NFC Notes: Bears, Lions, Packers, Vikings

Bears

• Kevin Fishbain and Adam Jahns of The Athletic believe that QB Justin Fields was clearly the best draft pick made by Chicago on Thursday, yet both were surprised by the additions of tackles Teven Jenkins and Larry Borum.
• Fishbain says that depth at wide receiver and inside linebacker is still concerning, pointing out that if the Bears opt to trade WR Anthony Miller there is no slot receiver on the roster to replace him.

Lions

Lions GM Brad Holmes said the team had Oregon OT Penei Sewell as the team’s highest-rated player available, which is why they took him over a quarterback.

“If there was a quarterback that was just like graded way higher over Penei we would have had to strongly consider that,” Holmes said via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “But it unfortunately for our sakes, it wasn’t — Penei was the highest-rated guy when we took him.”

Holmes also expressed confidence in HC Dan Campbell and OC Anthony Lynn to build the right system round QB Jared Goff.

“I know that Dan and Anthony Lynn will have the right system in place and they know Jared and they know what he does well,” Holmes said via Birkett. “I think that is a big part of it. And there’s a lot of things that people say, ‘Well, can Jared get back to what he used to be?’ That’s like, oh, I mean the guy, the past four years, he’s been in postseason three of the past four years and one was a Super Bowl appearance. And the last time you saw the guy play a game was in a divisional playoff game where he completed over 70 percent of his passes with a broken hand. So it’s like, I mean, I don’t get that part of it. But again, it is what it is.”

• Now that the period to sign qualifying free agents is over, Over The Cap’s Nick Korte projects the Lions to receive a third, fifth and sixth-round compensatory pick for the loss of WR Kenny Golladay, WR Marvin Jones and WR Jamal Agnew. 

Packers

• Now that the period to sign qualifying free agents is over, Over The Cap’s Nick Korte projects the Packers to receive a fourth and a sixth-round compensatory pick for the loss of C Corey Linsley and RB Jamaal Williams. 
• Korte adds the fourth for Linsley could turn into a third if the veteran beats his four-year snap average of 89.9 percent. 
• ESPN’s Rob Demovsky mentions that if the Packers trade QB Aaron Rodgers, it would happen after June 1 due to salary cap concerns.
• Packers GM Brian Gutekunst believes third-round WR Amari Rodgers‘ versatility will help provide big contributions to their offense: “His versatility is huge in this offense. The expectation on run downs to be able to dig out safeties and corners and when he has the ball in his hands he’s dynamic. He’s a really good route runner.” (Tom Silverstein)

Vikings

• According to Ben Goessling, the Vikings made an effort to trade up for QB Justin Fields but the decision was not unanimous among their executives, as some liked QB Kellen Mond as much as Fields, and Fields’ epilepsy was a medical question mark.
• Goessling adds that the selection of Mond was not seen as an attempt to move on from QB Kirk Cousins, which the selection of Fields likely would have been.