Chicago Bears
(10) Colston Loveland TE Michigan
(39) Luther Burden III WR Missouri
(56) Ozzy Trapilo OT Boston College
(62) Shemar Turner DL Texas A&M
(132) Ruben Hyppolite II LB Maryland
(169) Zah Frazier CB UTSA
(195) Luke Newman OL Michigan St.
(233) Kyle Monangai RB Rutgers
Immediate Impact: TE Colston Loveland, WR Luther Burden III
The Bears have Cole Kmet at TE but Loveland brings a different skill set. He can open up the passing game deep over the middle and he’s a better athlete and pass catcher overall. If they can get Caleb Williams to just run the offense, Loveland will be one of his favorite targets over the middle. Sorry to Olamide Zaccheus but you just got benched before you ever played a down. Burden will primarily work out of the slot and when he doesn’t it will be because they switch him around with DJ Moore. Burden and Moore have overlapping skill sets but if there is any coach who will figure out the best way to get the most out of that pairing, it’s Ben Johnson.
Best Value: DT Shemar Turner
Turner isn’t going to start but he’s going to give them plenty of snaps because he can play inside or outside on the defensive line. He gives them a different body type and skill set on the interior because he’s long and lean. He can play next to Grady Jarrett, Gervon Dextor, or Andrew Billings and do the job. He can also flip outside to give them a backup on the edge. He’s a defensive line piece Dennis Allen will appreciate having at his disposal.
Sleeper: RB Kyle Monangai
This draft was loaded at RB and the fact that Monangai was taken in round seven proves it. He isn’t the biggest guy and he’s not a speedy back but he will run through anyone. He’s also remarkably reliable. He never fumbled in college and he played for four years. He is the type of RB that makes the defense just hate playing football because he runs so hard every down. When Ben Johnson tires of D’Andre Swift’s unreliability, Monangai will be there to save the day. He has a chance to be starting by the midpoint of the season.
Overall Analysis
Last year everyone said Caleb Williams was walking into the best group of skill position players any rookie had ever had, and that was true. What was also true was the coaching staff had no idea how to get the best out of that group and it just so happened the interior of the offensive line was awful so it didn’t matter. This year, they fixed the interior of the o-line, upgraded that group of skill position players, and hired one of the best offensive minds in football. Loveland, Burden, and Monangai are excellent additions at the skill positions. OT Ozzy Trapilo is an upgrade at swing tackle if for no other reason than he should be healthier than Larry Borom was at times. Trapilo has the upside that he may become a starter at some point. LB Ruben Hyppolite II feels like a reach. He has excellent straight-line speed but I wouldn’t expect him out there on defense, maybe he’s a special teams ace. CB Zah Frazier gives them a tall corner with some upside who can be a backup. The Newman pick is a solid choice trying to find some late interior offensive line depth.
Nitpick or Concern: The Hyppolite pick was a too early and while it’s understandable they wanted LB depth, there were better LBs on the board. Other than that, they hit their needs quite well and found some good players who should fit right in.
Detroit Lions
(28) Tyleik Williams DT Ohio St.
(57) Tate Ratledge OG Georgia
(70) Isaac TeSlaa WR Arkansas
(171) Miles Frazier OG LSU
(196) Ahmed Hassanein Edge Boise St.
(230) Dan Jackson S Georgia
(244) Dominic Lovett WR Georgia
Immediate Impact: DT Tyliek Williams, G Tate Ratledge
The Lions’s need at DT isn’t as clear as other issues but it exists. DJ Reader will be 31 this year and Alim McNeill is coming off a knee injury. Levi Onwuzurike was re-signed but he’s a different type of DT. Williams gives them the powerful interior run stuffer, much like Reader but he also has some pocket pushing ability, like McNeill. Ratledge is a Dan Campbell player if there ever was one. I think he starts at one of the guard spots. It’s up to Graham Glasgow and Christian Mahogany to decide who gets the other spot.
Best Value: Ratledge
They got a good starting OG with a late second round pick. That’s about where you should be drafting a starting OG but still, good value. None of their picks were great value, they pretty much got them where they should have. Except TeSlaa, he was reach.
Sleeper: OG Miles Frazier
I have the utmost confidence Ratledge wins a starting spot and that’s as much about his competition as it is about him. Graham Glasgow is an aging player who did not have a good year last year. The fact that Mahagony couldn’t beat Glasgow out last year makes me question him, although he was a rookie sixth round pick so it’s understandable. Frazier comes in round five this year and it wouldn’t completely surprise me if he wins a starting job and the team has two rookie starting guards.
Overall Analysis
Williams, Ratledge, and Frazier are players right up Detroit’s alley. They’re trench players who will upgrade the toughness and strength of the lines. All three will either start of at least contribute in a rotation. The TeSlaa pick was a headscratcher. He wasn’t all that productive at Arkansas and while Arkansas wasn’t some high-flying offense, a guy with his physical gifts should have been better. It’s also a little strange because his selling point is his physical gifts, he’s a big 6’4 219 lbs. target who can jump out of the gym. One problem, his best plays come as a power slot and they use Amon-Ra St. Brown in the slot. There’s a chance they turn him into a Josh Reynolds type of WR but they traded two third round picks to move up to get him. I’m not convinced they needed to trade up at all to get him. There were better WRs on the board at the time and they could have used that pick on a DE to give them some edge help, Landon Jackson, the DE from Arkansas would have made more sense. Instead, they waited until round six to take Ahmed Hassanein from Memphis on the edge, I don’t think he’s as helpful. S Dan Jackson might develop into a real player at some point but WR Dominic Lovett faces an uphill climb to make the roster.
Nitpick or Concern: The trade up for TeSlaa is the screaming question mark of this draft class. The other issue was waiting until 196th pick to address edge rusher. This team needs edge rush help even if Aidan Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport come back healthy.
Green Bay Packers
(23) Matthew Golden WR Texas
(54) Anthony Belton OT NC State
(87) Savion Williams WR/RB TCU
(124) Barryn Sorrell DE Texas
(159) Collin Oliver LB Oklahoma St.
(198) Warren Brinson DL Georgia
(237) Micah Robinson CB Tulane
(250) John Williams OT Cincinnati
Immediate Impact: WR Matthew Golden
The Packers roster is going to be one that is tough for any rookie to make an impact on. Even Golden is going to have to earn his playing time but I think it will be easier for him. WR Chrisitan Watson is supposed to be the Packers deep threat but he’s generally inconsistent and he’s recovering from an injury. Dontayvion Wicks is a guy they like except when he’s dropping passes. Golden makes a nice trio with Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs and becomes Jordan Love’s favorite deep threat.
Best Value: DE Barryn Sorrell
The Packers have Rashan Gary, Lukas Van Ness, and Kingsley Enagbare at DE but Van Ness and Enagbare are not proven players. Sorrell isn’t either but he adds to the rotation and he’ll be a good addition. Getting a guy who can contribute to your pass rush in round four is good value.
Sleeper: WR/RB Savion Williams
Williams is an enigma. He’s 6’4 222 lbs., he’s excellent in contested catch situations but he’s not good at WR otherwise. He’s better as a runner and that makes him a man without a position. If the Packers can figure out a way to use him, he could be a playmaker. There’s a world where he’s a Cordarrelle Patterson type of RB or maybe he’s a Taysom Hill type, minus the QB snaps. There’s also a world where he’s out of the league in two years.
Overall Analysis
This draft was more about getting depth and planning for the future than helping this team now. Certainly, Golden helps the team next season. However, OT Anthony Belton is a hedge against not wanting to pay Rasheed Walker in free agency next year at LT. Sorrell was a pick to guard against Van Ness and Enagbare never putting it together at DE. Williams was a dart throw…in the dark…with a blindfold on…backwards. LB Collin Oliver could be a depth piece. DT Warren Brinson is a big body they hope can give them some of the snaps they lost when TJ Slaton left. CB Micah Robinson and OT John Williams are developmental guys who will have to fight hard to make the roster.
Nitpick or Concern: Where’s the help in the secondary? One late pick on Micah Robinson isn’t solving any issues at CB. They must be planning on Jaire Alexander coming back and being his old self. I’m not sure Keisean Nixon and Nate Hobbs are guys I want to count on at CB in a division that has guys like Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, Jameson Williams, and Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Minnesota Vikings
(24) Donovan Jackson OG Ohio St.
(102) Tai Felton WR Maryland
(139) Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins DL Georgia
(201) Kobe King LB Penn St.
(202) Gavin Bartholomew TE Pittsburgh
Immediate Impact: LG Donovan Jackson
This is a small draft class joining a pretty solid roster so there’s not a lot of places a rookie can help. LG is the biggest hole and Jackson should be an immediate starter. The team signed veterans C Ryan Kelly and RG Will Fries so Jackson completes the overhaul of the interior of the offensive line. Blake Brandel is not going to keep Jackson out of the lineup.
Best Value: None
This wasn’t a value draft. Jackson may have been worth the 24th pick but not by a lot. The other four guys were taken where they should have been taken at best.
Sleeper: WR Tai Felton
The Vikings have the best WR in football in Justin Jefferson and a pretty high-end WR2 in Jordan Addison. After those two it’s a mixed bag of guys like Jalen Nailor or Rondale Moore. Felton gives the team a guy with legitimate downfield speed and while he’s pretty thin, he is fairly tall at 6’1. He adds an element to the offense they don’t have if he can prove he can play at this level.
Overall Analysis
The Vikings aren’t counting on this draft class to do too much. They need Donovan Jackson to solidify the offensive line and that’s about it. The improved offensive line is key to the running game which is key to JJ McCarthy’s success at QB. WR Tai Felton might make a play here or there that would help but that’s just icing on the cake. The last three guys might be depth players if they make the roster but I’m not betting on any of them at this point.
Nitpick or Concern: Where’s the help at CB? Signing Isaiah Rodgers and Jeff Okudah isn’t really fixing much. They could have had a guy like Quincy Riley when they took Felton and then grabbed a WR later. As much as LG was a need and I like Donovan Jackson, they should have traded down for more picks. The next two picks off the board both got traded including the Rams getting the Falcons first round pick next season for 26 overall. Also, perhaps taking a CB with their first pick and then coming back at 102 where they took Felton for a guard would make more sense. It’s easier to find a starting guard later in the draft. Marcus Mbow, Miles Frazier, and some others were still available at 102.
The Hott Read 