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Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen know they need to produce. More wins. Better draft picks. Improved quarterback production. The whole nine yards. This upcoming season must prove the Giants are headed in the right direction, or owner John Mara’s postseason decision on their fate could be different this time around.

It starts with the No. 3 overall pick in the draft. Have the Giants done enough at quarterback to pass on one there? Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston are in tow, along with Tommy DeVito. They’ve started three different QBs each of the past two seasons. There’s room for a developmental quarterback, even if one doesn’t come at three. If New York passes on one and selects a blue-chip talent such as Colorado’s Travis Hunter, it could be a franchise-changing decision. What would the plan be for Hunter: corner, receiver or both? The Giants certainly will try their best to put as much of Hunter's talent to work early if he is indeed the pick, but the plan in this scenario would be important and telling.

The Giants have five picks in the top 105 overall and can be aggressive. Whether that means trading up for a QB prospect (Shedeur Sanders? Jaxson Dart?) at some point along the way, or hoovering in as much ready-made talent as possible with those picks, they must be ready to strike when opportunities present themselves. 

There are voids on both lines of scrimmage and at linebacker, but what the G-Men lack most are playmakers. They ranked dead last in 20-yard pass plays last season and in the bottom five in defensive takeaways. Hunter could help both areas, but he can’t do it alone.

Cleveland secured a major victory when Myles Garrett withdrew his trade request and signed a four-year extension with the team. But there’s still a lot of work left to do, including addressing the game’s most important position. The Browns still don’t have a starting QB on the roster. Deshaun Watson has been the “big swing and miss” that has blighted the team’s plans. Kenny Pickett, who currently has one year left on his rookie contract, was added via trade this offseason. The Browns head toward the draft with a few different options. If they’re willing to wait until after the draft for a veteran -- such as Kirk Cousins -- they might also have to buttress that with a quarterback after Round 1. But will Cousins be amenable to joining that type of situation? 

How the Browns handle the No. 2 pick -- Abdul Carter? Travis Hunter? QB? -- will be crucial in determining whether the franchise can get back on course after a rough season that undercut the playoff appearance the year before. If it’s Carter, they have to clear any health concerns. With Hunter, the task becomes forming a proper development plan for him, either at wide receiver, cornerback or playing both, which requires careful planning from the coaching staff ahead of time.

Cleveland also could use immediate help at both running back and wide receiver. Furthermore, there are concerns at offensive tackle (where Dawand Jones is coming off surgery) and linebacker. The Browns have 10 picks, including five in the top 104 slots, but there are plenty of holes to fill.

There are teams that have more draft picks this year than the Titans, but no one arguably has more draft capital, starting with the No. 1 overall pick. It’s appearing more and more likely that one could be earmarked for Miami QB Cam Ward.

Had this year’s version of Ward been lumped with last year’s QB draft class, it’s hard to imagine he’d have been taken ahead of the first three picks (Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye). Instead, Ward more likely would have been battling for QB4 honors with the likes of Michael Penix Jr., J.J. McCarthy and Bo Nix. That’s not necessarily a knock on Ward, of course. Penix and McCarthy are set to start for their respective clubs, and Nix is coming off a strong rookie campaign, having led the Broncos back to the postseason for the first time in nearly a decade. But would Ward have as solid a foundation in Tennessee as Nix had during his debut season in Denver? That’s debatable.

The Titans still have plenty of other needs heading into the draft, including at wide receiver and on all three levels of the defense. They lack a third-rounder but do have multiple picks in Rounds 4, 5 and 6. Is that enough artillery to bolster a team that just won one home game (against the Patriots in overtime), one division game (in the lowly AFC South) and finished last season with six straight losses? We’ll see.

Over the past three drafts, the Dolphins have made only 15 selections -- the league average was more than 24 picks in this span -- and have only one clear hit (RB De’Von Achane) to show for it. Their go-for-broke approach to trade for Tyreek Hill, Bradley Chubb and Jalen Ramsey has resulted in a 28-23 record in Mike McDaniel’s three seasons and an 0-2 mark in the postseason. Injuries and depth problems have reared their ugly heads at the worst times.

Now the Dolphins must replace safety Jevon Holland, who left in free agency, and left tackle Terron Armstead, who retired. Miami has 10 picks this year, its most since the fruitful 2020 draft class, so there’s hope for talent replenishment.

But of those selections, seven come on Day 3 of the draft with three in Round 7. GM Chris Grier and his staff put together some strong draft classes from 2016 through 2021, but the returns have been meager since then. They must hit on more picks, starting with the 13th overall selection, and field a deeper, more competitive roster this year. Winning with this veteran corps in place -- and doing so with the title-contending Bills in the division -- might depend on it.

Indianapolis is playing up a Daniel Jones-Anthony Richardson QB battle this summer, and fans are seemingly ambivalent about the idea. If this is what it takes to coax out Richardson’s immense talent, and it works, that’s outstanding. But the Colts have to improve the offense around whichever quarterback wins that job.

You could reasonably argue Indy needs at least some help at every offensive position. The Colts have a full lot of picks, but no additional ones, and their first-rounder sits at No. 14. If they stay there, a lot of their top options might be off the board. The top tight end (Tyler Warren) could be gone. Two or three offensive linemen could go before that, with a starting job open at right guard. The draft should provide help for them at edge rusher and running back, but don’t forget the need at linebacker, too.

Chris Ballard is already facing some pressure amid Richardson’s stalled development, and the Colts have been stuck in the decent-but-hardly-great category for most of the general manager's tenure. The team generally has drafted respectably, but there have been few home run picks since the Jonathan Taylor-Michael Pittman Jr. class in 2020. Ballard really could use a strong haul -- not to mention Richardson winning the job -- this year.

This offseason, the Bengals started the ball rolling on something many thought would prove impossible: keeping the band together for another Super Bowl run. They’ve signed Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase to massive contract extensions and were still able to keep other key pieces in place. The core of a Super Bowl-caliber offense remains intact.

That’s the good news. The bad is that the defense was anything but Super Bowl-caliber last season. The hope is that new coordinator Al Golden can yield better results, and the Bengals have drafted quite a bit of defensive talent in recent years, even if it hasn’t all come together yet. Cincinnati’s offseason additions on defense (DL T.J. Slaton, LB Oren Burks) only move the needle so much. The Bengals also have two defensive starters, Trey Hendrickson and Germaine Pratt, who have requested trades. Hendrickson is the one to watch as we get closer to the draft, with tensions brewing on both sides. Could the Bengals end up trading him? Or is he the next star to cash in at home? This development certainly will have a huge impact on Cincy's draft path.

The Bengals have only six selections, starting with No. 17 overall, and have been among the least active trading teams on draft weekend during Duke Tobin’s tenure. And for as much as we talk about the defensive needs, there also are holes on the offensive line, with both starting guard spots arguably up for grabs. 

That’s a lot to figure out in the next few weeks. If the Bengals are going to jump back into the Super Bowl ring, they’ll have to execute this crucial phase of the offseason pretty deftly. 

Following a painful season that fell well short of expectations -- leading to new coordinators on offense, defense and special teams -- the 49ers' offseason has been a trying extension of the misery. The team traded Deebo Samuel and watched as several free agents, including Talanoa Hufanga, Charvarius Ward and Dre Greenlaw, walked in free agency. Both lines of scrimmage and the secondary were hit hard, but almost no position group was spared from some kind of attrition.

On top of that, the Niners' additions have been minimal while they discuss a massive extension for QB Brock Purdy a year before they truly have to. Getting that done in the short term likely will help the team down the road, but it has been frustrating to see an organization that typically has been aggressive in free agency be so passive while it tries to move the Purdy negotiations over the goal line.

The good news is that they own 11 selections (tied for the most for any team), including a pair of picks in Rounds 3, 4 and 5. Seven of their picks come on Day 3 of the draft, but that's actually where the 49ers have done some of their best work under John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan, reeling in the likes of Purdy, George Kittle, Jauan Jennings, Deommodore Lenoir, Hufanga and Greenlaw.

The oddity is that, even with obvious hits such as Nick Bosa, the 49ers' Round 1 returns have been far less enticing in the Lynch-Shanahan era. The No. 11 overall pick will be a key one, and the 49ers almost have to address either line of scrimmage. They have short- and long-term needs at offensive tackle and were gutted on the defensive line this offseason. San Francisco landed Defensive Rookie of the Year Patrick Willis with the 11th pick back in 2007. The Niners would love to find a similarly impactful prospect in that slot this time around.

It has been a strange few years for the Cowboys. The offseason passivity is nothing new -- just ask Dallas fans about it -- but that has led to growing frustration, especially after the rival Eagles dominated in the Super Bowl. A coaching change from Mike McCarthy to Brian Schottenheimer has only muddied the waters, even if it turns out to be the right move.

Taking care of the team's own stars has been a necessary measure, and that effort continues as the Cowboys try to lock up Micah Parsons long term with a contract that likely will set a record for non-QBs. So far, the most interesting moves the Cowboys have made have been of the low-risk, potentially high-reward variety, such as buying low on former higher picks like Kenneth Murray Jr., Kaiir Elam, Javonte Williams and Solomon Thomas and trading for Joe Milton. Expecting all those additions to hit would be specious, at best. The Cowboys still have some sizable holes on both sides of the ball. On defense, they might need more run stoppers and help in the secondary. On offense, they could use playmakers at running back and receiver.

The Eagles and Commanders are the current heavyweights of the division, while the Giants signed Russell Wilson and figure to be big players in the draft. The Cowboys must find ways to add talent between now and August to give Schottenheimer a chance Year 1.

There's hope with the turn to Michael Penix Jr. this season, though he has only made three ����������starts and remains a question until proven otherwise, even with a good offensive structure around him. But it has been a frustrating offseason to this point, coming off the franchise's seventh straight losing season in 2024. Atlanta released longtime favorite Grady Jarrett and hasn't made much noise in free agency. 

There's also the elephant in the quarterback room: Kirk Cousins and his unwieldy salary remaining on the roster, with Penix the anointed starter. It was an awkward situation last season, and it remains so. Could a team such as Cleveland unburden Atlanta of Cousins? Sure, but that might not happen until after the draft, when Cousins -- who has a no-trade clause -- can see what opportunities exist. Until then, the Falcons are limited with cap space and flexibility. 

That's why the draft feels like a last hope to add talent before training camp. The Falcons enter with only five selections, two of which are in Round 7. They lack picks in Rounds 3, 5 and 6. Even their first-rounder comes in at No. 15, which doesn't guarantee they'll land a ready-made talent.

The biggest issues appear to be on defense (although OT can't be ignored), and the Falcons risk falling even farther behind the Bucs in the NFC South. Raheem Morris might not be on the hot seat, but this will be a high-pressure draft for GM Terry Fontenot, his fifth in the captain's chair in Atlanta. The Falcons have hit on some of their higher picks, but it's been a bit of a mixed bag after that.