The Packers hope Kenny Clark can help fill the void left by B.J. Raji
How did your team do in the NFL draft? FantasyPros expert Brian Riedmiller has the review on all 32 NFL teams, complete with winners, losers, and draft grades. All teams are graded on an A through F scale, where “C” is average. So what are the grades? Read on to find out!
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Grading the NFC North
- Winners – Green Bay Packers
- Losers – None
Green Bay Packers
Immediate Needs – ILB / NT / P
Long-Term Needs – OG / TE / OLB / DE
Depth Possibilities – OT / WR / CB / SS
With Clay Matthews moving from ILB back to OLB this season, where he belongs, the Packers suddenly have a glaring hole at inside backer. They addressed this with two picks, in rounds three and four. Although Kyler Fackrell has the size to be an inside linebacker, his instincts and athleticism will most likely land him outside for coverage. Blake Martinez, who is smaller, could use that to his advantage in slipping through gaps and blowing up blockers on the inside. Green Bay has had their fair share of problems on the offensive line, and to address that, they were able to take a pair of tackles in Jason Spriggs (round two) and Kyle Murphy (round six) who will probably rotate between guard and tackle as necessary. Plus, their first-round pick, Kenny Clark, fills a huge hole (pun not intended) that was left when B.J. Raji departed. In the end, this draft wasn’t at all about the glamor positions, but all about the necessary defensive core and moving offensive parts. They did exactly what they needed to do while still not over-reaching for need.
FantasyPros Draft Grade: A-
Detroit Lions
Immediate Needs – OT / DE
Long-Term Needs – CB / ILB / SS
Depth Possibilities – WR
I give the Lions a ton of credit. After losing Calvin Johnson to retirement, it would have been easy to take a receiver in the first round, especially with only Corey Colemen having gone at that point. They’ve become something other than the Lions of old, who used pick after first-round pick on receiver. By taking offensive tackle Taylor Decker in the first round, they’ve set themselves up for success from the inside out. With taking a first-round talent defensive tackle in round two, they set themselves back up to be stout against the run, which has been hard with the losses that they’ve suffered to their line in the past few years. Picks like Miles Killebrew, SS from Souther Utah, in the fourth round and Antwione Williams, a linebacker, in the fifth give them a “hit you in the mouth” swagger that they need to compete against tough backs in the NFC North like Adrian Peterson and Eddie Lacy.
FantasyPros Draft Grade: B
Chicago Bears
Immediate Needs – DE / LT
Long-Term Needs –S / QB
Depth Possibilities – CB / OLB
The Bears are redoing their defense to one that Mike Ditka will be proud of. With their linebacker additions in free agency, coupled with the drafting of outside linebacker Leonard Floyd in the first round and inside linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski in the fourth, they’ve put a lot of energy into the defense, getting back to what they’ve been known for. Don’t overlook their commitment to their offense with the load of picks they had in this draft, since they addressed that with a start-able guard in Cody Whitehair in the second round and a tough, every-down type of running back in Jordan Howard, who, because of his fifth round selection, could be easily overlooked. Much like the Lions, physicality is a strong note in this draft. People will knock teams for drafting too much for need. With the amount of picks the Bears had (nine), it could have worked a little more for them to trade into spots and draft for both need and best player available.
FantasyPros Draft Grade: C
Minnesota Vikings
Immediate Needs – WR
Long-Term Needs –SS / LB / OT
Depth Possibilities – CB / DL / C
On the surface, the Vikings checked off the boxes they needed to with their draft – going after high upside receivers twice with Laquon Treadwell in the first and German Moritz Boehringer in the sixth. I’m not in love with the landing spot for Treadwell, as far as the passing game, because of his lack of speed. I hope, for the Vikings’ sake, he doesn’t disappear in big games without speed, but his physicality as a blocker can only do wonders for Adrian Peterson in the latter portion of his career. With their second-round pick they selected CB Mackensie Alexander from Clemson, who seems, because of his size and lack of true ball skills, like he could have a limited ceiling. Their fourth-round selection, offensive tackle Willie Beavers, is also a project. Still, from the sheer volume of picks that they have (eight) plus the number of boxes they successfully checked off, it gives them a high floor for this draft. The types of players they’ve selected scream “high risk, high reward” to me. I would look for this to be a good draft for Minnesota – possibly in two or three years.
FantasyPros Draft Grade: C+
Here are Brian’s draft grades for other divisions:
Brian Riedmiller is a fantasy correspondent for FantasyPros.com. He has been playing fantasy football for over a decade and is an avid Eagles fan. You can catch him on Twitter under the handle @FantasyCouncil.
