2014 NFC North Draft Grades

The Bears drafted Virginia Tech cornerback Kyle Fuller in the first round. Fuller is 6’0″ and nearly 200 lbs., as he compares to current Bears cornerback Charles “Peanut” Tillman. Tillman is a veteran cornerback that is one of the best in the business as far as forcing turnovers and I expect him to take the young Fuller under his wings this season.

The second and third rounds of the draft each saw the Bears draft a defensive tackle. In the second round the Bears selected LSU defensive tackle Ego Ferguson and in the third round Will Sutton out of Arizona State. Both Ferguson and Sutton have the ability to be positive disruptors on the Bears defensive line.

In six seasons as the Bears starting running back, Matt Forte has nearly 1,600 carries and he could use some more help in the backfield and the Bears gave him some assistance in the fourth round in the form of Arizona running back Ka’Deem Carey. In his last two years in college, Carey rushed for over 3,800 yards as he was the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year in 2013.

With their veterans in place and a strong rookie class, the Bears should contend for a playoff spot in 2014.
 

Detroit Lions

Grade: B-

Best Pick: Kyle Van Noy-Outside Linebacker BYU

The Detroit Lions are beginning a new era under head coach Jim Caldwell, but they are still stumbling in their own futility. The Lions entered the 2014 NFL Draft with the tenth overall pick. Detroit needed help on both the offensive and defensive lines, but instead opted to use their first round pick on North Carolina tight end Eric Ebron. At 6’4″, 245 lbs., Ebron figures to be a good pass-catching tight end. But the problem is that the Lions already have two good tight ends on their roster in Brandon Pettigrew and Joseph Fauria. The Lions need to protect quarterback Matthew Stafford and they passed up an opportunity to select Michigan offensive tackle Taylor Lewan in the first round.

Lions general manager Martin Mayhew got it right in the second round however when he selected BYU outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy. Van Noy comes to the NFL as a two-time, third-team All-American that will fly all around the football field making plays. It won’t hurt Van Noy that he is now reunited in Motown with his college teammate in Lions defensive end Ziggy Ansah.

The Lions will be an interesting team in 2014, but the selection of Ebron could come back to haunt Caldwell and Mayhew.

Green Bay Packers

Grade: A

Best Pick: Hasean Clinton-Dix-Free Safety-Alabama

The Green Bay Packers brain trust of president Mark Murphy, general manager Ted Thompson, and head coach Mike McCarthy have recently been one of the best groups in the NFL as far as finding, drafting, and developing talent which is why they are consistently in contention to win the coveted Lombardi Trophy.

The Packers came to the 2014 NFL Draft needing to get younger in the secondary and Thompson addressed that in the first round when he selected Alabama free safety Haha Clinton-Dix. Clinton-Dix was a first-team All-American last season at Alabama and he has tremendous range. Clinton-Dix ran a sub-4.6 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine which will be important in the NFC North where he will be responsible for some of the best wide receivers in the business such as Calvin Johnson of the Lions, Brandon Marshall of the Bears, and Cordarrelle Patterson of the Minnesota Vikings.

In recent years the Packers receiving corps have been depleted through free agency, but they were able to remedy that in the second round when they tabbed Fresno State wide receiver Davante Adams. In the past two years Adams was a first-team All-Mountain West performer while also being a second-team All-American last year. Adams was a tremendous route runner during his time in college and he now comes to Green Bay to play with one of the best quarterbacks in the game in Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

In the fifth round the Pacers were able to select Wisconsin wide receiver Jared Abbrederis. Abbrederis is a local product that will come in immediately and contribute on special teams. When Abbrederis is able to work his way into the Packers receiving unit, it will not take long for Rodgers to befriend him as the young rookie knows how to move the chains.

The rich got richer at the NFL Draft as the Packers are still the class of the NFC North.

Minnesota Vikings

Grade: A

Best Pick: David Yankey-Guard-Stanford

Under general manager Rick Spielman and new head coach Mike Zimmer, the Minnesota Vikings turned some heads in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft when they selected UCLA outside linebacker Anthony Barr. The outside linebacker position was a big need for the Vikings heading into the draft and in my final mock draft I had Minnesota tabbing Mr. Barr. Zimmer then traded back into the first round the get the quarterback that he wanted. With the final pick of the first round, the Vikings selected Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. It will be important for Bridgewater to develop into an accurate passer being that the Vikings will no longer be playing indoors at the Metrodome.

The Vikings selected Oregon State defensive end Scott Crichton in the third round who had first round potential. Crichton should be more than a situational pass rusher on a Vikings defensive line that already has defensive ends Brian Robison and Everson Griffen.

The Vikings found an absolute steal in the fifth round when they picked Stanford guard David Yankey. At 6’6″, 315 lbs., Yankey comes to the Vikings as a two-time All-American that will be receiving plenty of meals from Vikings running back Adrian Peterson due to his blocking ability.

This draft class should come in and pay immediate dividends for the Vikings.