NFL Draft 2012: Biggest Draft Needs for Both Super Bowl Teams

The New England Patriots and New York Giants aren't thinking about the NFL draft right now. The only thing that matters is the Super Bowl.

It's just a matter of time before this all changes, of course. After the Super Bowl is over, the loser will start thinking of ways to get good enough to win the blasted thing, and the winner will start thinking of ways to get even better.

In April, both teams will look to make good on their plans at the draft.

We don't need to wait until the Super Bowl is over to discuss how the Patriots and Giants can get better. Their flaws already stand out, and both teams would be wise to fix them in the draft.

Let's take a look at these teams' biggest needs.

New England Patriots

Wide Receiver

Wes Welker is outstanding and Deion Branch is solid, but aside from them the Patriots don't have much at wide receiver. To make matters worse, both Welker and Branch are only signed through this season.

It's a good bet the Pats will bring Welker back, and Branch may also be willing to come back, but it couldn't hurt to go out and draft another wide receiver. Ideally, the Pats will find a receiver with speed who could hit a few home runs throughout the course of the season.

Kendall Wright, Jarius Wright and Joe Adams are just a couple names that come to mind.

Defensive Line Help

New England's defensive line has played very well this postseason, but the Pats are undermanned on their D-line and they could use a little more talent.

The key question is which formation the Pats are going to use next season. Will they go 3-4 or 4-3? That's something even Bill Belichick probably doesn't know yet. 

Drafting a player (or players) who could work in both schemes would be a wise plan. Guys like Devon Still and Jared Crick should be considered as legit possibilities.

Pass-Rusher

The Patriots got good production out of Andre Carter and Mark Anderson in 2011, as they combined for 20 sacks.

Still, the Pats finished in the middle of the pack in sacks in 2011, and the pass rush they were able to generate wasn't good enough to offset their awful secondary. Adding another pass-rusher can only help the problem.

This will depend entirely on who's available. There are some pretty good pass-rushing specialists in the draft, but they'll probably be out of reach. The Pats may be forced to look for sleepers later in the draft.

Secondary Depth

New England's secondary is awful. Plain and simple. It's somewhat of a miracle that the Pats have made it as far as the Super Bowl.

At the very least, the Pats will need to add a cornerback or two, and they may even be on the lookout for potential starters.

The Pats need help at safety too. They could use new starters at both strong safety and free safety, as the guys they've used this season probably shouldn't be starting in the NFL. I personally think they could look into getting both Mark Barron and Markelle Martin, the two top safeties in the 2012 draft class.

New York Giants

Tight End

The Giants are pretty well set on offense, but they could stand to add a tight end. Jake Ballard had a fine season, but he's really all the Giants have at the tight end spot.

They just need to draft for depth, perhaps targeting a pass-catching specialist. There will be some intriguing options on the board in that regard.

It may be a minor need, but it's a need all the same.

Offensive Linemen

The Giants have gotten by with an offensive line that consists of spare parts that seem to be constantly moving.

Hey, it's worked. And surprisingly, the Giants' O-line has been better than it has any right to be.

The Giants would be wise not to push their luck. There are going to be some pretty good offensive linemen on the board on draft day. At the very least, the Giants should look to add some depth.

Linebacker Depth

Middle linebacker has been a problem area for New York's defense. The Giants have settled on Chase Blackburn, but they shouldn't view him as a long-term answer.

The Giants need to find one of those in the draft, preferably in the first round. They don't need to look for a superstar, just somebody who could step in and perform on a consistent basis.

I personally like Luke Kuechly as a fit for the Giants. He's not a great athlete by any means and he doesn't project as a star in the NFL, but he's a tackling machine. That's good enough.

Secondary Help

The Giants secondary got a lot better as it continued to get healthier throughout the course of the season but, as a whole, it's still a subpar unit.

The Giants added a good young piece when they drafted Prince Amukamara in the first round in 2011. They don't need to go looking for another young starter, but adding a young corner or two to their depth chart would be ideal.

The G-Men are able to get by with their secondary because of their defensive line. Just imagine how scary this team would be if its secondary was as good as its D-line.