For all of my knocks recently on Brad Jones, he seems like a player who could make the jump to the next level. I hope he does. He did fairly well in pass defense, sacks, and turnovers for a guy who was literally thrown into the mix early. Add Bishop and Perry coming back, with Manning healthy, Moses working into his 2nd year backing up Matthews, we may be alright at LB. This position group is super dependent on starters returning from injury.
With that said, I think our greatest need on defense is a top flight DE, followed closely by a bad ass NT and DT. We were an absolute mess up front last season. We couldn't contain, and our pass rush from the DL was abysmal. Pickett is not getting any younger, and Raji needs a legit backup to work with in a rotation. Mike Neal showed promise last season, and I hope his play improves in 2013. I do think we should be looking to do better than CJ Wilson at DE.
I think if we hit on all three of these positions early in the draft, with really sound choices, our defense will improve greatly.
I'm not worried about our secondary, at all. Maybe adding a S would be good if there is a great one to pick, but I like McMillian, and I think he will come along in his 2nd year to be a much improved player.
DL. That's where we really need the help.