NFC North Draft Recap

Chicago Bears
Round 3: S Major Wright, Florida – Great in coverage and has great range, but needs to be more instinctive.
Round 4: DE Corey Wootton, Northwestern – A tall defensive end with solid skills, but major injury concerns.
Round 5: DB Joshua Moore, Kansas State – A solid junior who can locate the ball in coverage and fits well in the Bears defense.
Round 6: QB Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan – A great college QB, LeFevour has a lot of questions about his NFL game.
Round 7: T J’marcus Webb, West Texas A&M – Massive tackle with maturity issues, but great size.

The Bears had limited picks, and took chances on unproven players from the college level.

Detroit Lions
Round 1: DT Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska – The Lions take the best player available, Suh will be the cornerstone of the Lion defense.
Round 1: RB Jahvid Best, Cal – A dynamic playmaker, Best has potential to be the best RB in the class.
Round 3: DB Amari Spievey, Iowa – A solid zone defender, Spievey is a well-built corner for Detroit.
Round 4: T Jason Fox, Miami (FL) – A good athlete, but fell this far due to a left knee injury.
Round 7: DE Willie Young, NC State – A great built DE, Young struggles against the run game.
Round 7: WR Tim Toone, Weber State – This year’s “Mr. Irrelevant”, Toone is undersized but very productive.

I like the Lions draft, getting Suh and trading back in to get Best. The others are solid projects and developmental players, although Fox could pressure Jeff Backus for a starting job.

Green Bay Packers
Round 1: OT Bryan Bulaga, Iowa – A great fit in Green Bay, Bulaga provides Aaron Rodgers some much needed protection.
Round 2: DT Mike Neal, Purdue – A player that lacks burst off the edge, Neal may struggle to start.
Round 3: S Morgan Burnett, Georgia Tech – A great ball hawk, Burnett has solid range, but struggles tackle running backs.
Round 5: TE Andrew Quarless, Penn State – A solid talent, but he falls this low due to bad interviews during the postseason.
Round 5: T Marshall Newhouse, TCU – A natural athlete at tackle who could move to guard in the Packers scheme.
Round 6: RB James Starks, Buffalo – A big back, Starks has some major durability issues.
Round 7: DL CJ Wilson, East Carolina – Wilson may have trouble finding a role in the Packers defense, but he’s a solid lineman in a 4-3.

I’m lukewarm on the Packers draft, as Bulaga is a great o-line prospect, but most of the others don’t seem like NFL starters.

Minnesota Vikings
Round 2: CB Chris Cook, Virginia – Cook is a great size/speed prospect, and a great press coverage man. He could move to FS at the next level.
Round 2: RB Toby Gerhart, Stanford – A tough physical runner, Gerhart should be a solid backup for Adrian Peterson
Round 4: DE Everson Griffin, USC – A great athlete, but has major bust potential.
Round 5: G Chris DeGeare, Wake Forest – Should help in the great run game the Vikings have.
Round 5: LB Nate Triplett, Minnesota – A great downhill attacker, he provides a great physical presence inside.
Round 6: QB/WR Joe Webb, UAB – Webb is a very tall, fast player, who will move to WR after playing QB at UAB.
Round 7: TE Mickey Shuler, Penn State – A solid blocker and pass catcher, Shuler was the backup at Penn State last year.
Round 7: LB Ryan D'Imperio, Rutgers – Limited in space, he is a solid tackler inside the box.

Solid draft by Minnesota, getting Cook, Gerhart, and Griffin, all three have great potential to make an impact now. Just a note, the Vikings signed undrafted free agent QB Ryan Perilloux from Jacksonville State (former LSU QB). Perilloux could compete with Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels for the Brett Favre backup job.

After recapping the NFC North, next up will be the NFC South. Enjoy!

2010 NFL Mock Draft Series: Detroit Lions

With the Rams taking Jimmy Clausen at number one, we will now examine the Detroit Lions and their possible choices at the number 2 slot. First though, let's recap the Lions 2009 campaign.

Season Recap: The Lions won 2 games this year, an improvement over '08 when they failed to record a victory. Their two wins came against Cleveland and Washington, so these were not impressive wins (although the Cleveland game had a very good finish). First round pick from last year Matthew Stafford showed progression, while Calvin Johnson continued to establish himself as a solid receiver. Rookie TE Brandon Pettigrew showed flashes of brilliance this season. The run game struggled, with Kevin Smith suffering a knee injury towards the end of the season. Defensively, rookie safety Louis Delmas emerged as a star, with 94 tackles. DE Cliff Avril rose to the challenge to become the team's most potent pass rushing threat, accumulating 5.5 sacks. Although the Lions are showing tremendous growth as a team, so far it has not come together to produce victories.

Predicted Pick: With the second overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions select…………… DT Ndamukung Suh, Nebraska. The Lions could use help on the o-line, but right now Suh is too good to pass up. If Avril continues to develop, the d-line could be strong, plus Suh on his own is a playmaker in the trenches.

Other possibilities:
1. DT Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma - This will only ever happen if St. Louis takes Suh with the first pick, because there is no way the Lions would take McCoy over Suh.

2. OT Russell Okung, Oklahoma State - The Lions clearly need help protecting Matt Stafford, and Okung is a very solid tackle.

The next pick belongs to the Tampa Bay Bucs, and with their prized prospect likely taken, we will look at who they might take with the 3rd pick.