Mapping out the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft:

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson and Boston College WR Zay Flowers

Playoff teams add much-needed pieces:

20th – Seattle Seahawks, 21st – Los Angeles Chargers, 22nd – Baltimore Ravens, 23rd – Minnesota Vikings, 24th – Jacksonville Jaguars, 25th – New York Giants and 26th – Dallas Cowboys

Not taking the Bucs winning the NFC South by default into account here, these are the seven (and it would be eight, if they Dolphins’ pick wasn’t forfeited) teams that made the playoffs last year, but still really need one big piece to break through.

This includes some NFC contenders that may have overachieved this season, but I do see prospects in this range that could be integral pieces right away for these groups.

I believe we could see a substantial wide receiver run start here, as arguably all but the Jags – considering the financial resources they’ve already allocated to that position – are in the market for those guys.

Some of my favorite fits include Tennessee’s Jalin Hyatt finally giving the Chargers the much-needed speed to take advantage of Justin Herbert’s underutilized ability to push the ball down the field, before they just made the switch at offensive coordinator; Boston College’s Zay Flowers being a legit No. 1 for the Ravens, with the complete skill set to move all over the formation; and Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba being the consistent chain-mover through the air that the Giants simply don’t have.

And it’s not just wideouts, but also two or three tight ends worthy of being considered in this stretch.

Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer is more of your traditional Y, but I think Dalton Kincaid’s natural route-running and ball skills will make him a very intriguing name coming out of Utah. And depending on what he’ll run at the combine, Oregon State’s Luke Musgrave’s name has reportedly been shooting up boards.

The Jags and Cowboys could be looking to replace departing starters, and the Chargers may want to upgrade as well.

Jacksonville’s biggest need if they let Jawaan Taylor walk in free agency would be right tackle, where they may have a couple of intriguing options, such as Tennessee’s Darnell Wright and Ohio State’s Dawand Jones.

For the other three teams, if they don’t go wide receiver, the Seahawks may be a great landing spot for the best center available in my book in John Michael Schmitz (Minnesota), due to the sudden retirement of Austin Blythe just a couple of days ago.

The Vikings still need to add more youth to their secondary and could cash in on Alabama’s Brian Branch potentially falling, if teams don’t buy in on a designated nickel defender or grab a corner.

And finally, the Cowboys at this stage of the first round typically like to go for hyper-athletes on the edge, if Iowa’s Lukas Van Ness somehow makes it down here – which I don’t expect. Or maybe this is where Georgia Tech’s Keion White comes off the board. They could also go the linebacker route once again, though.