The 2023 NFL Draft was wild! There was a record 43 trades made for a draft and many teams feel that they added some good talent. Let’s review the NFC North’s picks.
Chicago Bears
Bears traded pick 1 for DJ Moore, pick 9, pick 61 (Round 2), 2024 1st and 2025 2nd round pick. Bears traded pick 9 to the Eagles for pick 10 and a 4th round pick.
Pick 10 RT Darnell Wright- Fills a huge need for the Bears and should be a plug and play starting RT with some guard skills. Violent right tackle that can be a force in run game with solid pass protection
Bears did not have pick 32 because they traded it to the Steelers for Chase Claypool. Steelers took Joey Porter Jr.
Pick 53- DT Gervon Dexter. Bears added a talented pass rushing DT from Florida. Chicago got this pick from trading Roquan Smith last season. Bull rush master
Pick 56- CB Tyrique Stevenson- Bears traded up with the Jaguars to land a much-needed CB at the end of Round 2. Boom or bust physical specimen but lots of blown coverage and missed tackles on tape
Pick 64 Round 3- DT Zach Pickens. Bears add a nose tackle with some pass rush ability from South Carolina at the top of Round 3. Athletic high motor DT
Round 4 115- RB Roschon Johnson. Another RB added for the Bears to have the backs by committee in Chicago. Power back with some explosion playing behind Bijan
Round 4 133- WR Tyler Scott. Bears added day 3 weapon with the trade from the Eagles. Speedy with some YAC capabilities
Round 5 Pick 148: Bears add Penei Sewell’s younger brother Noah Sewell at LB. Thick old school downhill LB. Coverage worries
Round 5 Pick 165: CB Terrell Smith from Minnesota. Man to man big corner
Round 7: DT Travis Bell from Kennesaw State Undersize 3 tech
Round 7: S Kendall Willliamson from Stanford. Safety who could move to LB
Overall, a good draft for the Bears adding a starting RT and building up the defensive line. Stevenson and Roschon Johnson will be interesting players to see if they improved the Bears secondary and run game in 2023.
Green Bay Packers
Round 1 Pick 13: Lukas Van Ness. Packers get an athletic OLB/DE from Iowa to mitigate the Gary injury. Packers moved up to 13 from 15 via the Aaron Rodgers trade. Strong effort player with some athleticism to be productive if he turns the light on.
Round 2 Pick 42: TE Luke Musgrave. Packers got this pick from the Rodgers trade from the Jets and added a reliable athletic weapon for Jordan Love. Athletic seam stretcher but injuries cost him in 2022
Round 2 Pick 50: WR Jayden Reed. More weapons for Love with a slot WR in Reed that was productive and plays bigger than his size. Crafty route runner
Round 3 Pick 78: TE Tucker Kraft. Another third weapon on day 2 for Love. Double tight end sets coming. YAC specialist
Round 4 Pick 116 Colby Wooden DT/Edge- girthy 3-4 DE
Round 5 Pick 149 QB Sean Clifford. Ultra-productive Penn State QB. Not a great arm but is just a gamer.
Round 5 Pick 159 WR Donayvion Wicks- sleek 6’1 receiver that can get open
Round 6 DT Karl Brooks- productive pass rusher with good athleticism
Round 6 Kicker Andres Carlson- replaces Crosby and younger brother of Raider and former Viking Daniel Carlson
Round 7 CB Carrington Valentine- press corner
Round 7 RB Lew Nichols- slow but good size with some pass catching
Round 7 Anthony Johnson safety Iowa State- slot/safety hybrid
Round 7 WR Grant Dubose- tall and good burst
Very athletic draft class with lots of day 2 weapons for Love.
Detroit Lions
Round 1 Pick 12: Jahmry Gibbs RB- speedy running back that is a home run threat with excellent route running and hands. Think Alvin Kamara
Round 1 Pick 18: Jake Campbell- athletic do it all linebacker with good zone coverage ability and great size. Leader of good Iowa defense. MIKE LB for the Lions moving Anzlaone to Will LB
Round 2 Pick 24: Sam La Porta TE- YAC monster with George Kittle vibes. Great athlete
Round 2 Pick 45: NB Brian Branch- productive instinctive nickel that many thought would be a first-round pick.
Round 3 Pick 68: QB Herndon Hooker- stud production QB at Tennessee and true leader. Coming off ACL but should be ready by Week 1
Round 3 Pick 96: NT Brodric Martin- mountain of a man NT with some pass rush skills for Western Kentucky. Will rotate with Isiah Buggs at nose tackle.
Round 5 Pick 152: OT/Guard Colby Sorsdal. Right tackle from small school that can play guard
Round 7 Pick 219 : WR Antoine Green. Good size and decent speed once he gets moving. X WR
Strong day 2 for the Lions saved the draft from positional value nightmares. Gibbs can be a big-time weapon and is under contract for 4+ years as they trade Swift. Campbell upgrades LB big time and La Porta becomes TE 1. Branch is the future from nickel learning from Gardner Johnson and Hooker has starter potential coming back from the ACL. Martin adds to the nose tackle rotation. Solid draft for Detroit.
Minnesota Vikings
Round 1 Pick 23: WR Jordan Addison USC- great route runner but small. Good compliment to Jefferson
Round 3: Pick 102 NB Mechki Blackmon USC- smaller but good coverage CB on the outside
Round 4 Pick 134 S Jay Ward- slot/safety hybrid
Round 5 141: DT Jaquelin Roy- pass rushing DT that needs work in run game
Round 5 164: QB Jaren Hall BYU- athletic with quick release but locks into first read. Developmental QB
Round 7 222: RB DeWayne McBride UAB- good size with good size and some balance. Could be a steal
Vikings replaced Thielen and took some shots in the secondary again on day 2/early day 3. Hall will be the 3rd developmental QB. Solid draft but no big moves.