Chicago Bears: A+
1.) Kevin White, WR, West Virginia
2.) Eddie Goldman, DT, Florida St.
3.) Hroniss Grasu, C, Oregon
4.) Jeremy Langford, RB, Michigan St.
5.) Adrian Amos, S, Penn St.
6.) Tayo Fabuluje, OT, TCU
Bottom Line: The hometown team of the NFL draft had a perfect haul under new head coach Jim Fox. The Bears hit every need they had and did so with value at each spot. White, will start Day One and give an inconsistent quarterbacking position a legitimate target opposite Alshon Jeffery. White, was only a one year starter at West Virginia and seems to be just scratching the surface of his talent. Goldman, fell out of the first-round and the Bears couldn’t have been happier. Switching to a 3-4 defense, Goldman is their mountain in the middle. The team released center Roberto Garza and signed Will Montgomery, who shared his days in Denver with Fox. Montgomery, is no spring chicken and is the perfect stopgap to let Grasu (a four-year starter for the Ducks) get comfortable at the next level.
Detroit Lions: B-
1.) Laken Tomlinson, OG, Duke
2.) Ameer Abdullah, RB, Nebraska
3.) Alex Carter, CB, Stanford
4.) Gabe Wright, DT, Auburn
5.) Michael Burton, FB, Rutgers
6.) Quandre Diggs, CB, Texas
7.) Corey Robinson, OT, South Carolina
Bottom Line: The Lions stayed put during the draft and brought in a quality class. Tomlinson, in the first-round fills the opening at the guard spot opposite Larry Warford. Tomlinson, does have some limitations to his game but has the intangibles that makes Detroit believe they can get the most out of the former-Blue Devil. The diminutive Abdullah replaces the diminutive Reggie Bush. Abdullah, is a nice compliment to Joique Bell and is a homerun threat whenever he has the ball in his hands. Carter, provides much needed youth, depth, and size to the secondary. It is surprising that Lions waited until the fourth-round to address the defensive line, clearly their weakest position after losing both Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley. Diggs, was a four-year starter for the Longhorns.
Green Bay Packers: C
1.) Damarious Randall, S, Arizona St.
2.) Quinten Rollins, CB, Miami (OH)
3.) Ty Montgomery, WR, Stanford
4.) Jake Ryan, OLB, Michigan
5.) Brett Hundley, QB, UCLA
6.) Aaron Ripkowski, FB, Oklahoma
6.) Christian Ringo, DE, Louisiana-Lafayette
6.) Kennard Backman, TE, UAB
Bottom Line: A puzzling draft to say the least. Green Bay usually brings a quality draft class into each summer and while there is plenty of quality, the strangeness comes from how they addressed areas of need. The team already has three starter quality safties in Morgan Burnett, Haha Clinton-Dix (last year’s first-round pick), and Micah Hyde but still selected Randall in the first. Rollins, was a quality pick in the second-round. Filled a major need and has huge upside. Only played football for one season at Miami, Ohio and turned in 72 tackles and seven interceptions. Montgomery, may be a reach in the third-round but is a valuable return man in addition to receiving duties. The teams biggest need was inside linebacker and they didn’t select one until the fourth-round in Ryan, who comes out of a 4-3 Michigan defense where he played on the outside. Expect him to shift inside.
Minnesota Vikings: A+
1.) Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan St.
2.) Eric Kendricks, ILB, UCLA
3.) Danielle Hunter, DE, LSU
4.) T.J. Clemmings, OT, Pittsburgh
5.) MyCole Pruitt, TE, Southern Illinois
5.) Stefon Diggs, WR, Maryland
6.) Tyrus Thompson, OT, Oklahoma
6.) B.J. Dubose, DE, Louisville
7.) Austin Shepherd, OT, Alabama
7.) Edmond Robinson, OLB, Newberry
Bottom Line: A terrific blend of need and value. That is the best way to describe the Vikings draft class. Pairing Waynes with former-first-round pick Xavier Rhodes, gives the Vikings as good a corner tandem as any in the league and they have youth on their side. Head coach Mike Zimmer had a bounty of cornerbacks in Cincinnati and is building a similar secondary in Minnesota. Kendricks, gives the Viks the starting inside ‘backer they have needed for the past few years. As if winning the Butkus Award his senior year wasn’t enough of a selling point, Kendricks will be reunited with former-Bruin and last year’s first-round choice Anthony Barr. Clemmings, was a steal in the fourth-round. He slipped that late due to injury concerns but if all checks out, the Vikings landed themselves a starting right tackle. In the fifth-round, Minnesota took a couple of dynamic receiving talents. Pruitt, is a matchup nightmare and Diggs, if healthy, can be an offensive weapon as he has homerun speed whenever he has the ball.
