Draft Rumors: J.J. McCarthy, Drake Maye, Byron Murphy, Bears, Lions, Packers, Vikings

Bears

• Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer says other teams have gotten the sense the Bears would like to move down from No. 9 and add more picks, with just four total selections and two outside the first round. 
• If they stick and pick, Breer lists one of the top three receivers, an offensive tackle or Texas DT Byron Murphy II as options for Chicago.
• ESPN’s Adam Schefter has heard a lot of buzz recently about Murphy as a top-ten pick, perhaps even the first defender off the board. 
• Minnesota S Tyler Nubin had a formal Combine interview with the Bears. (Andrew Krammer)
• Miami S Kamren Kinchens took an official 30 visit with the Bears. (Albert Breer)

Lions

• Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer mentions Missouri DL Darius Robinson as a nice fit with the Lions, who pick at the back end of the first round. 
• Lions GM Brad Holmes on the draft: “We don’t really get anchored on position, we don’t really get anchored on windows. …We just look for guys we’re convicted on that are the right fit for us.” (Colton Pouncy)
• Holmes also spoke about trading down: “We have to do the right thing for the organization. Hopefully, our fans will forgive us.” (Pouncy)

Packers

• Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer mentions tackle and cornerback as two positions to watch for the Packers in the first round. 
• Packers GM Brian Gutekunst isn’t ruling out adding more picks despite having a league-high 11 selections at the moment: “We have 11 right now. I’d love to end up with 13, 14 or more. I’d never shy away from that.” (Wes Hodkiewicz)

Vikings

Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell responded to questions about the team’s quarterback situation and clarified that he wants to find a long-term solution to the issue this offseason.

“For a couple of years I’ve, you know, I’ve been kind of known as the ‘quarterback killer’ when it comes to the draft in Eagan, because the feeling that everybody that I feel from our fan base is when we get this next guy, he’s gonna be the guy,” O’Connell told Matthew Coller of Purple Insider. “And I feel it. I know you guys all feel it. So I have had to in a lot of ways fight off some mistakes from being made, mainly because the evaluation process I go through, I think about the things that are fixable. I think about the things that are coachable and then you think about the things that you could coach another 15 years with the player, and you might not be able to fix.

“Hope and faith are wonderful things. I do like them to not necessarily be strategies. So I do very much believe in certain principles of playing the quarterback position. I believe the footwork in the lower half of any quarterback can be fixed with the proper coaching and teaching. And I think that when you see the good things on tape, you see things that they can do better on tape. You’re looking for a lot of different things and to check a lot of boxes and ultimately when you feel like you find that guy then you got to hope that 31 other teams are complicit in making sure that they can become a Minnesota Viking. But we only need one team to be complicit and hopefully we find that team and that person’s on it.”

• Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer guessed the Vikings will move up for Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy but points out they have the offensive infrastructure to be comfortable with a wider range of prospects than other teams and have more flexibility with two first-round picks. 
• He adds the team could even take Texas DT Byron Murphy II at No. 11 and swing back with No. 23 for a quarterback. 
• ESPN’s Adam Schefter says the Vikings are among the teams that have tried to move up to No. 3, likely for North Carolina QB Drake Maye. 
• In an interview on The Pat McAfee Show, Schefter says the Vikings and Giants are the two teams that have shown the most interest in trading up for a quarterback.