{"id":22535,"date":"2022-05-20T13:52:49","date_gmt":"2022-05-20T17:52:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/?p=22535"},"modified":"2022-05-20T13:52:51","modified_gmt":"2022-05-20T17:52:51","slug":"nfc-north-draft-grades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/nfl\/nfc-north-draft-grades\/","title":{"rendered":"NFC NORTH DRAFT GRADES"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BY ADAM GREENE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Considering how badly this division underperformed in 2021, the teams did pretty well on draft day. Only the Chicago Bears were without a first round pick and while you can be critical of the strategies some of the teams used (we\u2019re looking at you Green Bay), you can\u2019t find much fault with the players they added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before we get to the grades, let\u2019s go over the ground rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. If a team doesn\u2019t own at least one first round pick, it can\u2019t get an \u201cA.\u201d I can recognize steals as much as the next over-imaginative NFL scout, but guys are ranked as first rounders for a reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. The Draft Grade I enter into the permanent record will be based on the performances each of these men displayed in college. I will not base it on my imagination (what scouts, general managers and pundits call a \u201cceiling\u201d) or how well he exercised at the combine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DETROIT<\/strong> LIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selections:<\/strong> No. 2: Aidan Hutchinson, DE, Michigan \u2014 No. 12: Jameson Williams, WR, Alabama \u2014 No. 46: Joshua Paschal, DE, Kentucky \u2014 No. 97: Kerby Joseph, Safety, Illinois \u2014 No. 177: James Mitchell, TE, Virginia Tech \u2014 No. 188: Malcolm Rodriguez, LB, Oklahoma State \u2014 No. 217: James Houston, Edge, Jackson State University \u2014 No. 237: Chase Lucas, CB, Arizona State<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GRADE:<\/strong> A<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Los Angeles Rams might have put together a star-studded pre-draft hype video saying they would \u201csteal the draft,\u201d<\/a> the Lions might have actually done it. Capitalizing on the Jacksonville Jaguars\u2019 perplexing selection of Travon Walker at No. 1, Detroit couldn\u2019t turn in its Aidan Hutchinson card fast enough. Trading up to make sure they\u2019d nab the best wide receiver in the draft (even though he won\u2019t be ready to play until November) was exactly the kind of bold move that can change the fortunes of a franchise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paschal will enter the D-line rotation immediately and Kerby Joseph is a starting caliber player at a position that was incredibly deep in this draft. They took some projects late, which keeps them from getting the A+ rating, but Brad Holmes made a career out of finding guys like that when he was with the Rams. He probably knows more about it than I do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GREEN BAY PACKERS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selections:<\/strong> No. 22: Quay Walker, LB, Georgia \u2014 No. 28: Devonte Wyatt, DT, Georgia \u2014 No. 34: Christian Watson, WR, North Dakota State \u2014 No. 92: Sean Rhyan, OL, UCLA \u2014 No. 132: Romeo Doubs, WR, Nevada \u2014 No. 140: Zach Tom, OL, Wake Forest \u2014 No. 179: Kingsley Enagbare, LB, South Carolina \u2014 No. 228: Tariq Carpenter, Safety, Georgia Tech \u2014 No. 234: Jonathan Ford, DT, Miami \u2014 No. 249: Rasheed Walker, OT, Penn State \u2014 No. 258: Samori Toure, WR, Nebraska<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GRADE:<\/strong> B<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Lions weren\u2019t content to sit at No. 32 and take whatever scrapheap wideout that fell to them, Green Bay showed no urgency at all. They took one of the picks they nabbed for Devante Adams and took a linebacker. Granted, Walker is a starter but quality linebackers, safeties and running backs were piled up all through this draft. Unless he\u2019s the next Bobby Wagner or Micah Parsons, they probably should have been a little more aggressive. Wyatt too would be a day one starter on most teams, but that\u2019s another problem with these picks. The Pack was already loaded on defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watson is an interesting prospect, but this reeks of desperation after whiffing on a receiver in the first round. He\u2019s huge, 6-5, and produced at North Dakota State, but I\u2019m guessing he rarely ever lined up across a future NFL defensive back. Rhyan might be the best pick out of the bunch. Pro Football Focus gave him an 83.7 grade last season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MINNESOTA<\/strong> VIKINGS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selections:<\/strong> No. 32: Lewis Cine, Safety, Georgia \u2014 No. 42: Andrew Booth, CB, Clemson \u2014 No. 59: Ed Ingram, OG, LSU \u2014 No. 66: Brian Asamoah, LB, Oklahoma \u2014 No. 118: Akaylan Evans, CB, Missouri \u2014 No. 165: Esezi Otemewo, DE, Minnesota \u2014 No. 169: Ty Chander, RB, North Carolina \u2014 No. 184: Vaderian Lowe, OT, Illinois \u2014 No. 191: Jalen Nailor, WR, Michigan State \u2014 No. 227: Nick Muse, TE, South Carolina<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GRADE:<\/strong> B-<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Vikes added Cine with the final pick of the first round, they ensured Georgia would set a new record with the most players drafted from a single school in the first round. Makes you wonder how they managed to win a national title last season\u2026 Cine immediately plugs in as a starter opposite Harrison Smith. Booth will open up as the No. 3 corner, but will probably take Cameron Dantzler\u2019s job before the year\u2019s over. A third corner is a starter in today\u2019s game anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PFF gave Inrgam an 82.6 grade, but he\u2019ll be a rotational guy for now since Minnesota already has a good offensive line. You can never have enough linemen, so that\u2019s not a critique. Asamoah was a tackling machine for Oklahoma and taken at a good value spot. The B- comes from the fact that while these are all solid picks, none look like impact players. They did stay smart by taking guys from bigger schools the rest of the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CHICAGO<\/strong> BEARS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selections:<\/strong> No. 39: Kyler Gordon, CB, Washington \u2014 No. 48: Jaquan Brisker, Safety, Penn State \u2014 No. 71: Velus Jones, WR, Tennessee \u2014 No. 168: Braxton Jones, OT, Southern Utah State \u2014 No. 174: Dominique Robinson, Edge, Miami (Ohio) \u2014 No. 186: Zach Thomas, OG, San Diego State \u2014 No. 203: Trestan Ebner, RB, Baylor \u2014 No. 207: Center, Illinois \u2014 No. 226: Ja\u2019Tyre Carter, OG, Southern \u2014 No. 254: Elijah Hicks, DB, California \u2014 No. 255: Trenton Gill, Punter, NC State<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GRADE: <\/strong>C+<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to their Justin Fields trade a season ago, the Bears were without a first round pick. They needed a lot, but did not have the ammunition to get much. Gordon and Brisker are day one starters as is Velus Jones Jr., mostly by necessity. Jones is a good pick and the third round is where he should have gone, but Chicago has one of the weakest wide receiver rooms in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bears stuck with defense and offensive line for the rest of their draft, which was a solid strategy. This is a team in year one of a complete rebuild and putting a decent D and O-line together could pay off in a year or two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connect with us our socials on Twitter<\/a> and Instagram<\/a> for the latest sports news, viral moments, betting odds and the occasional memes.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY ADAM GREENE Considering how badly this division underperformed in 2021, the teams did pretty well on draft day. Only…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":13926,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[129],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22535"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22535\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22538,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22535\/revisions\/22538"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}