NFC North Draft Review

[AZ54]

Keeping up with our division rivals here is who they drafted, and my opinions on that.  

Detroit 

1/20  C  Ragnow   good player, moves well, not that strong (yet) and this seemed early for him to come off the board

2/11  RB  Kerryon Johnson   he's a good RB but not special in any area, he will definitely help give them a solid running game

3/18  S  Tracy Walker   NFLDraftScout had him listed as a 5th Rd prospect.  NFL.com has his graded as a career backup potential, again Rd 5-6

4/14  DE Da'shawn Hand   ranked as 2/3rd Rd seems to be good value here in the 4th but for his athletic talent he underperformed in college

5/16  G  Tyrell Crosby   again good value here for a player with starter potential 

7/19  RB Nick Bawden   looks like a FB or h-back prospect

Summary... not much to worry about from my perspective.  Johnson will give them a more solid running game but if Ragnow starts he'll struggle with Goldman up front.  

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Green Bay 

1/18  CB  Jaire Alexander   good  prospect, on the smaller side for CBs but he's physical.  Easy replacement for Randall

2/13  CB   Josh Jackson   WTF?  Didn't they draft Kevin King last year?  Jackson I didn't like for us because I view him as more of a zone CB.  While everyone talked about his INTs they come from him facing the QB and reading his eyes.  He does not match up well in press coverage nor does he have good speed.   Who gets on the field and where among King, Alexander, and Jackson?  

3/24  LB  Oren Burks   graded as Rd 4/5 talent yet NFL.com gives them a good score for taking them in Rd 3.  That's just BS reporters buying the hype.  NFLDraftScout had as 3rd grade, he's got the athleticism for the ILB role, lacks instincts.  

4/33  WR  J'mon Moore   good WR graded to go in this area of the draft.  He has talent to be a starter but character issues that might keep him from achieving that. 

5/1  OL  Cole Madison   likely nothing more than a career backup, decent value for the late round pick

5/35  P   JK Scott    yes, they used a 5th Rd pick on a punter

5/37  Wr  Marquez Valdes-Scantling   I liked him as a very late draft pick and he graded out as 6/7th Rd.  He's a big fast athlete who lacks shiftiness as a WR.  Seems early for him.

6/33  WR  Eq St Brown    Why wouldn't you take him in Rd 4, or Rd 5?   Easily the best of the 3 WRs they drafted.  

7/14  DE James Looney

7/21   LS   Hunter Bradley   this is what happens when the league hands out too many compensatory draft picks

7/30  Edge  Kendall Donnerson    he's just 6'2"  but elite athlete who is more workout warrior than football player.   Worthy project in Rd 7.  

Summary   I liked Alexander and he'll help them this season.   I hope Josh Jackson wins the job on the other side because I think Nagy will exploit him early and often with Gabriel.  No matter taking two CBs early when they needed pass rush help was good news for us.  Nor does Burks have the ability to help in that role early on.   Throwing 3 darts at WR seems excessive especially in the order they were taken.   

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Minnesota

1/30  CB Mike Hughes   I liked Hughes and at this point was good value.  He's got some issues to work on but he'll make their secondary even better.  

2/30  OT Brian O'neill    If my memory serves me right this is the OT who got pushed all over the field at the Senior Bowl.  I really hope he's a starter for them this season.  

4/2  DE Jalyn Holmes   big body DE with little pass rush ability but he has some potential there. 

5/20  TE Tyler Conklin  Smaller side for TEs, and somewhat slow.  He'll be a contributor for them but never a guy you worry about.  

5/30  K   Daniel Carlson   another division rival uses a draft pick on a kicker  

6/39  G  Colby Gossett   We don't see many Oline prospects drafted out of App State but he's got the size to play in the NFL but is not that nimble.   Good value for a guy who could develop into a solid backup.  

6/44  Edge Ade Aruna    They got Ade, who I liked at this point in the draft.  At least I'll get to see how he develops over the next few years.  

7/7  LB Devante Downs  

Summary... outside of Hughes, I don't see much improvement this year from O'Neill and Holmes.  

 

 

 

 

  

 

[adam]

AZ, good analysis, I didn't see more than 1-2 starters in any of those drafts. Where we had at least 3. 

I would take our top 3 picks over each of the NFC North's First Rounders every time:

Option Bears - Smith, Daniels, Miller
Option Loss - Ragnow, Alexander, Hughes

[AZ54]

3 hours ago, adam said:

AZ, good analysis, I didn't see more than 1-2 starters in any of those drafts. Where we had at least 3. 

I would take our top 3 picks over each of the NFC North's First Rounders every time:

Option Bears - Smith, Daniels, Miller
Option Loss - Ragnow, Alexander, Hughes

I like our draft much better too.  

[jason]

I think the Lions did pretty well.

• 1/20  C  Ragnow  - Makes Stafford more comfortable in the pocket.
• 2/11  RB  Kerryon Johnson - I've seen this guy since middle school. He's a stud. I've been saying he'd be a pro since he was in 9th grade. I hated seeing him to go a division rival. He could be special.
• 3/18  S  Tracy Walker - I didn't get this pick as much. Didn't know much about him.
• 4/14  DE Da'shawn Hand - Great value. Potential to be a stud if he produces to talent level.
• 5/16  G  Tyrell Crosby - Great value here. Makes Stafford more comfortable in the pocket.
• 7/19  RB Nick Bawden - A camp body.