NFL DRAFT NEEDS: NFC NORTH

The cold winds of the Black N’ Blue Division are changing the course for every team that resides within its boundaries. The Vikings have Salary Cap issues, a subpar defense and they didn’t extend Kurt Cousins. The Packers are moving on from Rodgers and hoping their new Love will maintain their trend of playoff journeys. The Lions roared very loudly down the stretch and now they might be the storm within the division. The Bears might be emerging from hibernation and are putting pieces in place to change the recent history of the franchise. This Division has been controlled by the Packers (12 NFC Titles) since 2000, but the Vikings (6 NFC Titles) and Bears (5 NFC Titles) won a few division crowns during that span. The one team missing is the Lions and this could be the start of their resurgence. The Lions have only won the division 3 times since 1967 (1983, 1991, 1993), could that history change soon and could this draft solidify their chances to do so?

Per OverTheCap.com, 3 of the top 4 teams in the best salary cap situation (as of April 10th) reside in the NFC North. The Bears are tops in the NFL with $37 Million of Cap Space and $32 Million in Effective Cap Space. The Lions are third in Cap Space with $22.9 Million available and $14.5 Million in Effective Cap Space. The Green Bay Packers are 4th after restructuring contracts for a bunch of players. They have $21.3 Million in Cap Space and $14.4 in Effective Cap Space.

I have laid out the current state of each franchise in the NFC North below. We’ll review their current issues, draft needs and draft prospect targets for their first draft selection in 2023. The Vikings are in a tough spot, but I think they are bold and trade up. The Packers are mid First Round, but could trade up for the elite Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The Bears made their move already and are in a great spot at 9th overall. The Lions have 2 picks in the First Round and can really land some studs.

If you are looking for positional rankings of the draft eligible players on offense and defense, we have you covered at Spinnable Sports. You can also find my Top 105 NFL Draft Prospects and Mock Draft 2.0: 3 Round Mock Draft in the same spot. The Irrational Confidence Podcast (@IRConfidencePod on Twitter) will be dropping our Live Mock Draft Episode very soon. You can find The Irrational Confidence Podcast on any podcast platform as well as the Spinnable Sports YouTube Channel.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS:

CURRENT ISSUES:

• KURT COUSINS IS AN UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENT AFTER THE SEASON….WORTH AN EXTENSION OF $40 MILLION A YEAR?
• SIGNIFICANT SALARY CAP ISSUES….PER OverTheCap.com, THE VIKINGS ARE 32ND IN SALARY CAP SPACE WITH $1.458 MILLION AND ATE ACTUALLY $993,361 OVER THE LIMIT IN EFFECTIVE CAP SPACE.
• CURRENTLY HAVE $27 MILLION IN DEAD MONEY ON THE BOOKS THIS YEAR
• DEFENSE WAS TERRIBLE IN 2022
• DALVIN COOK RUMORED TO BE AVAILABLE VIA TRADE
• OL ISSUES
• CB DEPTH

TEAM DRAFT NEEDS:

• CB
• LB
• OL
• DL
• QB

TARGETS FOR 1ST RD SELECTION:

• QB. WILL LEVIS. (KENTUCKY)
• QB. ANTHONY RICHARDSON. (FLORIDA)
• QB. HENDON HOOKER. (TENNESSEE)
• CB. KELEE RINGO. (GEORGIA)
• CB. CAM SMITH. (SOUTH CAROLINA)
• CB. DEONTE BANKS. (MARYLAND)
• S. BRIAN BRANCH. (ALABAMA)
• DL. BRYAN BREESE. (CLEMSON)
• DL. CALIJAH KANCEY. (PITTSBURGH)

DETROIT LIONS:

CURRENT ISSUES:

• PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER FOR THE FULL 17 GAME SCHEDULE AND MAKING THE PLAYOFFS
• DEFENSE
• FUTURE AT QB
• TE
• OL DEPTH

TEAM DRAFT NEEDS:

• DL
• CB
• TE
• OL
• QB
• EDGE

TARGETS FOR 1ST RD SELECTIONS:

• CB. DEVON WITHERSPOON. (ILLINOIS)
• CB. JOEY PORTER JR. (PENN STATE)
• CB. CHRISTIAN GONZALEZ. (OREGON)
• EDGE. TYREE WILSON. (TEXAS TECH)
• EDGE. MYLES MURPHY. (CLEMSON)
• DL. CALIJAH KANCEY. (PITTSBURGH)
• DL. BRYAN BREESE. (CLEMSON)
• TE. MICHAEL MAYER. (NOTRE DAME)
• TE. DALTON KINCAID. (UTAH)

GREEN BAY PACKERS:

CURRENT ISSUES:

• IS JORDAN LOVE READY TO PRODUCE AT AN EFFECTIVE LEVEL?
• HEALTH OF THE OFFENSIVE LINE (JENKINS & BAKHTIARI)
• CAN THE DEFENSE ACTUALLY PLAY AT A HIGH LEVEL FOR A FULL 17 GAMES?
• CAN WATSON, DOUBS AND TOURE TAKE THEIR GAME TO THE NEXT LEVEL?

TEAM DRAFT NEEDS:

• WR
• TE
• OL
• S
• EDGE
• LB

TARGETS FOR 1ST RD SELECTION:

• WR. JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA. (OHIO STATE)
• WR. QUENTIN JOHNSTON. (TCU)
• TE. MICHAEL MAYER. (NOTRE DAME)
• TE. DALTON KINCAID. (UTAH)
• S. BRIAN BRANCH. (ALABAMA)
• EDGE. TYREE WILSON. (TEXAS TECH)
• EDGE. NOLAN SMITH. (GEORGIA)
• EDGE. MYLES MURPHY. (CLEMSON)

CHICAGO BEARS:

CURRENT ISSUES:

• JUSTIN FIELDS TAKING THE NEXT STEP NOW THAT HE HAS A LOADED ARSENAL OF PLAYMAKERS
• PROTECTING JUSTIN FIELDS
• DEFENSE
• DEPTH IN THE SECONDARY

TEAM DRAFT NEEDS:

• OT
• EDGE
• DL
• CB
• RB

TARGETS FOR 1ST RD SELECTION:

• OT. PETER SKORONSKI. (NORTHWESTERN)
• OT. PARIS JOHNSON JR. (OHIO STATE)
• OT. BRODERICK JONES. (GEORGIA)
• DL. JALEN CARTER. (GEORGIA)

This is the sixth installment of my draft need odyssey through the 8 NFL divisions. The next installment will be the NFC South, wrapped up with the NFC West. If you’re looking for the AFC, checkout Spinnable Sports.