NFL Draft 2012: San Francisco 49ers and Playoff Teams with Big Holes to Fill

The San Francisco 49ers were as close as a team could get to advancing to the Super Bowl without actually getting there, but that doesn't mean they don't have a giant hole to fill. 

They aren't the only playoff team with a gaping hole that needs to be addressed. In a sense, this is good news for these teams. They have an offseason to shore up this weakness and come back a stronger unit.

They should all have a clear idea of what needs to improve, and they have plenty of time and avenues to correct it. 

49ers

The 49ers have one giant glaring weakness, and that is at wide receiver. Michael Crabtree is a solid option, but he is not a deep threat. 

They need someone that can take the top off the defense and stretch the field (Crabtree was the only receiver with more than 20 catches for the season).

This will help them in all phases of their offense. It will prevent safeties sneaking into the box, which will open things up for the ground game, and it will also limit the amount of attention that an opposing defense can pay to TE Vernon Davis. 

San Francisco could also use a No. 2 corner, and an improvement at right tackle. But these are areas they have shown they can compensate for. They absolutely should not be viewed as big a need as WR. 

They also may want to find a backup punt returner! 

Packers

The Packers defense suffered a shocking dropoff this past season. This was an especially huge problem on the passing defense. They were 32nd in the league in passing yards allowed, and they were 30th in yards allowed per attempt. 

They helped mask this problem with a ball hawking secondary, but they cannot continue to allow such big chunks of yardage in the passing game. 

They can bolster their secondary, but what will help even more is beefing up their pass rush. They finished tied for 27th in sacks. 

Clay Matthews led the team with just six sacks. He was slowed down due to constant double teams and some nagging injuries. 

The Packers need to find someone to team up with Matthews to be a legitimate pass rusher. This will bring a real sack threat on the other side and limit the amount of attention opposing teams can pay to Matthews. 

Patriots

New England made it all the way to the Super Bowl, and to be honest they had no business making it that far with their gaping holes. 

The Patriots must add another receiver. They masked this deficiency with two very productive TEs. They had a dynamic passing attack, but as they showed in the Super Bowl, they can quickly become pedestrian when one of their TEs is slowed by injury. 

Much like the 49ers, the Patriots need a WR that can stretch the field. They did not have this threat this season, and it allowed defenses to close in on the line of scrimmage. With a deep threat this offense will have a plethora of options presenting itself. 

The other big hole is in the secondary. That unit was a patchwork group. Things were so bad that Julian Edelman, a college QB drafted to play WR, was forced into action as the primary nickel corner. 

It should go without saying that this is less than ideal, and the Patriots must upgrade at corner.