So less than two weeks to go, here are some thoughts:
Lots of talk about the need at ILB and rightly so. Lots of mocks have us going in that direction at some point in the first two rounds. CB is also a need. Still, I wonder if there hasn't been enough thought given to another position: OLB. Yes, we have CMIII. Yes, Peppers is still here and he was huge last year with a number of big plays. But that's just it - I think it's no coincidence that the first time we had meaningful production opposite Matthews at OLB was the first year we went back to the NFCC and came damn close to making another SB. ILB is bereft of talent right now, but in terms of (front 7) importance to the defense overall I think it goes OLB, DL, ILB. Peppers had a great year, all things considered, but you can't count on him duplicating that production next year and he's unlikely to be on the roster in 2016. Behind him are Mike Neal and Nick Perry, both also unlikely to be on the roster in 2016 and both are only part time players for 2015.
It will obviously depend on how the board falls, but I hope we don't ignore OLB early on if the opportunity presents itself.