Green Bay Packers:
The Packers didn’t need to do much offensively, so they focused on their defensive weaknesses; grabbing S Damarious Randall of Arizona St and CB Quinten Rollins of Miami, OH with their top two picks. Both are talented and have high ceilings, especially the athletic Rollins, who is a basketball convert and has great footwork and jumping ability. With their fourth pick, they got a solid pick in the form of LB Jake Ryan from Michigan. He will contribute immediately. They added depth to the offense by drafting WR Ty Montgomery out of Stanford. With WR Randall Cobb showing results on a new $40 million, 4-year deal, replacing him in the return game is a good idea and Montgomery is the player who can do it, as well as take over the WR4 position.
With their fifth pick, the Packers took QB Brett Hundley. Hundley was grouped with 5 other QBs that many thought would go in the second or third round. Putting him in the fifth round is an absolute steal. If they can groom him like they did Rodgers for a few seasons, he could be ready to contribute as a starter. He’s far from polished, so this is the best situation for him to start his NFL career. In a few years, if Rodgers is healthy and strong, he should expect a Matt Flynn situation for a chance 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 hard with RB Adrian Peterson and appear to be able to keep him for 2015. With him in place, the Vikings felt pretty good about their offense under QB Teddy Bridgewater after acquiring WR Mike Wallace. Because of that comfort level, the Vikings used their first three picks on defense. They selected CB Trae Waynes in the first round out of Michigan St, followed by LB Eric Kendricks out of UCLA. Those two players will start immediately. Third-round pick Danielle Hunter of LSU is inexperienced, but she’ll grow at her DE position. With double picks in rounds 5-7, the Vikings were also able to strengthen their offensive line by grabbing tackle TJ Clemmings from Pittsburgh in the fourth round. It’s a steal if his foot problems don’t persist. They also added TE MyCole Pruittin in the fifth round from Southern Illinois, T Tyrus Thompson in the sixth round from Oklahoma and T Austin Shepherd from Alabama in the seventh round. These guys are space eaters and provide excellent depth with a good chance of getting a lot of playing time early in their careers.
In addition to 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 (perhaps a return to glory after falling under pressure last year), Jarius Wright and rookie Stefon Diggs. . This is definitely a team on the rise with a good chance of making 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
The Fantasy Sleeper: WR Cordarrelle Patterson
Detroit Lions:
The Lions need help down the line on each side of the ball and they only target one of them, the offensive line. They acquired C Manny Ramirez from Denver in a draft-day trade and took G Laken Tomlinson from Duke with their first-round pick. They also added a mountain of T-man Corey Robinson in the seventh round from South Carolina for additional depth. Their defensive line took a huge hit this offseason with the loss of Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley to free agency. To replace them, they only used one of their draft picks; The fourth round picks Gabe Wright from Auburn. Fortunately, they were able to sign manager Haloti Ngata out of Baltimore to anchor their defense. Third-round pick Alex Carter out of Stanford should provide some help in his secondary going forward.
Offensively, Detroit lost RB Reggie Bush in free agency but added RB Ameer Abdullah from Nebraska. This boy can whip and bake and will be the perfect complement to the current Joique Bell. Other than that, they are solid at QB and WR. The second push on offense will be whether TE Eric Ebron can really deliver this year. Although he was a rookie last season, many of us expected him to be a bigger part of the offense last year and he only had 25 receptions 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: T.E. Eric Ebron
chicago bears:
As a Bears fan, I was grossed out by the “defense” they put on the field last year. It was legendary bad; low on talent, high on age, and literate with players whose IQ didn’t exceed the number on their jersey (see LaMarr Houston). However, after the Jets drafted DE Leonard Williams, I learned the Bears would draft WR Kevin White from West Virginia. Don’t get me wrong, this kid is a clincher and will be the perfect running mate for WR Alshon Jeffery. However, it looks like 2015 will be another season where the offense will need 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 boy is delighted to be in Chicago. I certainly hope his attitude spreads. Of course, he will run up against the immovable force in quarterback Jay Cutler’s stoic facade and he will undoubtedly fail. Cutler’s face shows the same amount of emotion that I showed when I heard Chicago was home to President Obama’s library.
With the rest of their picks not being big enough in numbers to make up for this team’s shortcomings, the Bears got a quality player in each round that will make an impact. Second-round pick, Florida St. DT Eddie Goldman, will fit nicely into the Bears’ new 3-4 defense and help contain the run. His offensive line and defensive secondary have been weak spots for years, and third-round pick Hroniss Grasu of Oregon and fifth-round pick S Adrian Amos of Penn St will provide the necessary depth. Fourth-round pick RB Jeremy Langford out of Michigan St seems more like a “best available player” pick than a necessity, but I really like the guy. If Matt Forte ends up being a contract distraction, it will be nice to have Langford ready to connect.
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’ve lost some long-term players in Charles Tillman and Lance Briggs, but added Antrel Rolle from the New York Giants and LB Pernell McPhee from Baltimore via free agency to replace them. So the drive has to work 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
