eric Decker, but the Broncos added Aquib Talib, Demarcus Ware and T.J. Ward. As the storm of free agency has begun to settle, many big names found new teams: Darrelle Revis became a Patriot, Jared Allen went to Chicago, and Steve Smith is now in Baltimore.
But those changes won’t be the only new faces in the NFL next season.
This year’s draft is full of talent — and some could bring massive change to the NFL next year. The Brady, Manning and Brees eras are nearing their ends, and the need for new, younger quarterbacks is quickly on the rise. The fast paced-style of Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick is showing to be how to win championships.
Johnny Manziel, Teddy Bridgewater and Blake Bortles are all available, so three teams will likely draft the three quarterbacks in the first round.
Those players could cause huge shake-ups in the NFL; Manziel, who loves to run, could be paired up with superstar running back Adrian Peterson in Minnesota. Speed and accuracy are important for quarterbacks, and this year’s draft shows at least two teams in Houston and Minnesota that could return to the playoffs if they choose one of the three.
But the draft doesn’t just hold a lot of promise for quarterbacks.
Wide receivers such as Oregon State’s Brandin Cooks and Clemson’s Sammy Watkins will most likely go to teams with quarterbacks who have had their fair share of experience.
If Cooks went to Seattle, his speed combined with Percy Harvin’s would make defenses struggle to contain the pair. Meanwhile, Watkins could go to Oakland, where he could help Matt Schaub, who helped take the team to postseason not too long ago, improve on longtime struggles.
The draft and free agency are hard to study and understand, and the what ifs and maybes of sports are always present, but this year’s draft talent could shake up the NFL in a way that would make the upcoming season very interesting.
@ PaulHolden33
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