There was no shortage of drama from the NFC North teams in this year’s draft. Two of the teams didn’t even have first round picks, but ended up nabbing first round talent anyway. Another team with a first round pick used it like a second rounder and the Chicago Bears, of course, blew the lid off the draft with one of the nuttiest, and completely worthless, trades in the Annual Amateur Player Selection Meeting’s history.
Let’s talk about all of it.
Green Bay Packers
The Haul: Round 2: Kevin King, CB, Washington, Round 2: Josh Jones, Safety, NC State, Round 3: Montravious Adams, DT, Auburn, Round 4: Vince Biegel, LB, Wisconsin, Round 4: Jamaal Williams, RB, BYU, Round 5: DeAngelo Yancey, WR, Purdue, Round 5: Aaron Jones, RB, Texas-El Paso, Round 6: Kofi Amichia, Center, USF, Round 7: Devante Mays, RB, Utah State, Round 7: Malachi Dupre, WR, LSU
Grade: B+
How do the Packers get an “B+” without the virtue of a first round pick? It’s easy when you trade down, grab an extra pick or two and still end up with a first round talent in Washington’s Kevin King. King will likely open the season as the starting nickle, with Damarious Randall and Devon House holding down the starting spots outside. With Quinton Rollins already on the roster, the Packers are loaded at corner two deep on both sides.
Josh Jones is another starting caliber player that will likely see a back up role at safety, barring injuries to Ha Ha Clinton-Dix or the underrated Morgan Burnett. What kept this draft from getting an A- is, though Green Bay drafted two starting caliber players, neither one will start this season. I really think they might regret passing on Dalvin Cook atop the second round.
The two picks that put this draft over the top are Montravious Adams in the third round and Malachi Dupre in the seventh. Adams was my No. 4 rated defensive tackle pre-draft and will push for a starting job in training camp. The fact that Dupre, my No. 4-rated wide receiver, lasted all the way to the seventh round is astounding. It’s just like Geronimo Allison last year (with the exception that Allison didn’t get drafted at all). At least the Packers took the Allison lesson (he made it to the regular for 10 games last season) and grabbed Dupre while they had the chance.
Detroit Lions
The Haul: Round 1: Jarrad Davis, LB, Florida, Round 2: Teez Tabor, CB, Florida, Round 3: Kenny Golladay, WR, Northern Illinois, Round 4: Jalen Reeves-Maybin, LB, Tennessee, Round 4: Michael Roberts, TE, Toledo, Round 5: Jamal Agnew, CB, San Diego, Round 6: Jeremiah Ledbetter, DE, Arkansas, Round 5: Brad Kaaya, QB, Miami, Round 7: Pat O’Connor, DE, Eastern Michigan
Grade: B-
I had a second round grade on Davis, mainly because his recurrent injury issues at Florida and nothing at all to do with his talent. That being said, he and Tabor, their actual second round selection, are the first-year starters you expect to add to your team in the draft.
Golladay went earlier than I thought he would, but teams didn’t screw around with the wide receivers and tight ends in this draft. They all generally were taken a round above their grade. This was a deep draft, but teams didn’t take any chances. I can’t blame them. Jalen Reeves-Maybin is an NFL starter in waiting too and will push Paul Worrilow in camp.
The Brad Kaaya selection is an interesting one. I had him as my No. 3 rated pre-draft quarterback, ahead of Patrick Mahomes and DeShone Kizer. Kaaya has no chance to beat out Stafford, but could develop into some trade bait down the road.
Minnesota Vikings
The Haul: Round 2: Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State, Round 3: Pat Elflein, Center, Ohio State, Round 4: Jaleel Johnson, DT, Iowa, Round 4: Ben Gedeon, ILB, Michigan, Round 5: Rodney Adams, WR, USF, Round 5: Danny Isidora, OG, Miami, Round 6: Bucky Hodges, TE, Virginia Tech, Round 7: Stacy Coley, WR, Miami, Round 7: Ifeadi Odenigbo, DL, Northwestern, Round 7: Elijah Lee, LB, Kansas State, Round 7: Jack Tocho, CB, NC State
Grade: B-
Like Green Bay, the Vikings traded away their first round pick. In their case it was last pre-season for quarterback Sam Bradford. Unlike the Packers, they didn’t screw around when Dalvin Cook, a top 10 talent, fell right into their laps. They turned in their card and ended up with the second best running back in this draft.
They got a starting center talent in the third with Pat Elfein and a potential starting guard in Danny Isadora in the fifth. Those two picks alone will be significant upgrades to the offensive line. With the early run on tight ends it’s ridiculous that Bucky Hodges lasted until the sixth round. The Vikings already have Kyle Rudolph and should now be able to comfortably attack defenses in two tight end sets.
Chicago Bears
The Haul: Round 1: Mitchell Trubisky, QB, UNC, Round 2: Adam Sheehan, TE, Ashland, Round 4: Eddie Jackson, Safety, Alabama, Round 4: Tarik Cohen, RB, North Carolina A&T, Round 5: Jordan Morgan, Guard, Kurtztown
Grade: C+
I know you see a “C+” up there and everybody in the media (and their fanbase) is shitting on the Bears and their “draft strategy,” but I do want to say one thing. Picking a quarterback was absolutely the right call. Trubisky was my No. 2 and I can see why some scouts might have thought he was the best pro prospect. The Bears, regardless of the Mike Glennon signing, needed to take one of the two best quarterbacks and they did.
The problem comes in the manner in which they did it. Details of the trade talks between the Bears and the 49ers have since emerged. Details like the 49ers weren’t going to take a quarterback so that wasn’t a danger. Chicago completely misread the draft, thinking another team was trying to jump them to take Trubisky. No team was. San Francisco, for its part, had every intention of taking Solomon Thomas with their pick like every single mock (including mine) predicted.
The Bears wouldn’t reveal their pick to the 49ers when making the trade so San Francisco naturally assumed Chicago wanted Thomas too and was willing to send them the No. 66 and No. 111 picks, and a third rounder next year, to get him. The 49ers took the deal and were looking at the next guy on their board, probably Jonathan Allen from Alabama when the Bears took Trubisky.
Trubisky will probably get some starts late in the season once the Bears are out of it. I do love the Eddie Jackson pick. He’s got day one starter potential and while Adam Sheehan will probably be a role player early, by October he’ll be getting most of the snaps at tight end.
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