NFC North Draft Thread

[Joemailman]

Weird that they drafted so many secondary guys.

Not sure if it's a coincidence, but Bears and Vikings started drafting DB's after Packers drafted Christian Watson.

[Upnorth]

Re Viking secondary, they were a mess last year. The lack of pass rush exacerbated that. They had no choice really. Their secondary is worse than our pre Watkins wr group.
I do think bears and vikings will be battling for last place this year. Lions played tough a lot in 2021 and got better in draft. They get a qb and look out.

[Jaire]

Chicago jumped off the cliff
Minny may not be far behind: their D needs a rebuild.
The Lions could jump to 2nd place

All three rivals have about the same cap space as Green Bay this year.

Rams squander another draft and with the Niners follow Seattle's long history in not drafting 1st round. We'll see how that works out for them.

[Fritz]

Chicago jumped off the cliff
Minny may not be far behind: their D needs a rebuild.
The Lions could jump to 2nd place

All three rivals have about the same cap space as Green Bay this year.

Rams squander another draft and with the Niners follow Seattle's long history in not drafting 1st round. We'll see how that works out for them.

Weird spot to be in for the Loins. What they really need is one more year of awfulness so they can get into position for the QB sweepstakes in the next draft. Yet they also want to show in Year 2 of the new regime that they are improving.

That is in part what made the Alabama WR pick they made so good - they will nurse him along slowly, cuz they really don't need him - probably almost a redshirt year - and it won't hurt in the excuse department.

So they need to show improvement, but not so much they play themselves out of the franchise QB sweepstakes. I think they may have two #1's again next year (I still think they did better than the Rams on that deal; the Rams did not win thanks to Stafford, they won almost in spite of him), so I suppose if they get into the top eight or so they might be able to trade up a couple spots if they see a QB they are in love with.

[run pMc]

i think Minnesota still has a pretty good offense, even if their D (especially their passing D) is not good. Danielle Hunter has missed most of the last two seasons (neck injury & torn pec) and Z has the back; not sure who else they have rushing the passer. They have Ed Donatell running a 3-4 this year I think? They'll be about where they were last year.

Detroit did well in the draft, but I wonder if the Campbell Honeymoon is over. I think unless he buys a foreign car or does something completely batshit he'll survive until next year, but then the expectations jump. I already think the expectations are higher for this team based on the second half of the year. It makes sense, but I'm not sure how much better they really are compared to the rest of the division. I guess they've closed the gap and are competitive at least, but nobody is considering them a SB contender right now.

Chicago had few assets thanks to trades. At least they didn't draft 3 TEs, I guess? Didn't seem like they got Justin Fields a lot of help. This is a team trying to rebuild without the assets to do it. Gordon and Brisker were good picks, but the rest of their draft did not impress.

GB remains the favorites, largely due to Aaron Rodgers, Jones/Dillon, a good-enough defense, and a crappy division.
I think it's possible they look around for another veteran WR to shake loose or drop their contract demands, but I doubt it. It will be like the Hunger Games in camp for the WRs: they have 11 of them on the roster currently, and even Sammy Watkins is no cinch to make the team. I think they'll keep 6 WR...camp should be interesting.

[texaspackerbacker]

The Packers should run away with the division, as we almost always do.