Draft Review: NFC North

Matt Price

The NFC North is known as a hard-nosed division that typically goes down to the wire every year. The teams in this Division all needed a different level of help in the draft and it’s interesting to see what each of them attempted to accomplish. While some focused more on defense, teams like Green Bay and Minnesota tried to add some talent late in the draft and the Bears attempted to find their franchise quarterback. Let’s run down the NFL Draft aftermath of the NFC North.

Green Bay Packers

[am4show have=’g1;’ guest_error=’sub_message’ user_error=’sub_message’ ]

Jamaal Williams, RB BYU, Round 4, Pick 28 (No. 134)
DeAngelo Yancey, WR Purdue, Round 5, Pick 32 (No. 175)
Aaron Jones, RB UTEP, Round 5, Pick 39 (No. 182)
Devante Mays, RB Utah State, Round 7, Pick 20 (No. 238)
Malachi Dupre, WR LSU, Round 7, Pick 29 (No. 247)

Predictably, the best offensive team in the division added to the defensive side of the ball early in the draft. However, that didn’t stop them from adding to their paper-thin running back depth and bolstering their back-end receivers during the second half of the draft. When Samaje Perine (one of my favorite backs in the class) was still on the board for the Packers at the first pick in the fourth round, I was ecstatic to think he might fill a huge hole on my favorite team. I can’t fault them for picking linebacker Vince Biegel because he also fills a need but it did make my heart sink a bit. Luckily, the versatile Jamaal Williams was still available later in round four. People seem more excited about fifth-round pick Aaron Jones, but Williams offers something no other back on the roster does – the size and ability to be a true three-down player. Both Ty Montgomery and Jones offer more dynamic playmaking ability and are better receivers but I think they will eventually eat into each other’s workload, leaving Williams the early down, short yardage and goal-line work all to himself. In addition, Williams is one of the best pass-blocking running backs in the 2017 draft class and is already better at it than Montgomery, who had issues in that role last season. Devante Mays is a two-down thumper kind of back with a low center of gravity at 5’10, 230. If Williams doesn’t capitalize on his opportunity, it’s possible Mays could be developed to take that role.

DeAngelo Yancey is an intriguing possession receiver who has the size, strength and quickness to be effective both on the perimeter and in the middle of the field and could develop into a starter when Jordy Nelson eventually moves on. The fall that Malachi Dupre’s dynasty value has experienced over the last year or so has been incredible to watch. He was one of the most sought after devy receivers this time last year. His stock plummeted to the seventh round of the NFL Draft where the Packers scooped up the receiver who has never played up to his athletic measurables. His believers have always pointed to the fact he played in a run-centric offense with bad quarterback play his entire career. He won’t have that excuse anymore with Aaron Rodgers throwing him the football.

Detroit Lions

Kenny Golladay, WR Northern Illinois, Round 3, Pick 32 (No. 96)
Michael Roberts, TE University of Toledo, Round 4, Pick 21 (No. 127)
Brad Kaaya, QB Miami, Round 6, Pick 32 (No. 215)

The Lions didn’t add much in the NFL Draft, at least for dynasty purposes. The only player who might be someone we care about in the next few seasons, in fact, was the other first-team all MAC wide receiver alongside that Corey Davis guy. Kenny Golladay offers more size than any other receiver on the Lions roster so there could be an opportunity for him to get on the field early. He needs to refine his route running and work on his inconsistent hands to be much of a fantasy factor but he is certainly one to keep your eyes on this preseason.

In the fourth round, the Lions added an efficient touchdown producer and decent blocker to its tight end group. Eric Ebron has yet to come through as a big touchdown producer (he posted just one in 2016) so this pick has a chance to further take production away from him. The other scenario here is the Lions want to run more two tight end sets, in which case Roberts will likely be the one held in to block, freeing up Ebron to use his athletic ability as a receiver. Ebron has yet to play a full season so there is certainly some injury-based opportunities for production from Roberts as well.

Brad Kaaya is another player whose stock has fallen fairly dramatically since this time last year. He fell all the way to round six and is unlikely to have any fantasy relevance playing behind Matthew Stafford who the team will look to give another contract extension sometime in the near future. Kaaya immediately upgrades Detroit’s backup quarterback situation and should be fine to fill in for a few games should Stafford miss time.

Minnesota Vikings

Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State, Round 2, Pick 9 (No. 41 overall)
Rodney Adams, WR USF, Round 5, Pick 27 (No. 170)
Bucky Hodges, TE Virginia Tech, Round 6, Pick 17 (No. 201)
Stacy Coley, WR Miami, Round 7, Pick 1 (No. 219)

Until the NFL Combine, Dalvin Cook was widely considered to be the 1.01 pick in dynasty rookie drafts but once he tested worse than his film suggested he would, the community at large changed their views and his ADP began to dip. When he was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings after falling out of the first round, it dipped again. Currently, he is typically the fifth or sixth player off the board in most rookie drafts. Cook has a bit of an uphill battle with a poor offensive line in front of him and competition for touches from both Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon. I have no doubt he will eventually rise to the top of that depth chart but at least for this season I think it will be difficult for him to be a consistent fantasy producer and could be cheaper to acquire next offseason.

The other really interesting player here is Bucky Hodges, but he fell all the way to the sixth round and landed in a spot behind Kyle Rudolph, who finally started playing up to his potential in 2016 and is under contract until after the 2019 season. It’s possible Minnesota will use more two tight end sets and Hodges becomes the primary receiving threat from that position playing as a supersized wide receiver as that’s what he essentially was used as at Virginia Tech

Rodney Adams and Stacy Coley are likely just depth behind Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen. If Laquon Treadwell doesn’t show something this year, there could be opportunity for one of them to have a role in the future, but neither are likely to be fantasy options.

Chicago Bears

Mitchell Trubisky, QB UNC, Round 1, Pick 2 (No. 2 overall)
Adam Shaheen, TE Ashland, Round 2, Pick 13 (No. 45)
Tarik Cohen, RB North Carolina A&T, Round 4, Pick 13 (No. 119)

Mere months after signing Mike Glennon to a deal worth 18.5M guaranteed, Chicago moved up one spot from third overall to second to grab their presumed quarterback of the future in Mitchell Trubisky. If he works out and becomes a franchise quarterback, nobody will care about what they gave San Francisco to move up one spot but this screams of a situation where the coaching staff and the front office are not on the same page. Head Coach John Fox reportedly didn’t know about the pick until shortly before the NFL Draft kicked off. If the plan is for Trubisky to sit for awhile, why would the current staff who are unlikely to be here in 2018 not take a player who could help save their jobs? It doesn’t seem likely their savior will be a one-year collegiate starter in his first year as a pro but it’s almost a certainty we see him on the field at some point this season. The last time a quarterback selected in the top five sat out his entire rookie season was in 2003 when number one overall pick Carson Palmer sat behind Jon Kitna. I hope Trubisky works out for the Bears but I am not optimistic about his ability to succeed on a team with questionable receiving weapons.

In what seems like another reach, Chicago selected division two tight end Adam Shaheen out of Ashland. Shaheen is an interesting prospect at 6’6”, 278 but the step up to NFL competition is going to be huge. With Zach Miller, Dion Sims and Ben Braunecker also hanging around at the position it could be awhile before we see anything out of Shaheen.

At 5’6” 179 pounds, Tarik Cohen is fun to watch on film and could be a very nice complement to starter Jordan Howard as the team’s receiving back. If the Bears can get him into space, he could be a poor man’s Darren Sproles. Some have compared Donnel Pumphrey to Sproles but Cohen is the one with the thick lower body similar to him. Pumphrey has a much slighter frame and I don’t think he will hold up as well as Cohen will at the NFL level. However, Cohen is likely to be one of those players who is a much better NFL player than fantasy option because of the mismatches he will create for opposing defenses and limited opportunities.

[/am4show]

matt price