The Minnesota Vikings finalized their draft class with six selections. They split their picks evenly with three on offense and three on defense. The Vikings received grades that were relatively sporadic, ranging from A- to D+.
Grades don’t mean a ton right now since the players haven’t taken a single snap. What is a good practice is looking at the process that a team took in how they got their picks. Was it good value? Is the player good? How do they fit?
The NFC North teams had some interesting drafts. Let’s take a look at what they did this weekend.
Chicago Bears
1st round, 10th pick (10): Darnell Wright, OT, Tennessee
2rd round, 22nd pick (53): Gervon Dexter Sr., DL, Florida
2nd round, 25th pick (26): Tyrique Stevenson, CB, Miami
3rd round, 1st pick (64): Zacch Pickens, DI. South Carolina
4th round, 13th pick (115): Roschon Johnson, RB, Texas
4th round, 31st pick (133): Tyler Scott, WR, Cincinnati
5th round, 13th pick (148): Noah Sewell, LB, Oregon
5th round, 30th pick (165): Terell Smith, CB, Minnesota
7th round, 1st pick (218): Travis Bell, DT, Kennesaw State
7th round, 41st pick (258): Kendall Williamson, CB, Stanford
The Bears need a little bit of everything and with the background of general manager Ryan Poles, the trenches were a heavy investment. Three of their first four picks were in the trenches on big athletes who were five-star prospects with massive athletic upside. Will it work? That remains to be seen, but it’s a good strategy.
They made some smart skill player investments in round four in all-around running back Roschon Johnson (who could push to start) and speed demon Tyler Scott. The continued investment in cornerback is also a really smart strategy, as you can never have too many cornerbacks.
The Bears are still at least a year away, but they are making strides in building this roster.
Detroit Lions
1st round, 12th pick (12): Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Alabama
1st round, 18th pick (18): Jack Campbell, LB, Iowa
2nd round, 3rd pick (34): Sam LaPorta, TE, Iowa
2nd round, 14th pick (45): Brian Branch, DB, Alabama
3rd round, 5th pick (68): Hendon Hooker, QB, Tennessee
3rd round, 33rd pick (96): Brodric Martin, DI, Western Kentucky
5th round, 17th pick (152): Colby Sorsdal, OT, William & Mary
7th round, 2nd pick (219): Antoine Green, WR, North Carolina
The Lions became darlings in the analytics community with their commitment the first two seasons of their regime. Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes built the roster around premium positions at tackle, edge rusher and wide receiver with their top picks the last couple of years.
This year, they just attacked players they loved, taking a running back and off-ball linebacker with their first two picks. They also took a tight end and hybrid safety with their next two picks, and their best value was with the Branch selection at 45th overall. They also were the team to take Hendon Hooker, which is a weird fit for a team that loves Jared Goff.
The jury is out on whether or not this will work, but the Lions are going all-in on their guys.
Green Bay Packers
1st round, 13th pick (13): Lukas Van Ness, EDGE, Iowa
2nd round, 11th pick (42): Luke Musgrave, TE, Oregon State
2nd round, 19th pick (50): Jayden Reed, WR, Michigan State
3rd round, 15th pick (78) Tucker Kraft, TE, South Dakota State
4th round, 14th pick (116): Colby Wooden, LB, Auburn
5th round, 14th pick (149): Sean Clifford, QB, Penn State
5th round, 24th pick (159): Dontayvion Wicks, WR, Virginia
6th round, 2nd pick (179): Karl Brooks, EDGE, Bowling Green
6th round, 30th pick (207): Anders Carlson, K, Auburn
7th round, 15th pick (232): Carrington Valentine, CB, Kentucky
7th round, 18th pick (235): Lew Nichols III, RB, Western Michigan
7th round, 25th pick (242): Anthony Johnson Jr., S, Iowa State
7th round, 39th pick (256): Grant DuBose, WR, Charlotte
This was a weird draft, but that’s par for the course with the Packers. They have their thresholds and they stick to them. It’s hard to argue with them considering their sustained success.
The theme of this draft was getting athletes and getting young weapons on the outside. Van Ness fits the profile of edge rusher that they love, but the pass catchers leave a high variance. Musgrave is a great athlete that missed a lot of time due to injury and Kraft is an inline player, giving the Packers essentially two positions.
They took shots on Wicks and DuBose on day three, which were good picks, but Reed was over-drafted by nearly two rounds. The track record with the Packers and round-two receivers is something that makes the selection hard to truly question, but it was still baffling.
The biggest head-scratcher was Penn State QB Clifford at 149th overall. He struggles to throw the football. Why would you draft him at all, let alone in round five? It’s a baffling pick on many levels.
