Buccaneers

Despite the addition of Al-Quadin Muhammad, the Buccaneers could still use a long-term edge rusher, considering only YaYa Diaby had more than three sacks for Tampa Bay last season. Buccaneers GM Jason Licht admits they could use help on the defensive side of the ball, but prefers to stick to the best-player-available strategy in the draft.

“We do see that there is a need for help there on the defensive side, for sure,” Licht said, via Kevin Patra of NFL.com. “I’ve had conversations with (coach) Todd (Bowles) a lot about this over the years, the last couple of years. He hates the word ‘defensive-minded’ head coach. He proved to me last year where he wasn’t upset with taking Emeka (Egbuka) where he says you have to take the best player that helps you win games, period. So, I’m very fortunate to have a head coach that feels that way when we work together to make these decisions.”

“I feel like I’ve said this every year, you can never go wrong with taking the best player. You’re going to be happy at some point that you did instead of trying to force a pick.”

Falcons

Falcons GM Ian Cunningham believes that DT Maason Smith is a better fit for DC Jeff Ulbrich‘s defense than former DT Ruke Orhorhoro.

“I’ve evaluated him for a while, since his time at LSU,” Cunningham said, via Falcons Wire. “Obviously, everybody knows the measurables, but he’s a player who can play nose tackle and 3-tech for us. We really are excited about him in an attacking front and being able to get upfield. He’s strong, he’s physical. We’re excited about his upside and getting him with coach Ulbrich.”

Panthers

Panthers executive vice president of football operations Brandt Tilis said the player evaluation process hasn’t changed, but they’ve learned from past mistakes to refine their approach.

“I don’t know that the process has changed, but I think our understanding of what’s working and what’s not working has gotten better, so we have more understanding of that,” Tilis said, via The Charlotte Observer. “So, we’re looking for play style, right? We’re looking for passion in the game. Love of football — those things. And I think that just flows from what universally works in football, but also what kinds of people we need to bring in that Dave and his staff can get the most out of.”

Morgan added that the team hopes to phase itself out of free agency and use cap space on homegrown talent.

“In a perfect scenario, down the road, we hit on our draft picks, we’re extending our draft picks and not paying free agents,” Morgan said. “But we’re still kind of in that world right now, and hopefully here in the foreseeable future we’ll be paying our draft picks.”

Panthers OLB Jaelan Phillips was a big-ticket addition for Carolina this offseason. Morgan added that he can rush the passer from multiple positions and is a three-down player.

“We felt like having a guy like Jaelen — who can play the run, can rush the passer, he can rush inside, he can rush outside — it just made too much sense for us, and (he’s) not a guy that we wanted to lose out on,” Morgan said.

Tilis added that the team believes they can find an impact player at 19 and likes the depth of this draft.

“We’re not sitting there at 19 saying like, ‘Damn, I wish we were picking (at) eight,’” Tilis said. “We’re sitting there at 19 saying, ‘We’re gonna get a good player at 19, and he’s gonna help us.’”