2012 NFL Draft: 7 Teams That Should Already Be Planning for It

Thanksgiving festivities are finished and so are the playoff dreams of several NFL teams after Week 12.

These teams will now shift their focus from the playoffs to the upcoming offseason as they play out the remainder of the 2011 season.

The reality of the NFL is that all 32 general managers and their scouting staffs have already started assembling their draft boards. The seven teams on this list should now go into full-blown preparation mode as they transition into the offseason.

Even though the coaches and players will be focusing on the final five weeks of the season, how the front office plans for the draft will have a profound impact on the upcoming season and seasons into the future.

Being able to make the correct educated guess—because that's really what drafting is—that could change your franchise for a decade takes an incredible amount of research and common sense as well.

Washington Redskins (4-7)

Mike Shanahan has placed the ball back into Rex Grossman's hands in recent weeks, but a solution to what seems like a perennial quarterback problem is still begging to be found.

The Washington Redskins have two quarterbacks who should be professional backups versus a starting quarterback in the NFL.

In a division with Tony Romo, Eli Manning and Michael Vick, the Redskins must draft a franchise quarterback that can withstand the tumultuous NFC East division.

Shanahan should be advised come next April to draft one of the top three or four quarterbacks, if they aren't all taken before their selection. 

In a league skewed toward the offense, it would behoove Washington to gamble on a Matt Barkley or Robert Griffin III.

If Shanahan and his staff take a step back and realize the shift in power that is taking place in their own conference, they'll notice even the mediocre NFC teams have promising quarterbacks.

Teams like the Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and St. Louis Rams all believe they have recently drafted a quarterback that could be their franchise guy for the next decade. It's time for the Washington Redskins to wise up and do the same.

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns need help on the offensive side of the ball.

Mike Holmgren and his staff need to provide Colt McCoy with weapons on the outside.

In a division with three stout defenses, the Browns will continue to be mediocre until they can add some quality talent to their middling offense.

McCoy has shown flashes of what he could be in the future, but that will mean nothing if the Browns do not provide the young quarterback with weapons.

With players like Justin Blackmon and Alshon Jeffery expected to enter the 2012 NFL draft, Cleveland could pick up a go-to guy for McCoy.

If either of those two players fall to the Browns, they should grab either one of them without hesitation. Greg Little simply isn't your playmaker on the outside.

Philadelphia Eagles

Several Philadelphia Eagles fans will be wondering if they can draft a new head coach or defensive coordinator.

Unfortunately, that's not how things work in the NFL.

There's an incredible amount of things wrong with this team—the head coach, defensive scheme, diva wide receiver and linebackers. Among several other glaring problems, all of those need to be fixed during the offseason.

Of those, only the linebacker and wide receiver positions can be fixed in the draft.

Philadelphia's defense installed the wide nine technique to suit their Pro Bowl defensive linemen. What they didn't do was address their small linebacking corps that would be forced to plug the middle of the defense.

Unless Philadelphia gets three or four wins out of their final five games, the Eagles will have a chance to draft a future Pro Bowl-caliber linebacker with their first-round pick.

Dont'a Hightower, Manti Te'o and Luke Kuechly could all be viable draftees to help patch up the Eagles defense.

That, of course, would require Andy Reid to kick his own philosophy of not drafting linebackers early in the draft.

Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins have been competitive all season despite their 3-8 record.

Prior to Thanksgiving Day, the Dolphins were riding an impressive three-game winning streak.

A large part of the winning streak had to do with the play of Miami's quarterback Matt Moore.

However, a three-week stretch does not mean that the Dolphins have solved their ever-present quarterback problem.

Tony Sparano remains a dead man walking, and Miami still needs a franchise quarterback they can build around for the next decade.

They may have lost out on the "Suck for Luck" sweepstakes because of their recent winning ways, but there are a few quarterbacks coming out after this season who could help Miami. The Dolphins have plenty of talent on offense that would enable a talented young rookie to succeed early.

Matt Barkley, Robert Griffin III and Landry Jones would all be respectable draft choices if the Dolphins were to draft one of them.

They may not be Andrew Luck, but in any other draft these guys would be the headliners.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Similar to the Miami Dolphins, the Jacksonville Jaguars need to find a franchise quarterback.

They drafted Blaine Gabbert in the first round of the 2011 season, but he has yet to impress.

Even though it's still very early, Gabbert's play has been timid and nothing noteworthy.

Unlike a Colt McCoy or Christian Ponder—who have shown flashes of promise—Gabbert has forced Jack Del Rio to sit the young quarterback more than once, including late in the fourth quarter on Sunday.

Jacksonville has a fairly solid defense and a stud running back that the offense is built around, but still lack a qualified signal-caller. Neither Luke McCown nor Blaine Gabbert seem to be a guy that the team could build around for the future.

With a handful of seemingly pro-ready quarterbacks entering the draft, the Jaguars will be stuck thinking long and hard whether or not they should draft another quarterback and admit they swung and missed on the last one.

Minnesota Vikings

Unlike several of the teams listed on this slideshow, the Minnesota Vikings have seemingly found their quarterback of the future.

Christian Ponder's play has been solid and filled with the usual rookie mistakes—however, it has vindicated Minnesota's gamble on the rookie from Florida State.

In a division with the Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears, the Vikings will be hard-pressed to win games if they cannot score points.

They already contain the league's best running back but need to add more weapons on the outside to their offensive arsenal.

Percy Harvin has been relatively injury-free this season, but the wide receiver is injury-prone due to uncontrollable migraines. Lest we remind you that the Vikings play in a dome—for now—and the migraines could arise at any time.

Adding a second option to the Vikings offense on the outside would make Minnesota a defensive coordinator's nightmare.

Two legitimate threats on the outside that must be accounted for, with the most dangerous running back in the NFL standing in the backfield. Yikes.

Indianapolis Colts

For all of you reading this, take the Indianapolis Colts and use their 2011 season as a life lesson—don't put all your eggs in one basket.

That's exactly what the Indianapolis front office did for the last decade, and it has finally come to bite them.

Given Peyton Manning's nearly pristine injury record—compared to most quarterbacks—since joining the NFL, the Colts front office never invested in a backup quarterback.

For that matter, they never invested in talent that could play without Manning putting them where they needed to be.

It's hard to blame them for falling into that trap, but look at them now at 0-11.

Regardless of Peyton Manning's return, the Colts must draft Andrew Luck with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft. There's no feasible way you can justify passing on the highly touted quarterback out of Stanford.

Even if Manning does play two or three more seasons at the highest level, Luck could earn his Ph.D in quarterbacking. Just look at how that turned out for Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.