2012 NFL Free Agents: Teams Desperately in Need of Big-Time Defenders

There is one thing that every team in the league with needs on the defensive side of the ball have in common: a desire to sign Mario Williams.

Seriously, you can never have enough pass-rushers in today's NFL.

While all the hoopla and excitement of the soon-to-be free agency extravaganza is centered around Peyton Manning right now, there are several other big name players on the market who will command serious attention.

One such player is Mario Williams, a former No. 1 overall pick entering the prime of his career. He wasn't retained in Houston because he would cost too much money—and because the Texans made the postseason without him—and now he'll soon be even more sought after than Peyton.

While nearly every team in the league would be foolish to pass up an opportunity to land Mario Williams, there are a few that desperately need him, or the guy after him and the guy after him, to have any success in 2012.

Seattle Seahawks

Pete Carroll has done a great job building a young, stingy team with a ton of potential for growth and they're only a few players away from truly competing in the NFC West.

One of those positions may or may not be quarterback, depending on how you feel about Tarvaris "Third and Long" Jackson, but there is no denying that they'd love another 4-3 pass-rusher with size and speed.

Williams is exactly that, and would help a Seahawks team that recorded a mediocre-to-average number of sacks in 2011 with 33.

Their secondary has talent and they have a number of players they really like, but they're missing a star player opposite Chris Clemons in the front four.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

What did the Bucs do well defensively last year? Oh, that's right, absolutely nothing.

New coach Greg Schiano is going to fix that as he's a defensive-oriented guy, but it isn't going to happen overnight and they are without a superstar at every level of the defense.

They could chase a cornerback like Cortland Finnegan or Brandon Carr—although they should get a crack at Morris Claiborne in the draft—but they also recorded a league-low 23 sacks last season. The second worst team had five more, nearly 25-percent of all the Bucs' sacks, than Tampa.

It is safe to say they need multiple new players and hopefully one of them is a big target.

New England Patriots

With the season on the line, Belichick was forced to play one of his receivers, Julian Edelman, in the secondary like he did with Troy Brown years ago. While it seems brilliant when it works, a coach would much rather have talent to choose from that actually plays the position.

The Pats not only need help in the secondary, though, they need some serious help getting after the quarterback.

They recorded 40 sacks on the year, but the pass rush was nonexistent when it mattered most. 

Adding a top-tier pass-rusher to a front seven that includes the games most versatile interior force in Vince Wilfork has to be a priority.