2024 NFL Draft NFC North Review

With the 2024 NFL Draft finished, who did each team in the NFC North take, and how tough did the division get?

The 2024 NFL Draft is officially over and all 32 teams have added some rookies to their roster to try and compete for the Super Bowl next season. The Detroit Lions are trying to defend their NFC North divisional title, and events like the draft can shift a team from a pretender to a contender in the division. Now while we won’t know what these teams look like until they hit the field, we can still get an idea of how good they can be with the additions of their free agents and the draft picks.

While some teams drafted to gain some depth and a few starters, others drafted a franchise-changing quarterback in hopes of leading them to a bright future. With the Lions trying to defend their title, the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, and Chicago Bears all were doing their best to make sure they were finding the best players to try and dethrone Detroit as the divisional champions.

Here I am going to break down who each team took and how they were able to improve as a team heading towards the 2024 season.

Detroit Lions

Picks:

Round 1: CB Terrion Arnold
Round 2: CB Ennis Rakestraw
Round 4:OT Giovanni Manu
Round 4: RB/S Sione Vaki
Round 5: DT Mekhi Wingo
Round 6: OG Christian Mahogany

The Detroit Lions revamped their secondary in free agency with the additions of Carlton Davis via trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and signing Amik Robertson, but the job wasn’t done after that. After trading with the Dallas Cowboys to move up from pick 29 to 24, they grabbed arguably the best cornerback in the draft with Arnold, and got some more depth in Rakestraw in the second round.

Once the secondary was handled, the Lions moved towards the trenches and went on a trading spree, trading three times in a row. First, they moved up to draft a developmental offensive lineman in Manu in the fourth round. Then they drafted a mystery player a few picks later in Vaki, who can play at running back, safety, and special teams. Then the third trade was to move up and get Wingo, before finishing the draft and getting another depth piece for the offensive line in Mahogany.

Overall, Detroit has a better secondary now than they did last season, and they have some future pieces to their franchise that can see more playing time later in their career. Throw in a wild-card weapon in Vaki that can be used in all three phases of the game, and Detroit did a good job in addressing their biggest weakness in the secondary and beefing up what they love the most, the trenches.

Green Bay Packers

Picks:

Round 1: OL Jordan Morgan
Round 2: LB Edgerrin Cooper
Round 2: DB Javon Bullard
Round 3: RB MarShawn Lloyd
Round 3: LB Ty’Ron Hopper
Round 4: S Evan Williams
Round 5: OL Jacob Monk
Round 5: S Kitan Oladapo
Round 6: OT Travis Glover
Round 7: QB Michael Pratt
Round 7: CB Kalen King

With the most picks out of any NFC North team, the Green Bay Packers went shopping during the draft. They were able to get starters at a few different positions, and depth where it was needed the most. While the team could have added some secondary help sooner in the draft, they wanted to address losing their left tackle David Bakhtiari and they took Jordan Morgan. who is the leading candidate now to take Bakhtiari’s job. They also addressed the offensive line with Monk and Glover, giving the team much-needed depth as injuries seemed to have piled up at those spots for them the past few years.

The linebacker room got a potential starter in Cooper, and some additional help in Hopper to give the middle of the field some more life after De’Vondre Campbell left in free agency. The secondary got some much-needed help as well. After the Packers lost three safeties in free agency, getting Oladapo, Williams, and Bullard will help—and they also signed Xavier McKinney in free agency. Bullard can be this team’s Brian Branch, capable of playing safety or nickel. They also got a steal in Kalen King in the seventh round to give the cornerback room a little depth.

Finally, the Packers got a third-string running back in Lloyd, who might move up to backup if he can have a solid training camp and take over for A.J. Dillion. Quarterback Michael Pratt will need some serious time to develop, but has a high ceiling. In the end, Green Bay got a lot of help to keep them in contention to win the NFC North in 2024.

Minnesota Vikings

Picks:

Round 1: QB J.J. McCarthy
Round 1: OLB Dallas Turner
Round 4: CB Khyree Jackson
Round 6: OT Walter Rouse
Round 6: K Will Reichard
Round 7: OL Michael Jurgens
Round 7: DL Levi Drake Rodriguez

Moving on from Kirk Cousins, the Vikings drafted their franchise quarterback in McCarthy, giving them a good chance to bounce back in 2024. McCarthy has some great weapons in Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Aaron Jones, and T.J. Hockenson. Their second first-round pick— edge rusher Dallas Turner—was a big one for them as the team lost their best pass rusher in Danielle Hunter in the offseason. Expect him to be the team’s top pass-rushing option in 2024.

The team did need some depth on the offensive line, and adding Rouse and Jurgens helps, even as late Day 3 picks. Kicking was an issue for the Vikings and instead of trusting a veteran, they drafted the best kicker available.

Jackson was added to the cornerback room to possibly be a contributor this season, putting the position at 10 players right now, though there’s uncertainty of who can be the team’s top five guys. Rodriguez helps give the defensive line some help it needs after losing six players along the line in free agency.

Overall, Minnesota is trying to make sure their offense can keep up and evolve with McCarthy at quarterback, and they got some potential future starters with their late picks.

Chicago Bears

Picks:

Round 1: QB Caleb Williams
Round 1: WR Rome Odunze
Round 3: OL Kiran Amegadjie
Round 4: P Tory Taylor
Round 5: DL Austin Booker

With the least amount of picks in the division—but also the highest—the Bears sure did make some huge selections They moved on from Justin Fields and drafted Caleb Williams to be their next franchise quarterback. They also drafted a wide receiver in Odunze to give him a plethora of weapons for the passing game. The top three wide receivers in Chicago are now DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, and Rome Odunze, which is a nasty trio that gives Williams the best chance he can to excel in the league.

Amegadjie could potentially start for the Bears offensive line this year, as he can play at guard or tackle. At the very least, he’ll be valuable depth to start his NFL career.

Booker is a depth piece for the Bears’ defense, the only pick focused on defense in their entire draft, as he can be a helpful body on the edge.

While the team hopes not to use him, they also got the best punter in the draft. So the Bears’ mindset seems to be that if you can stop their offense, Taylor will pin you deep and then you’ve got to go up against their tough defense. The Bears are going to be a tough team to take on in 2024 with this draft class.