2012 NFL Mock Draft: Advice for Fixing League's Worst Defenses

The Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots boast arguably the two best offenses in the NFL and both are postseason-bound. 

Oddly enough, in terms of yardage, these two offensive powers have the two worst defenses in the NFL. 

I guess they're proving you can consistently win without a great defensive unit.

It definitely helps to have Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, right?

Regardless of each team's offensive success in this year's postseason, you better believe Bill Belichick and Green Bay defensive coordinator Dom Capers will be hell-bent on fixing their poor defenses. 

How can these clubs and the other well below-average teams fix their defenses heading into the 2012 season? 

New England Patriots

The Patriots are tough to figure out. 

They surrender an astoundingly bad 412 yards per game, but seemingly make all the big plays on defense when you need them. 

I'm a firm believer that the pass rush is the root of all good defenses, and New England has received great production from defense ends Mark Anderson (seven sacks) and Andre Carter (nine sacks) in that department. 

They've really struggled in their secondary, and a lot of their issues are due to injuries. 

Still, if I'm Bill Belichick, I make grabbing a cornerback or safety my top priority in next year's draft. Someone like Dre Kirkpatrick from Alabama or Nebraska's Alfonzo Dennard would be ideal in the late first or second round.

Julian Edelman has a been a great story, but he's not a cornerback.  

Overall, the Patriots are a solid drafting team, but they've had a few misses in recent years. 

I don't want to question their draft strategy, but if they have the 25th—or worse—pick in the first round, it wouldn't kill them to just make the selection there and not trade back. 

Green Bay Packers

On average, the Packers' opponents are accumulating nearly 293 yards through the air in 2011. 

Yikes. 

They've registered a respectable 26 sacks, so the pass rush hasn't been the biggest problem. 

Like New England, it's been in their secondary. 

The early-season injury to safety Nick Collins had a major ripple effect on the defense. 

Charles Woodson has incredibly pieced together another tremendous season with two sacks and six interceptions, but at 35, he is undoubtedly nearing the end of his career. 

I'd like to see them add either Dre Kirkpatrick or a more underrated corner, Chase Minnifield from Virginia. 

T.J. McDonald out of USC is a big, hard-hitting safety that could form a young and athletic safety duo with Morgan Burnett. 

Adding another pass-rusher that offensive lines have to account for wouldn't be a bad option, either. 

Ronnell Lewis from Oklahoma or Brandon Jenkins out of Florida State would benefit Clay Matthews. 

Are the missing Nick Barnett in the linebacking corp? 

Distinct possibility. 

Indianapolis Colts

Where to start with the Colts?

They've been atrocious in all facets of the game this year, obviously, but their defense has been especially concerning. 

The secondary has been shredded by essentially every quarterback it's faced (allowing a 109.2 QB rating) and the defensive line has rarely been able to get a push into the backfield to slow down opposing runners (allowing 144.2 rushing yards a game).

They've got to fix their run defense, first. 

A beefy, run-plugging nose tackle would go a long way. 

Maybe a prospect like Clemson's Brandon Thompson or Alabama's true nose tackle, Josh Thompson.

After that, they need some major upgrades in the defensive backfield. 

Second- to fourth-round prospects like Alfonzo Dennard or the bigger Stephon Gilmore from South Carolina would be ideal.

We all know they're taking Andrew Luck No. 1 overall, right? 

2012 NFL Mock Draft

1. Indianapolis Colts: Andrew Luck	17. Cincinnati Bengals: Lamar Miller
2. St. Louis Rams: Alshon Jeffery	18. Chicago Bears: Michael Floyd
3. Carolina Panthers: Matt Kalil	19. San Diego Chargers: David DeCastro
4. Washington Redskins: Robert Griffin III	20. Cleveland Browns: Nick Toon
5. Arizona Cardinals: Jonathan Martin	21. New York Giants: Janoris Jenkins
6. Minnesota Vikings: Morris Claiborne	22. New York Jets: Alameda Ta'Amu
7. Cleveland Browns: Vontaze Burfict	23. Cincinnati Bengals: Chase Minnifield
8. Jacksonville Jaguars: Justin Blackmon	24. Baltimore Ravens: Luke Kuechly
9. Seattle Seahawks: Matt Barkley	25. Houston Texans: Jerel Worthy
10. Miami Dolphins: Landry Jones	26. Detroit Lions: Alphonzo Dennard
11. Kansas City Chiefs: Riley Reiff	27. Dallas Cowboys: Stephon Gilmore
12. Denver Broncos: Trent Richardson	28. New England Patriots: Courtney Upshaw
13. Buffalo Bills: Zach Brown	29. Pittsburgh Steelers: Cordy Glenn
14. Tennessee Titans: Melvin Ingram	30. San Francisco 49ers: Devon Still
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Dre Kirkpatrick	31. New England Patriots: Quinton Coples
16. Philadelphia Eagles: Dont'a Hightower	32. Green Bay Packers: Brandon Jenkins