Chicago Bears
14. Kyle Fuller CB Virginia Tech
51. Ego Ferguson DT LSU
82. Will Sutton DT Arizona St.
117. Ka’Deem Carey RB Arizona
131. Brock Vereen S Minnesota
183. David Fales QB San Jose St.
191. Pat O’Donnell P Miami
246. Charles Leno OT Boise St.
Immediate Impact: CB Kyle Fuller, DT Ego Ferguson, DT Will Sutton
Fuller is a future starter and that future could come quickly if Charles Tillman’s age catches up with him or Tim Jennings falters. He is coming off an injury-riddled season but Fuller is has what it takes to be an immediate starter and he’s certainly going to be their 3rd CB. Ego Ferguson and Will Sutton should make a nice duo on the interior of the Bears defensive line. Sutton needs to slim back down to his junior season weight and be the penetrating force he was then for the Sun Devils and Ferguson’s size and ability to hold the point of attack should be the perfect complement. Jeremiah Ratliff isn’t getting any younger and Stephen Paea hasn’t impressed so Ferguson and Sutton could be playing very quickly.
Best Value: RB Ka’Deem Carey
I’m well aware that Carey ran slow 40 times during the combine and at his workouts but he has plenty of game speed even if he lacks it in the 40. It is crazy that he lasted until the 4th round and the Bears stole a good one. Matt Forte has the Bears RB job on lock down but they released Michael Bush and Carey will be Forte’s backup. Also, Forte is 28 and we all know 30 is the magic number for saying goodbye to a RB so Carey could be Forte’s eventual replacement.
Sleeper: S Brock Vereen
If you’ve seen the Bears depth chart at safety the idea that a late 4th round pick could make some noise is not surprising. Middling free agents MD Jennings and Ryan Mundy were brought in to upgrade the position so this isn’t a position of strength. Vereen isn’t a great athlete but he’s smart and he’s played all over the defensive backfield for the Gophers so he’s well versed on what to do. Vereen winning a starting safety spot, either starting safety spot, would be one of the least surprising things that could happen in training camp.
Overall Analysis:
The Bears fixed their offensive line problems last year with RG Kyle Long and RT Jordan Mills and if Jay Cutler stays healthy the offense should be just fine this season. Drafting four potential starters on defense (Fuller, Ferguson, Sutton and Vereen) is a step in the right direction for a defense that needed to get younger. Carey was too much value to pass up and QB David Fales is a very good developmental QB that head coach Marc Trestman is going to love working with. I don’t know much about punters but drafting one in the sixth round that can compete with your incumbent sounds like a perfectly reasonable idea. OL Charles Leno is a developmental prospect who probably ends up on the practice squad. The only area they missed was getting younger at LB but with only eight selections they couldn’t address everything and they did very well with the eight they picked.
Detroit Lions
10. Eric Ebron TE North Carolina
40. Kyle Van Noy OLB BYU
76. Travis Swanson C Arkansas
133. Nevin Lawson CB Utah St.
136. Larry Webster DE/TE Bloomsburg
158. Caraun Reid DT Princeton
189. TJ Jones WR Notre Dame
229. Nate Freese K Boston College
Immediate Impact: TE Eric Ebron, OLB Kyle Van Noy
Ebron immediately becomes one of Matthew Stafford’s favorite teammates because he will either help pull coverage away from Calvin Johnson or he will make teams pay for leaving him free. Ebron is a pass catching TE who will team well with Brandon Pettigrew the blocking TE. Van Noy is one of the most pro ready prospects in this draft class and he’ll come in and be an immediate starter at OLB probably on the strongside. He has versatility so the coaches can move him around if needed.
Best Value: C Travis Swanson
Dominic Raiola has been playing center for the Lions since the Johnson administration (Andrew not Lyndon) and he’s back on a one-year deal. Swanson is the perfect replacement because he’ll bring the same nasty attitude Raiola always has and if Raiola doesn’t hold up this year he’s experienced enough to step in right now. If Raiola does hold up Swanson can back-up all three interior positions for now.
Sleeper: DT Caraun Reid
The Lions aren’t convinced they should re-sign Nick Fairley for the money he wants and Ndamukong Suh already has too high of a salary-cap number so Reid is the insurance policy. Reid flew under-the-radar because he played at Princeton but he can play with the big boys and he’ll give them some good reps this year backing up Fairley and Suh. Reid has starter potential and Lions are lucky to have him.
Overall Analysis:
Ebron, Van Noy and Swanson will be starters fairly quickly and Reid could be eventually. CB Nevin Lawson was a guy in a large group of CB’s that were expected to go somewhere between the 3rd-5th round so while he probably isn’t the answer he wasn’t a major reach. The Lions took a flyer on 4th round athlete Larry Webster a guy that could be a DE or he could be a TE and they will start him out at DE. TJ Jones was a solid late round pick-up at WR and at worst he’s a healthy version of Ryan Broyles. Detroit needed a kicker and they grabbed a pretty solid prospect in Nate Freese from Boston College, at least that’s what the numbers would indicate, a kicker is a kicker until they prove otherwise.
Green Bay Packers
21. Haha Clinton-Dix FS Alabama
53. Davante Adams WR Fresno St.
85. Khyri Thornton DT Southern Miss
98. Richard Rogers TE California
121. Carl Bradford ILB Arizona St.
161. Corey Linsley C Ohio St.
176. Jared Abbrederis WR Wisconsin
197. Demetri Goodson CB Baylor
236. Jeff Janis WR Saginaw Valley St.
Immediate Impact: FS Haha Clinton-Dix
The Packers were unbelievably lucky that Clinton-Dix fell to them at #21 and he becomes their starter at FS from day one. He is the best deep cover safety in the draft and he was great value and fills a huge need. The Packers have needed a running mate for SS Morgan Burnett for quite a while and they finally had a fantastic one fall into their lap.
Best Value: WR Jared Abbrederis
Abbrederis isn’t the biggest or the fastest WR but he knows how to get open and he catches everything. A player like him teaming with QB Aaron Rodgers is a dangerous combination. He can play outside or in the slot and the only reason he fell to the 5th round was because of some concussion issues he may have had at Wisconsin (there seems to be some debate on how many concussions he actually had).
Sleeper: LB Carl Bradford
Bradford was an OLB who lined up all over the field for the Sun Devils and was a pass rushing demon. He is undersized and isn’t built for the position in the NFL but he also spent some time as an ILB and that is where he will play for defensive coordinator Dom Capers. Bradford can be used as a blitzer from the ILB spot because of his natural pass rushing ability and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him steal the starting job next to AJ Hawk from Brad Jones. He is too much of a playmaker to keep off the field.
Overall Analysis:
The Packers record last year was more a reflection of a team dealing with a lot of injuries than their talent level so with the return of those players there isn’t a huge need for starters on this team. FS was the most obvious spot and they got the best one in the draft. They have lost some depth the last few years at WR (Greg Jennings and James Jones left) and they got Davante Adams, a highly productive player from Fresno St., Abbrederis and a nice developmental prospect in Jeff Janis in the seventh round. Adams is very good and he’ll be a great addition behind Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson, he should be the third WR. They needed a TE and they missed on getting one the five good ones so they settled for Richard Rogers from Cal. He isn’t going to make anyone forget Jermichael Finley but as far as the TE prospects go he’s got some potential. C Corey Linsley isn’t the biggest guy in the world but the Packers aren’t set at the position after the loss of Evan Dietrich-Smith so Linsley could compete. I think DT Khyri Thornton was a reach in the third round and there were better DT’s available like Justin Ellis and DaQuan Jones. The Packers made a very solid investment with 6th rounder Demetri Goodson, he is a superb athlete who is still learning how to be a CB but he’s got great potential and he may pay off big down the line.
Minnesota Vikings
9. Anthony Barr OLB UCLA
32. Teddy Bridgewater QB Louisville
72. Scott Crichton DE Oregon St.
96. Jerick McKinnon RB Georgia Southern
145. David Yankey OG Stanford
182. Antone Exum CB Virginia Tech
184. Kendall James CB Maine
220. Shamar Stephen DT Connecticut
223. Brandon Watts OLB Georgia Tech
225. Jabari Price CB North Carolina
Immediate Impact: I want to say OLB Anthony Barr but I don’t believe it.
The Vikings organization hopes Barr is an immediate impact player for their defense and Vikings fans want QB Teddy Bridgewater to take the starting job from Matt Cassel but both may have to wait. Barr isn’t a natural fit for the Vikings defense and Bridgewater is good enough to take the job but Cassel played better last year than he gets credit for.
Best Value: QB Teddy Bridgewater
Getting your future and possibly your present starting QB with the last pick of the first round is pretty good value. I’ve made my feelings about Bridgewater clear and he’s ready to compete right now and the Vikings are the perfect situation for him. A veteran QB that will make him fight for the job in Cassel, the best running back in football in Peterson, a solid offensive line up front and Greg Jennings, Corderrelle Patterson and Kyle Rudolph in the passing game. He will be a breath of fresh air for a team that has struggled to find a long-term solution at QB since…give me a minute…Tarkenton?
Sleeper: OG David Yankey
Yankey was very good at Stanford and he has some versatility considering he lined up at both guard and tackle in college. The Vikings starting guards are Charlie Johnson and Brandon Fusco and neither of them is great. Yankey will compete and I won’t be surprised if he’s lining up at one of the OG spots come week 1.
Overall Analysis:
Anthony Barr is a terrific playmaker as a pass rushing OLB in a 3-4 defense but that isn’t the defense Mike Zimmer runs. Minnesota needs LB’s for sure but Barr just doesn’t fit what they do. He is a great athlete and he may become a great LB with some time but the Vikings need help now and it’s going to take some time to transition him. I love Barr as a player but I’m not wild about his fit on this defense. Bridgewater is the future at QB and he is the face of the franchise after Peterson’s career is over. DE Scott Crichton is a good pass rusher and I actually had the Vikings taking him in the second round of my mock draft and they got him in the third. He will help replace some of the pass rush lost when Jared Allen left. RB Jerick McKinnon was drafted in the third round to replace Toby Gerhart as Peterson’s backup, I don’t know a lot about the Georgia Southern RB but I know there were some good RB’s still available like Devonte Freeman and Ka’Deem Carey so they must like something about him. Obviously the Vikings felt they needed some competition at CB so they drafted three; Antone Exum, Kendall James and Jabari Price, it seems unlikely all of them will make the roster but perhaps they will find a diamond in the rough. DT Shamar Stephen and OLB Brandon Watts seem unlikely to make the roster.
The Hott Read 