5 most improved position groups after the draft

The 2018 NFL Draft has come and gone and some teams were more successful than others at using the occasion to fill an obvious need.

Here are five teams who exited the weekend by ameliorating an area of weakness:

Titans - Pass-rusher

The Titans are led by a powerful defense that produced the fifth-most sacks (43) in 2017, but linebackers Brian Orakpo and Wesley Woodyard are both over 30 years of age. Tennessee needed an infusion of young talent to serve as the next guard.

Enter Rashaan Evans and Harold Landry. The Titans left the draft floor with just four draft picks, but their first two will fortify their pass-rush for years to come.

An ascending team, the Titans got better in the immediate future and for the long run with their use of two top-45 picks.

Packers - Cornerback

The Packers' decision to use the 18th overall pick on Louisville cornerback Jaire Alexander drew murmurs, especially considering Iowa's Josh Jackson was still on the board. Not to worry. The Pack waited patiently for nearly 30 picks before taking Jackson as well.

Corner was Green Bay's most glaring area of need entering the draft and the team took care of it with its first two picks, landing two of the consensus top three corners available.

It was a stroke of genius for new general manager Brian Gutekunst, who also received a 2019 first-round pick from the Saints to move back from 14th to 18th in the first round. The bold draft moves also represent a departure from typical Green Bay protocol, and a breath of fresh air for cheeseheads hoping the team can capitalize on the back half of Aaron Rodgers' career.

Ravens - Tight end

There's reason to question the strategy of using a first- and a third-round pick on tight ends, but going forward, at least there will be no more questions about the position group.

The Ravens used the 25th pick of the draft on Hayden Hurst out of South Carolina, then doubled down by adding Mark Andrews out of Oklahoma with the 86th overall selection.

Since Dennis Pitta, a favorite target of Joe Flacco's, began missing games due to injury in 2013, the team has been searching for a suitable replacement. An aged Dallas Clark, Ed Dickson, Owen Daniels, Crockett Gillmore, Maxx Williams, Nick Boyle, and Ben Watson all fell short of that task. By taking two 6-foot-4-plus tight ends within three rounds, Baltimore is hoping those questions have been put to rest.

Chargers - Safety

Jahleel Addae and Tre Boston have been fine starters at strong safety and free safety, respectively, but the Bolts found their safeties of the future in first-round pick Derwin James and fourth-rounder Kyzir White.

The Chargers' pass defense ranked third in the league last season, on the power of Pro Bowler Casey Hayward and his lockdown defense. James figures to start right away and will be expected to be the final piece of a young, talented secondary.

White figures to be the hard hitter of the troupe and the long sought-after replacement to Eric Weddle who departed in 2015 after nine years with the team.

Redskins - Defensive tackle

The Redskins could have gone a number of ways with the 13th overall pick. Instead, they chose to address their league-worst run defense by installing human hole-fillers Da'ron Payne and Tim Settle.

Washington's front office stuck with a tried and true method of pulling from Alabama's conveyor belt of talent for Payne, then waited until the last day of the draft to add Settle, an athletic prospect with high upside.

The Redskins had the NFL's ninth-ranked pass defense in 2017. If the run defense improves immediately with the presence of Payne, it would go a long way toward building on their 7-9 finish of a year ago.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)