The Player Each Team Will Most Regret Passing on

NFL Draft 2015: The Player Each Team Will Most Regret Passing on By Justis Mosqueda , Featured Columnist May 11, 2015 NFC SOUTHAtlanta FalconsAfter taking Vic Beasley, a pass-rusher from Clemson, in the first round, the Atlanta Falcons continued to build their pass defense in the second round. In 2014, the team was second-to-last in team sacks, a number that should rise with the additions of Beasley, Brooks Reed and Adrian Clayborn this offseason.The second selection by the team was Jalen Collins, a cornerback from LSU who started less than a full season with the Tigers before declaring early for the NFL draft. Collins has all the measurables one would wish an elite cornerback could possess. He's 6'1" with 32 ?" arms and runs a 4.48 40-yard dash.He's still very raw, though, and I'm not sure how much development the Falcons can really take on at this point. Beasley is already going to be a project, and the window for an Atlanta Super Bowl seems to be closing. Plenty of their stars, such as Roddy White, are aging rapidly, while the contracts of others, like Julio Jones, are coming to an end in the near future.Some of their key contributors are either going to leave due to retirement or free agency, and those who stay will take up larger portions of the salary cap than they are currently, making it hard for the squad to retain its current talent or bring in more talent. For that reason, I think an experienced cornerback such as Eric Rowe, who succeeded at both cornerback and safety at the University of Utah, would have been a better selection for the team.Rowe could have played either high safety or boundary cornerback for the team—both positions that need high-level contributors for Dan Quinn's defense to work—on day one. The Falcons should be playing for 2015 and 2016, but their draft selections indicate the team's mentality is focused on three years from now.Carolina PanthersFor years, the Carolina Panthers didn't invest on the offensive side of the ball with premier selections. Because Cam Newton was selected first overall, it seems the team just leaned on him to be a transcendent talent. Carolina learned the hard way that one man can't beat a defense alone.Last year, the Panthers selected Kelvin Benjamin, a jumbo receiver from Florida State, in first round. In the second round of this year's draft, the squad chose to pair him with Devin Funchess, another tall pass-catcher. Funchess is a solid prospect, but Carolina's offensive line still needs massive help.Jake Fisher of Oregon was still on the board when the Panthers were on the clock for the Funchess pick. Fisher played right and left tackle for the Ducks and projects well on the inside as a strong zone-blocking guard. The Bengals thought of Fisher so highly that they chose him despite the fact they already have two starting-caliber tackles on their roster and took Cedric Ogbuehi, another offensive tackle, in the first round before adding Fisher.Another weapon for Newton to play with in Carolina is an asset to the offense, but if there's no protection to allow him to get the ball to said assets, then what's the point? It almost feels like the squad is collecting talent instead of building a team. That may come around to bite the Panthers in the backside down the stretch.New OrleansIn the second round, the New Orleans Saints added Hau'oli Kikaha of Washington to their roster. In college, Kikaha was a very productive pass-rusher, but there are some factors that may keep him from being a full-time starter, or at least a quality starter, at the professional level.Kikaha has a history of knee issues, including two surgeries that ended separate seasons for him in Seattle. He also is a poor athlete on paper and is undersized for the position. He's a high-effort player with great technique, but "he's just a football player" turns into "he was just a football player" quicker than most like to admit in the NFL.One round after Kikaha was drafted, an NFC team stole a pass-rusher. The New York Giants selected Owamagbe Odighizuwa of UCLA, and he figures to be their new version of Justin Tuck. Like Kikaha, Odighizuwa has an injury issue, this one involving his hips. The difference between the two is that Odighizuwa's injury doesn't hinder his athletic ability. He's not far behind Alvin Dupree, who was taken in the first round by the Pittsburgh Steelers.Tampa Bay BuccaneersJohn Raoux/Associated PressIn 2015, you're going to hear a lot about Christian Hackenberg, the quarterback from Penn State. As a freshman, Hackenberg looked like an Andrew Luck type of prospect, but with Bill O'Brien leaving Happy Valley for the Houston Texans, the true talent of the Nittany Lions was exposed.Hackenberg is still a great talent, but if you follow the 2016 draft, I'd be willing to bet that the Penn State offensive line will come up early and often, as the unit didn't give the quarterback room to breathe last season. That didn't stop the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from taking Donovan Smith, Penn State's left tackle, at the top of the second round, though.Smith was an early declaration but had graduated, so he was allowed to participate at the Senior Bowl. He did well there, but not on tape, so teams had to guess which player he was. The logic of looking at his career as a collegiate player rather than his week in drills would seem like the strongest choice, though.Instead of taking a mid- to low-end tackle prospect early because five went in the first round, the Buccaneers could have taken an interior offensive lineman, as their front needs help across the board. They did so later in the second round with the selection of Ali Marpet of Hobart, another Senior Bowl gem, but if they could have added A.J. Cann, a hybrid guard-center prospect from South Carolina, they could have given Jameis Winston some strength up front early.Pressure can ruin quarterbacks; we've seen that with Derek Carr and Blaine Gabbert. Hackenberg looked to be getting their as a sophomore behind Smith. For the Buccaneers' sake, I hope Smith is what he was in Mobile, Alabama.To view every team....link