NFC North 2015 Off-Season Changes
Green Bay Packers:
The Packers didn’t need to do much on offense so they concentrated on their defensive weaknesses; grabbing S Damarious Randall from Arizona St and CB Quinten Rollins from Miami, OH with their first two picks. Both are talented and have high ceilings, especially the athletic Rollins who is a basketball convert and has great footwork and leaping ability. With their 4th selection, they got a solid pick in the form of LB Jake Ryan from Michigan. He will contribute right away. They added depth on offense by choosing WR Ty Montgomery from Stanford. With WR Randall Cobb hitting paydirt with a new 4-year $40 million dollar contract, replacing him in the return game is a fine idea and Montgomery is the player that can do that, as well as assume the WR4 position.
With their 5th pick, the Packers grabbed QB Brett Hundley. Hundley was grouped in with 5 other QBs that many thought would go in the 2nd or 3rd round. Getting him in the 5th round is an absolute steal. If they can groom him like they did Rodgers over a few seasons, he could be ready to contribute as a starter. He is far from polished so this is the best situation for him to begin his NFL career. In a few years, if Rodgers is healthy and going strong, he should hope for a Matt Flynn situation to get an opportunity to jump ship and lead a different team… but let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.
Fantasy starters: QB Aaron Rodgers, RB Eddie Lacy, WR Jordy Nelson, WR Randall Cobb
Fantasy bench: WR Devante Adams, Green Bay D
Fantasy Sleeper: WR Ty Montgomery
Minnesota Vikings:
The Vikings played hardball with RB Adrian Peterson and seem to be able to keep him for 2015. With him in place, the Vikings felt pretty good with their offense under QB Teddy Bridgewater after acquiring WR Mike Wallace. Due to that comfort level, the Vikings used their first three picks on defense. They drafted CB Trae Waynes in the 1st round from Michigan St followed by LB Eric Kendricks from UCLA. Those two players will start immediately. 3rd round pick Danielle Hunter from LSU is a bit unseasoned but will grow into his DE position. With double picks in rounds 5-7, the Vikings we also able to fortify their offensive line by grabbing tackle T.J. Clemmings from Pittsburgh in the 4th round. He is a steal if his foot problems don’t persist. They also added TE MyCole Pruittin the 5th round from Southern Illinois, T Tyrus Thompson in the 6th round from Oklahoma and T Austin Shepherd from Alabama in the 7th round. These guys are space-eaters and provide excellent depth with a good chance to get plenty of playing time early in their careers.
Aside from the top offensive position players listed, the Vikings are deep and young with RBs Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata and WRs Charles Johnson, Cordarrelle Patterson (maybe a return to glory after cracking under the pressure last year), Jarius Wright and rookie Stefon Diggs. This is definitely a team on the rise with a good chance to make the playoffs this season.
Fantasy starters: RB Adrian Peterson, WR Mike Wallace, Vikings D
Fantasy bench: QB Teddy Bridgewater, WR Charles Johnson, TE Kyle Rudolph
Fantasy Sleeper: WR Cordarrelle Patterson
Detroit Lions:
The Lions need help on the line on each side of the ball and only addressed one of them, the offensive line. They acquired C Manny Ramirez from Denver in a draft day trade and picked G Laken Tomlinson from Duke with their 1st round pick. They also added a mountain of a man in T Corey Robinson in the 7th round from South Carolina for additional depth. Their defensive line took a big hit in the off-season with the loss of Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley in free agency. To replace them, they only used one of their draft picks; 4th round pick Gabe Wright from Auburn. Fortunately, they were able to sign DT Haloti Ngata away from Baltimore to anchor their defense. 3rd round pick Alex Carter from Stanford should provide some help in their secondary down the road.
Offensively, Detroit lost RB Reggie Bush in free agency but added RB Ameer Abdullah from Nebraska. This kid can flat-out shake-and-bake and will be the perfect complement to incumbent Joique Bell. Other than that, they are solid at QB and WR. The second boost to the offense will be if TE Eric Ebron can actually deliver this year. Though he was a rookie last season, many of us expected him to be a larger part of the offense last year and only managed 25 catches and 1 TD.
Fantasy starters: QB Matthew Stafford, RB Joique Bell, WR Calvin Johnson, WR Golden Tate
Fantasy bench: RB Ameer Abdullah, Detroit D
Fantasy Sleeper: TE Eric Ebron
Chicago Bears:
As a Bears fan, I was sickened by the “defense” that they put on the field last year. It was legendarily bad; low on talent, high on age and littered with players whose IQs did not exceed the number on their jersey (see LaMarr Houston ). However, after the Jets grabbed DE Leonard Williams, I knew the Bears would pick WR Kevin White from West Virginia. Don’t get me wrong, this kid is a game-breaker and will be the perfect running mate for WR Alshon Jeffery. However, it looks like 2015 will be another season of the offense needing to put up 30 or more to have a chance to win. After watching his post-draft interviews, White is going to be a complete reversal of WR Brandon Marshall’s bitterness. The kid is elated to be in Chicago. I certainly hope his attitude spreads. Of course, it will run up against the immovable force in QB Jay Cutler’s stoic façade and undoubtedly fail. Cutler’s face shows the same amount of excitement that I displayed when hearing about Chicago being home to President Obama’s library.
With the remainder of their picks, which were not large enough in number to make up for the deficiencies on this team, the Bears got a quality player in each round that will make an impact. 2nd round pick DT Eddie Goldman from Florida St will fit nicely into the Bears new 3-4 defense and help stuff the run. Their offensive line and defensive secondary have been sore spots for years and 3rd round pick Hroniss Grasu from Oregon and 5th round pick S Adrian Amos from Penn St will provide some necessary depth. 4th round pick RB Jeremy Langford from Michigan St seems like more of a “best player available” pick than a need, but I like the kid a lot. If Matt Forte ends up being a contract distraction, it will be nice having Langford ready to plug in.
The Bears have a new coaching staff, again, and are switching to a new defensive scheme. It certainly can’t be worse than last year. They have lost a few long-term players in Charles Tillman and Lance Briggs but added Antrel Rolle from the New York Giants and LB Pernell McPhee from Baltimore through free agency to replace them. So, the unit has to perform better, right?
Fantasy starters: QB Jay Cutler, RB Matt Forte, WR Alshon Jeffery, WR Kevin White, TE Martellus Bennett
Fantasy bench: WR Eddie Royal
Fantasy Sleeper: WR Marquess Wilson