NFC Notes: Jordan Addison, Darnell Wright, Bears, Lions, Vikings

Bears

Bears HC Matt Eberflus shared why they felt like first-round RT Darnell Wright was worthy of the No. 9 pick. 

“Just a really big athlete,” Eberflus said via The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain. “We talked about his feet and his ability to regain, if he loses his balance and gets off balance, he can regain and reset his hands inside to be able to protect. So a fabulous energy with him. He’s a willing learner, and wants to get better. We see a lot of upside with him, too. We feel that he was the best lineman in the draft, but we also know that he’s got the best upside for growth potential. We’re excited about where he is.”

Chicago stayed in the trenches on the second day of the draft, double-dipping with second-round DT Gervon Dexter and third-round DT Zacch Pickens. 

“Those guys are going to be dynamic,” Eberflus said. “Obviously they’re all different shapes and sizes, all three guys that we drafted. They’re big, they’re long, they’re fast, they’re athletic. So it’s exciting to be able to have those guys and add those guys into the middle of our defense. We really feel that’s a very important part to play in good run defense and also being able to push the pocket inside and to have some big athletes in there, it’s certainly harder to throw around those guys, too, in the pass rush.”

While the Bears are looking a lot better at defensive tackle, defensive end is still a big question mark after the team wasn’t able to materially address the position in the draft. The pickings in free agency were rather slim as well but GM Ryan Poles was preaching patience. 

“You want to fix everything immediately, but it’s got to work the right way,” Poles said. “The right players got to be there that fit our scheme. They got to want to be here. So we can’t fix everything at a high level in one swoop. So we are aware of our strengths and weaknesses and we’re going to be opportunistic.”

Lions

New Lions QB Hendon Hooker plans on being a sponge to soak up all the information he can from current starting QB Jared Goff. 

“To come in and learn everything, every nuance on how to be a pro, first and foremost,” Hooker said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “And then just admire him. He’s been in this league for a long time and he’s been doing a great job of developing every year to get better and better, and that’s all you can ask for. So I’m definitely going to be picking his brain whenever I can, probably going to get annoying to him a little bit but I’m just that type of person. I just want to get in and do my job, especially and continue to get better day by day. Whenever I’m ready to rock and roll, that’s going to be a sight to see.

• Lions GM Brad Holmes on selecting Alabama RB Jahmyr Gibbs early in the draft: “Obviously, we had thoughts of maybe taking him at No. 18. But we didn’t feel great about that, and so when we were able to select him at No. 12, that’s when all the texts started coming in saying ‘Oh he would have been gone by No. 15.’ Just a lot of picks. A lot of people saying they want to trade up, they want to get him. I wouldn’t have felt good about him staying at 18.” (Colton Pouncy)

Vikings

The Vikings were in need of a wide receiver after veteran WR Adam Thielen departed for the Panthers and HC Kevin O’Connell feels the team got a great one in WR Jordan Addison.

“I think a lot of people always talk about the best-player-available thing. It was one of those scenarios where the way the board kind of fell for us, it allowed it to kind of check both boxes,” O’Connell said, via Pro Football Talk. “It was a need for us, obviously, [after] the departure of a great player like Adam Thielen, so we wanted to make sure that if a true impact player at that position was available at our pick that we were prepared for it. We did a lot of work on that group and felt like Jordan Addison was one of the premier players at that position available, and we were very fortunate that he was there at 23. Really, really excited to add him to our team.”

“I think he’s very well aware of how we plan to use him, how he fits with Justin [Jefferson], KJ [Osborn], Jalen [Reagor], and Jalen [Nailor], and the rest of our receiver room, but also T.J. [Hockenson] and our ability to activate the rest of our tight ends and our backs in the passing game,” O’Connell added. “It truly gives you a pretty versatile skill set, and now adding that impact player at such a priority position for how we like to move the football and kind of put it all together, it’s a big deal for us.”