NFL Draft 2012: Patriots, Chargers and Eagles Instantly Upgrade Their Defense

With all the defensive talent that flew off the board in the 2012 NFL draft, a few teams will take on the upcoming season with a vastly better defense. 

We'll see this in Week 1 and, if they are fortunate enough to stay relatively healthy, improvement will be even more prominent as the season rolls on. 

Here are three teams that fall into this category. 

New England Patriots

The Patriots made it to the Super Bowl last year despite allowing the second most yards in the NFL during the regular season. This is a defense that needed an upgrade and, given their lack of talent on the defensive side of the ball, that wasn't an incredibly difficult task. 

They succeeded on that front, bringing in a substantial increase in defensive talent. They made two trades to move up in the first round to grab DE Chandler Jones and LB Dont'a Hightower.

They didn't stop there. In Rounds 2 and 3, the Patriots spent their next two picks on defense as well with S Tavon Wilson and B Jake Bequette . 

Jones and Hightower will surely start right away and there is a chance that all of these guys will end up starting before the end of the season. 

Now more athletic and potent than before the draft, no team improved their defense more than the Pats. 

Overall Draft Grade: B+

San Diego Chargers

The Chargers have some nice defensive pieces in place from last year and finished a completely average 16th in yards allowed last season. They will be better this year. 

More than anything, the Chargers needed to add an increased pass rush and some muscle up front. 

And they certainly accomplished that. The team got a great value and fit with their first pick in OLB Melvin Ingram—one of the more accomplished pass rushers in the 2012 draft.

With their next pick, they added some nice muscle to their defensive line with DE Kendall Reyes. 

The Chargers didn't stop there, either. With their next pick, they scored another great value with S Brandon Taylor, who has a shot to be the team's starting strong safety. 

The Chargers managed to fill needs and get great value while doing it. 

Overall Draft Grade: A

Philadelphia Eagles

Last season, the Eagles had a solid year on defense, finishing eighth in yards allowed. However, they had to add some talent up front and identified the perfect player.

The Eagles had their sights set on DT Fletcher Cox and traded up to get him. Cox is an absolutely perfect fit for the Eagles' wide-nine defensive scheme. 

Philadelphia had two second-round picks and spent them both on defense. They grabbed LB Mychal Kendricks and DE Vinny Curry. Both were solid value picks and will help reshape this team's front seven. 

Now, the Eagles have a downright scary pass rushing defense.

Overall Draft Grade: B+