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NFC North - Draft Report Card Bears: A- Round 3 (68) Jarron Gilbert, DE San Jose State It seems like the Bears typically try to add at least D-Lineman in every draft. Gilbert is a very good prospect that could project to play at DT or DE. He's quick off the snap and shows good leverage. He's a solid athlete all around. Round 4 (99) Juaquin Iglesias, WR Oklahoma This was a solid selection. The Bears needed help at WR, so they drafted a very productive yet underrated prospect in Iglesias. He isn't flashy, but he knows how to get open and rarely drops the ball. Round 4 (105) Henry Melton, DE Texas Here's another D-Lineman. Melton did not get the post season hype that many others did, but this kid has a lot of talent and could certainly work himself into the rotation. Round 4 (119) D.J. Moore, CB Vanderbilt Moore slips here because he measured in short and had a sub par 40-time. However, he has solid game tape and plays bigger and faster than he is. Most thought of Moore as a 2nd Rounder, so this is a great value pick. Round 5 (140) Johnny Knox, WR Abilene Christian Knox blew up the combine with one of the fastest 40 times out there. He also looked fluid in position drills. As stated, the Bears need help at WR and this kid could notch a spot within their corps. Round 5 (154) Marcus Freeman, OLB Ohio State I still don't know how Freeman falls here. Not only was he very productive at Ohio State, the kid had great workouts. I think he projects to be a solid WLB or at great Special Teams guy at the very least. Round 6 (190) Al Afalava, FS Oregon State Afalava had a productive Senior campaign within a very talented Secondary. While he did benefit from the excellent play from his CBs, he's a decent pick within his own right. Round 7 (246) Lance Louis, OG San Diego State Will he stay at OG, or will he in fact move over to TE? Time will have to tell. Louis is a versatile kid with solid talent. Round 7 (251) Derek Kinder, WR Pittsburgh Kinder did not perform as well as many thought he would this past season. But you'd be splitting hairs to criticize the pick here. Considering how the Bears landed Jay Cutler and didn't have any Day 1 picks to use in the draft itself, this was a good showing from them. They wanted to address their D-Line, and they did. They needed help at WR, another checkmark. They also sprinkled in a couple of other possible contributors. Keep an eye on how these guys perform. Lions: A- Round 1 (1) Matthew Stafford, QB Georgia I'm always leery about a QB going first overall, but the pick does address a need. If they did in fact value a QB over a franchise LT, then the move is understood. He was the best QB in the draft according to most. Round 2 (20) Brandon Pettigrew, TE Oklahoma State I really like this pick. Pettigrew was the best TE in the draft and should start right out of the gate. He'll get used a lot in this Offense. Round 2 (33) Louis Delmas, CB Western Michigan Again, the Lions draft the best player at yet another position. Delmas is a hard hitter that shouldn't sit on the bench for too long. Round 3 (76) DeAndre Levy, OLB Wisconsin The Lions do need some help at LB. but I think this was a reach. Levy is somewhat undersized and often didn't look like a Round 3 caliber player. Round 3 (82) Derrick Williams, WR Penn State Williams has great speed and can be an immediate factor in the kick return game until he finds a groove at WR. Round 4 (115) Sammie Lee Hill, DT Stillman The Lions got decimated against the run last year, so they add a big boy here to help clog up some running lanes. This draft was lacking a lot of legit DTs with good size, so the pick works. While raw, this kid's got some ability. Round 6 (192) Aaron Brown, RB TCU RB wasn't targeted as a need, but Brown is a good RB that should challenge well for a spot somewhere behind Kevin Smith. Round 7 (228) Lydon Murtha, OT Nebraska Murtha's game tape has some holes in it, but the guy showed to be one of the most athletic O-Line prospects at the combine. Round 7 (235) Zack Follett, OLB California Follet is a steal here. In fact, I think he could project to play at MLB and eventually win the starting spot. He's a very intense kid that loves to hit. Round 7 (255) Dan Gronkowski, TE Maryland Here's an athletic TE that won't push Pettigrew for time, but could end up sticking around. Let's get the knocks out of the way first. The Lions failed to draft a legit prospect to play at LT. Jeff Backus will have to hold strong this year, while the position will be the top priority after the close of the 2009 season. They also didn't add much in D-Line help. On average, this team gave up more than 170 rushing yards per game. While they should improve in this regard, they'll need to add more there. Considering how many holes this team had, they did a good job trying to fill a lot of them. No one expects this to be a one-year turn around. Many building blocks were added. They were able to get arguably the best player at his position in each of their first 3 picks. Packers: B Round 1 (9) B.J. Raji, DT Boston College The Packers needed to get a NT for their new 3-4 scheme. They landed the best one in the draft. Round 2 (26) Clay Matthews, OLB Southern Cal Matthews is a talented LB that could actually play at any of the positions within a 3-4. He's a try-hard player that should help bring some noise on Defense. The Packers LB corps should be scary good. Round 5 (109) T.J. Lang, OT Eastern Michigan Lang is a versatile O-Lineman that can play at OT or OG. There may not be an immediate need for him, but this was a smart pick. Round 5 (145) Quinn Johnson, FB LSU There wasn't a better lead FB in the draft than Johnson. While he's not looked upon to be a runner, he can pave the way very well. Round 5 (162) Jamon Meredith, OT South Carolina I actually had Meredith rated above Lang. He's another guy that can play any of the 4 positions along the O-Line. While there may be a few character concerns, he's a quality player. Round 6 (182) Jarius Wynn, DE Georgia Wynn is a decent DE that easily could have gone undrafted. But, he'll get a chance here to fit in as a depth guy at DE. Round 6 (187) Brandon Underwood, CB Cincinnati Underwood was officially listed as a CB, but he'll most likely have to switch over to FS where he has shown some good skills. Round 7 (218) Brad Jones, OLB Colorado Jones will operate much like those who went undrafted in trying to land a roster spot. It'll be very tough for him to do so amongst the existing talent at LB. One of the Packers' main goals out of this draft was to get guys on Defense that could fit their new 3-4 scheme. They still have some work to do in that department, but they took two big steps ahead with their first two picks. They also added some quality O-Lineman that will provide some nice depth. Outside of taking a quality CB early on, they did well. Vikings: B+ Round 1 (22) Percy Harvin, WR Florida Harvin is as talented as any player in this last draft. If he can keep his nose clean and his priorities straight, he could be a real asset to this team. Round 2 (54) Phil Loadholt, OT Oklahoma Loadholt did get exposed against Orakpo this past season, but he looked pretty good against everyone else he faced. He has the physical make up of what could be a solid OT. Round 3 (86) Asher Allen, CB Georgia Allen looked very good in SEC play this year. He's undersized, but the boy can hold his own. Round 5 (150) Jasper Brinkley, ILB South Carolina I'm surprised Brinkley fell here. Yes, the pick matches his Senior year play. However, he looked like a sure fire Day 1 pick prior to his knee injury. And, he had great post season workouts. He's good enough to end up as the starter at MLB in a 1-2 years. Round 7 (231) Jamarca Sanford, FS Mississippi Sanford is another underrated prospect that looked real good in workouts. I wouldn't count this kid out by any means. The Vikings did a really good job of addressing their needs. Often times, teams reach for players when doing so. The Vikings have certainly done so in the past (Ryan Cook). However, that wasn't the case this time around. They got quality players that aligned well with their draft projections. With only five selections, they did what they could with what was available. I do think grabbing a quality QB will be in their sights for 2010 though. |