With the 2017 scouting combine kicking off this week, NFL Nation reporters take a closer look at the positions of need for all 32 teams and which players will be closely evaluated.

Click the link after each team to view the full post.

Round 1: April 27, 8 p.m. ET
Rds. 2-3: April 28, 7 p.m. ET
Rds. 4-7: April 29, noon ET
Where: Philadelphia

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  The annual scouting combine kicks off this week in Indianapolis, and 300 players will audition in front of NFL coaches, scouts and GMs. Check out ESPN.com’s coverage of the event.

San Francisco 49ers: Lacking a long-term quarterback and playmakers at receiver, the 49ers will surely be eyeing the offensive skill players. Read the post here.

If there was any doubt about safety Matt Elam’s status with the Baltimore Ravens, he secured it Sunday after his arrest on multiple drug charges in Miami.

Elam, the 32nd overall pick of the 2013 draft, is officially the worst first-round pick in team history. Of all the 21 players selected in the first round by the Ravens, no one disappointed quite like Elam.

His career in Baltimore can be summed up like this: He couldn’t stay in the starting lineup. He couldn’t stay healthy. He couldn’t stay out of trouble.

Elam came to the Ravens with expectations that he would help fill the void left by Ed Reed’s departure. He left with one career interception, two stints on injured reserve and an arrest — which included possession of 126 grams of marijuana and three grams of oxycodone, according to police — that became the final stamp on his underachieving time in Baltimore.

“Matt is not in our plans for the 2017 Ravens,” a team spokesman said Sunday.

The Ravens are known for coming up big in the first round, selecting one Hall of Fame player (offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden) and two future ones (Reed and linebacker Ray Lewis). There have been missteps from wide receiver Travis Taylor to quarterback Kyle Boller to wide receiver Mark Clayton. But at the very least, those players started more than 40 games and showed flashes of skill. Boller even outdueled Brett Favre on Monday Night Football once by throwing for three touchdowns.

Selected three months after the Ravens won the Super Bowl, Elam started 26 games before being benched midway through his second season. He struggled in covering receivers deep and making tackles. His career was a forgettable one, outside of picking off a tipped pass with 38 seconds remaining to seal an 18-16 win in Detroit as a rookie.

In 2014, Elam was rated as the ninth-worst safety by Pro Football Focus after missing 18 tackles in the regular season. He also missed another two key tackles in last season’s divisional playoff loss at New England.

The following season, Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said the team was “not satisfied” with the way Elam has played. Elam then tore his biceps while trying to make a tackle in training camp. During that year, Elam was suspended one game by the NFL for violating the substance abuse policy.

Last season, a knee injury in the preseason landed him on IR for a second straight year. But Baltimore designated him for return, and Elam contributed on special teams.

Now, Elam made the untimely mistake of being arrested 11 days before he becomes an unrestricted free agent. It certainly ends his time with the Ravens, and it could mark the end of his NFL career.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos’ football decision-makers, coaches, scouts, trainers and medical staff will pile into airplanes this week and head to the NFL’s scouting combine in Indianapolis.

And history shows they will see most, if not all, of their eventual draft class over the weeklong event. Almost every player the Broncos have selected in the six drafts John Elway has overseen as executive vice president of football operations/general manager has been one who has been put through the rigors of running, jumping and sprinting around orange cones at the combine.

The combine is the spot where most of the top-rated prospects are invited to show what they’ve got to offer. It’s certainly not the only place to see future pros — cornerback Chris Harris Jr. will always be proof of that.

Round 1: April 27, 8 p.m. ET
Rds. 2-3: April 28, 7 p.m. ET
Rds. 4-7: April 29, noon ET
Where: Philadelphia

OKLAHOMA CITY — There he sat on the aisle, halfway up Section 114, maybe 15 rows directly behind the Los Angeles Lakers bench, beside the offspring of the owner who drafted him.

From his perch next to Lakers executives Joey and Jesse Buss, Magic Johnson munched on popcorn Friday and surveyed his young, rebuilding squad play its first game since he ascended from a nebulous advisory position to president of basketball operations in a dramatic in-house bloodletting earlier this week that shook the franchise’s foundation and the NBA landscape.

And the Lakers can feel his presence.

“It’s like you’re starting over and trying to impress,” Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell said after L.A.’s 110-93 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

“Everybody has to look over their shoulders once again. It’s like coming to a new team. You try to impress the GMs and the guys in the front office with your play and off the court, the way you handle yourself. It’s just all different.”

Midway through the second quarter, Johnson joined the in-game broadcast on Spectrum SportsNet, and after preaching patience with repairing a team that has the NBA’s third-worst record and has missed the playoffs for three consecutive seasons, he headed toward a nearby tunnel.

But star power of his caliber doesn’t visit Oklahoma on just any day, so nearby fans zeroed in with smartphones and snapped away, screaming, “Magic!” He offered his classic smile in return.

“There’s a reason he’s as successful as he is, because he has a way with people,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said before his team fell to 19-40 on the season.

Johnson oozes charisma, not to mention the legendary clout that comes with being one of the most exciting athletes in history — winning five championships, achieving Basketball Hall of Fame status and putting together one of the most successful nonsports résumés of any player ever.

But the task ahead of him is staggering — a yearslong venture, at least — and his lack of front-office experience justifiably gives many pause as to whether he is fully equipped to make the Lakers great again, no matter his other credentials or what he tweets or boasts during national media tours.

Still, Johnson is the first to admit that he is up against a monumental feat, that there will need to be baby steps before giant leaps. On Thursday night, Johnson took several members of the team’s coaching staff and front office to dinner at Mahogany Prime Steakhouse, a few blocks from their downtown Oklahoma City hotel, to lay out his vision and discuss ideas.

“He’s been awesome,” Walton said. “There’s been a lot of really healthy dialogue going on.”

Walton said the Lakers would love to have Johnson around as much as possible, and so far, Johnson has attended practices and even worked with players on individual moves. But Johnson likely won’t attend many road games beyond Friday, which was a statement appearance, given the team’s massive shakeup.

He did tell the players that the door to his office is always open, and Russell said he and his teammates are expected to have one-on-one sessions with Johnson over the next few days.

But from now until their regular-season finale April 12, the Lakers’ goal is twofold, yet should unfold without much effort: to develop their young players and to lose.

With star reserve Lou Williams shipped to the Houston Rockets this week, Russell and Jordan Clarkson will play more, especially in crunch time, as Walton acknowledged.

Check out the team site for more game coverage

Check out the team site for more game coverage