The NFL Draft begins in Las Vegas April 28.
NFL teams will enter the 2022 Draft hoping their picks become players that help bring Super Bowl titles.
There are teams with multiple first-round picks next week that will have to hit in order to return to playoff contention. NFL analyst Brian Baldinger told Fox News Digital in a recent interview he sees the New York Jets and New York Giants as two of those teams.
“The Jets. I mean there are so many teams that have multiple first-round draft picks, and they need to hit,” Baldinger said. “The Jets have to get out of the cellar they’ve been in, and they’ve got to start striking gold on these picks.
“The New York Giants. They’re on another head coach, another general manager, trying to get into the race. They’ve got to strike. You’re sitting there at (picks) 5 and 7.”
The Jets have not made the postseason since 2010. New York drafted Zach Wilson with the No. 2 pick last year and needs to start building talent around him to help make him successful. The Jets have the Nos. 4 and 10 picks in the first round.
The Giants have only made the postseason once since winning the 2012 Super Bowl. New York is on head coach No. 4 in Brian Daboll after the Tom Coughlin era ended following the 2015 season. The Giants have five consecutive losing seasons.
Baldinger told Fox News Digital he sees the Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints as two other teams that need to get back into winning shape, starting with their selections next week. The Eagles have picks 15 and 18 while the Saints have picks 16 and 19.
“The New Orleans Saints have two first-round picks. The Eagles have two first-round picks. It’s either you want to get out of the basement that some of these teams are in, or you want to get out of mediocrity like the Eagles and who the Saints are right now. You’ve got to hit,” the NFL Network analyst said. “And if you can, the way Cincinnati has, maybe you can be Cincinnati. And maybe you can go from the cellar where they’ve been to a Super Bowl run, which they just did.”
The Saints are still trying to sort out their post-Drew Brees and post-Sean Payton era, so striking big in the draft will be huge. The Eagles have great young talents in quarterback Jalen Hurts and receiver Devonta Smith and building around those two will be crucial.
Baldinger, who has a partnership with CoachTube, a platform that provides online sports coaching and training from former college and professional coaches and players, played in the NFL as an offensive lineman for 11 years. He played for the Eagles, Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys from 1982 to 1993.
