Chicago Bears
7. Kevin White WR West Virginia
39. Eddie Goldman DT Florida St.
71. Hroniss Grasu OC Oregon
106. Jeremy Langford RB Michigan St.
142. Adrian Amos S Penn St.
183. Tayo Fabuluje OT TCU
Immediate Impact: WR Kevin White, DT Eddie Goldman, OC Hroniss Grasu
No offense to Marquess Wilson but White will be lining up opposite Alshon Jeffery on day one and he will be just as productive as Brandon Marshall was last year, he’ll be far less of a headache too. The Bears didn’t have a NT to plug into their 3-4 defense until Goldman slipped to them at 39. He’s a big man will nice athleticism and he fits exactly what they need and they have virtually no competition for him so he starts now. After letting long-time veteran Roberto Garza go it looked like they would go with Will Montgomery at OC and they still might but Grasu is good and he’ll push for the starting job right out of the gate.
Best Value: S Adrian Amos
In a draft that lacked quality at safety the Bears got a pretty solid player in the fifth round. Amos doesn’t wow you with his skills but he has good athleticism and he knows what he’s supposed to do and where he’s supposed to be. Those two traits alone give him a leg up on the Bears roster. Amos brings value because he’s a fifth round pick that could see a lot of action because the Bears safeties are terrible. Free agent pickup Antrel Rolle isn’t a kid anymore and Brock Vereen and Ryan Mundy aren’t making the Pro Bowl roster anytime soon.
Sleeper: RB Jeremy Langford
I’m a big fan of Langford because he has a great NFL skillset. He is absolutely fantastic in the screen game which the Bears have run for quite some time because Matt Forte excels at it too. Langford will give Kadeem Carey a run for his money as Forte’s backup and he has a little more speed than Carey. He carried the ball plenty at Michigan St. so he can handle the workload if needed. Langford has similar skills to Forte so if the offense is designed to use Forte it will suit him too.
Overall Analysis:
I certainly can’t object to the first five players the Bears drafted and while I’m not all that familiar with Tayo Fabuluje you certainly can’t complain about taking a chance on a gigantic OT in the sixth round of the draft. White and Goldman are major contributors from day one and I think Grasu and Amos could be starters on this team. Grasu is a little light and that worked in Oregon’s offense but he needs to get a little stronger. The Bears did an excellent job of getting value at their picks especially with Goldman at 39 and Langford in the fourth round. I only have one issue with this draft and that is that they didn’t address their glaring need for a pass rushing OLB. I assume they believe they can turn Willie Young and Jared Allen into OLBs to play opposite Pernell McPhee but that’s a dangerous assumption. The 3-4 defense is predicated on getting pass rush from the OLB position and it could be a long year on defense.
Detroit Lions
28. Laken Tomlinson OG Duke
54. Ameer Abdullah RB Nebraska
80. Alex Carter CB Stanford
113. Gabe Wright DT Auburn
168. Michael Burton FB Rutgers
200. Quandre Diggs CB Texas
240. Corey Robinson OT South Carolina
Immediate Impact: OG Laken Tomlinson
The Lions needed offensive line help and since the best OT prospects were off the board at #28 they grabbed one of the best guards in the draft. Tomlinson is a 6’3 323 lbs. behemoth that knows how to move people off the line of scrimmage and pairing him with Larry Warford gives the Lions serious strength at offensive guard. Tomlinson will slide right into the starting lineup and improve their running game.
Best Value: DT Gabe Wright
The Lions neglected to get one of the top ranked DTs early in the draft but they were able to secure Auburn’s Gabe Wright in the fourth round and while he has never been as productive as his skills would lead you to believe he’s a pretty good player to get that late. The team needs help at DT next to Haloti Ngata and perhaps Ngata’s work ethic will rub off on Wright and he will live up to his potential. The DT depth chart isn’t great and Wright can make noise quickly.
Sleepers: CB Quandre Diggs, OT Corey Robinson
Diggs started for four years at Texas and he’s got very natural cover skills. He is small and he’s not going to be a great matchup against big WRs but he’s got fight and knowhow and he is a physical presence despite his size. He will come up in run support and he could be a very good slot corner right away. Robinson is a 6’7 324 lbs. mountain with great length but he’s probably limited to RT duties and that’s actually alright in Detroit. The Lions RT options are terrible and Robinson has as good a shot at the job as anyone.
Overall Analysis:
The Tomlinson pick was fantastic because the Lions needed to get better on the offensive line. I’m not a fan of Abdullah and I think they should have addressed RT or DT in the second round instead because there were solid players at those positions still available. I will say that Abdullah could make a nice complement to Joique Bell but anyone expecting Abdullah to be the bell cow RB will be disappointed. CB Alex Carter was a nice addition to a secondary that needs an infusion of youth and he and Diggs will both help. Robinson is never going to be an All-Pro but if he can play RT and just get in the way of opposing pass rushers he would be an upgrade to what they have otherwise. I would have liked this draft a lot more if they would have taken a DT in the second round instead of Abdullah and then grabbed a RB in round four where they got Wright.
Green Bay Packers
30. Damarious Randall FS Arizona St.
62. Quinten Rollins CB Miami (OH)
94. Ty Montgomery WR Stanford
129. Jake Ryan LB Michigan
147. Brett Hundley QB UCLA
206. Aaron Ripkowski FB Oklahoma
210. Christian Ringo DE Louisiana-Lafayette
213. Kennard Backman TE UAB
Immediate Impact: LB Jake Ryan
The Packers better hope that their fourth round draft pick can make an immediate impact. They are woefully thin at ILB and while that is probably Ryan’s best position in a 3-4 defense it isn’t like he’s a sure thing. I’m assuming they think differently but they did wait until the fourth round to take him. When I look at Ryan I see a poor man’s AJ Hawk and considering the Packers cut ties with Hawk in the off season I’m not sure how this helps.
Best Value: QB Brett Hundley
I was absolutely floored to see Hundley still on the board in the fifth round of this draft and I’m sure Ted Thompson was too. Obviously the Packers don’t need a QB and barring an injury Hundley will be holding a clipboard all year but he was too good to pass up. He could develop into a very solid backup to Rodgers for a couple of years and then he could bring excellent value as a trade chip down the line. Hundley was always going to need time and he won’t be rushed at all in Green Bay.
Sleepers: CB Quinten Rollins
It’s a little hard to call a second round pick a sleeper but I’m saying it here because I think Rollins ceiling is sky high. Rollins played basketball for 4 years at Miami (OH) and joined the football team by chance and then he excelled. He got by on pure talent alone and once he gets NFL level coaching there is no telling how good he could be.
Overall Analysis:
I understand that the Packers see Randall as a nickel corner playing over the slot and while that is a need taking him in the first round and Rollins in the second round seems redundant especially when you have a huge need at ILB. They could have had their choice of any of the top ILBs at Randall’s spot and they passed again in the second and third rounds too. WR Ty Montgomery was over drafted in the third round. He brings value as a return man but so do many players that went later. Ryan isn’t a bad player for depth but they needed more help at LB. FB Aaron Ripkowski is the type of player the Packers have had in John Kuhn so he couldn’t have found a better place to go. The last two players are only making the Packers if they are outstanding special team’s players.
Minnesota Vikings
11. Trae Waynes CB Michigan St.
45. Eric Kendricks LB UCLA
88. Danielle Hunter DE LSU
110. TJ Clemmings OT Pittsburgh
143. Mycole Pruitt TE Southern Illinois
146. Stefon Diggs WR Maryland
185. Tyrus Thompson OT Oklahoma
193. BJ Dubose DE Louisville
228. Austin Shepherd OT Alabama
232. Edmond Robinson OLB Newberry
Immediate Impact: CB Trae Waynes, LB Eric Kendricks
Mike Zimmer likes press CBs and now he can pair Waynes with Xavier Rhodes and he has the best set of press corners in his division. The two of them are big, strong and not afraid to take on anyone and in this division that is worth its weight in gold. Kendricks is a smart player that will slide right into the middle LB spot this year for the Vikings because they need him there but it’s not his ultimate position. He isn’t built to play MLB in a 4-3 defense so a year from now they will likely slide him over to replace Chad Greenway on the weakside (I’m a little sad about that but Chad’s had a long career that’s coming to an end).
Best Value: OT TJ Clemmings
I’m not privy to the medical reports teams have on prospects but everyone says that it was questions about his medical checks that dropped Clemmings all the way to fourth round; well it had to be because he has first round talent. If he stays healthy he can steal Matt Kalil’s job at LT unless Kalil really improves his performance over last season. Clemmings is an athletic kid that has just scratched the surface of his talent and needs time to develop offensive line skills.
Sleeper: WR Stefon Diggs
The Vikings traded for Mike Wallace and they really like Charles Johnson on the outside too, they are hoping Cordarrelle Patterson grabs the slot receiver role but if he slips just a little Diggs is going to take it from him. Diggs is a quick-twitch athlete with burst and speed and he can be all the things the Vikings have wanted Patterson to be and more. He lacks discipline and he needs someone to push him but he’s such a natural playmaker he won’t be denied a spot on this team.
Overall Analysis:
This is one of my favorite overall drafts because Waynes, Kendricks, Clemmings and Diggs were all fantastic value picks. I also like the additions of Tyrus Thompson and Austin Shepherd because the Vikings offensive line needed some depth and some competition. Thompson could be a player if the coaching staff can light a fire under him (they should invest in 24 hour a day motivational speaker for Diggs, Thompson and Hunter). I have two issues with this draft. Obviously the Vikings have no plans to get rid of Adrian Peterson and every intention of having him play because they did nothing in this draft to address the position. Even if they have no plans to get rid of him this off season Peterson isn’t going to last forever and they could have taken advantage of the RB depth in this draft and found an heir apparent. My other issue is with Danielle Hunter. Hunter is the second coming of Barkevious Mingo and that is not a good thing. Hunter looks like a supreme athlete that just needs to put it all together but he had very little production at LSU and I don’t see him turning it on it the pros. It may seem like good value to get a raw prospect like him in the third round but I just don’t see him making a difference and there were prospects on the board that will.
The Hott Read 