GREEN BAY, Wis. — It will take a few years before the winners and losers of the 2012 NFL draft can realistically be determined, but assessing the selections of the Packers and the rest of the teams in the NFC North can provide an idea of what impact players may be on the field in the coming seasons.
While any NFL observer knew that Green Bay needed to add defense in this draft, the Packers were still one of the best teams in the league last season and won the division with a 15-1 regular-season record. So, for the Bears, Vikings and Lions to start gaining ground on a potential NFC North title, each needed to make big improvements.
However, with the Packers' last two seasons ending with a Super Bowl in 2010 and then a league-best record in 2011, until proven otherwise, every other team in the division is looking up at Green Bay. Did Chicago, Minnesota and Detroit do enough in this year's draft to knock the Packers off the top?
A ranking of the best drafts in the division and some of the standout picks:
1. GREEN BAY PACKERS
Best value: Jerel Worthy, DE, Michigan State, Round 2 (51st overall). Worthy was a first-round talent, a player many analysts believed could have been the Packers' pick at No. 28. But when Worthy was still around at No. 51, GM Ted Thompson did something he rarely does: traded up seven picks to grab him. Talentwise, Worthy could easily be a Week 1 starter along Green Bay's defensive line.
Head-scratcher: Jerron McMillian, S, Maine, Round 4 (133rd overall). The need for a safety was certainly there after the Packers released Nick Collins last week. However, in an already weak class of safeties, Thompson drafted McMillian, who was not even ranked by many scouting services. McMillian, whose college team was not in Division I, could work out for the Packers, but he seems like a player who could have been had in the later rounds, if not even after that as an undrafted free agent.
Overall: Defense, defense, defense. Acknowledging the obvious need to improve a defense that was the worst in NFL history at stopping the pass last season and finished 27th in the league in sacks, the Packers certainly improved in that area by using their first six selections on defensive players. Plus, they hit every level of their defense. Thompson started with outside linebacker Nick Perry, moved to the defensive line with Worthy, then went to the secondary with cornerback Casey Hayward. Green Bay then added a defensive tackle, a safety and an inside linebacker. Even if only a few of those six end up being difference-makers, the Packers will clearly be a better defensive team this year than they were last year.
2. MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Best value: Matt Kalil, OT, USC, Round 1 (4th overall). The Vikings were able to trade back one pick (from No. 3 to No. 4) and still get the player who should help them the most. While Minnesota could have opted for cornerback Morris Claiborne or wide receiver Justin Blackmon, last year's first-round pick Christian Ponder is going to need a high-quality left tackle protecting his blind side if the Vikings are ever going to climb back up from the bottom of the division. Kalil, the best offensive line prospect in several years, should be able to do that.
Head-scratcher: Rhett Ellison, FB, USC, Round 4 (128th overall). When a player doesn't expect to get drafted -- as was the case with Ellison -- and then goes in the fourth round, it's a bit puzzling. This doesn't mean Ellison won't make the team or even be a good player for the Vikings, but the value at this point in the draft was questionable. Honorable mention here was drafting a kicker, Blair Walsh, in the sixth round, when Ryan Longwell is getting paid well by the Vikings to handle that responsibility.
Overall: It won't be an easy task for first-year GM Rick Spielman to bring the Vikings up from the basement of the division. But this year's draft class addressed a few needs and included Kalil, who could be one of the game's best at left tackle for the next decade. When the Vikings decided traded into the late first round to get safety Harrison Smith, another hole was patched. Though projections of Smith aren't overly favorable, he'll be a starter in Minnesota's secondary barring something unforeseen.
3. DETROIT LIONS
Best value: Ronnell Lewis, OLB, Oklahoma, Round 4 (125th overall). A great value pick for the Lions in the fourth round, Lewis has the ability to start for Detroit right away and helps add to a defense that is becoming increasingly more respected each year. It's one thing for a team to target defense in a draft (which the Lions did), but it's another to come away with a player the caliber of Lewis with the 125th pick. Honorable mention was cornerback Dwight Bentley in the third round, 85th pick overall. He has the talent to be a starter sooner than later.
Head-scratcher: Jonte Green, CB, New Mexico State, Round 6 (196th overall). Green was the third cornerback drafted by the Lions this year. Though that's not a bad idea in a division with Aaron Rodgers and in a league that had all-time passing records broken by several QBs in the same year, Detroit ignored other areas of need by continually going after cornerbacks.
Overall: Out of their eight picks, the Lions went with three cornerbacks and three outside linebackers. It's fine for a team to target specific positions, but that's a bit of overkill. Will there be enough practices for the position coaches to give each rookie the one-on-one time they'll need in order to improve? That seems unlikely. Like the Packers, Detroit went heavy on defense. But, unlike the Packers, who added a mix of defensive linemen, linebackers and defensive backs, the Lions went after two specific spots. Green Bay's method seems more likely to work out.
4. CHICAGO BEARS
Best value: Shea McClellin, OLB, Boise State, Round 1 (19th overall). This pick may have accomplished two things in one move. First, it got the Bears another pass rusher who can help terrorize the division's difficult crop of quarterbacks. But it also kept McClellin away from the Packers. He has been compared to Clay Matthews, and Green Bay desperately wanted another pass-rushing linebacker. If Chicago got its own version of Matthews and kept Green Bay from having two dominant sack monsters, the pick was a win-win. However, very few analysts expected McClellin to go as high as No. 19 overall, so the Bears took a bit of a risk. But if it pays off, Chicago just got a lot better on defense.
Head-scratcher: Isaiah Frey, CB, Nevada, Round 6 (184th overall). Just like the Packers drafting McMillian, the Bears grabbed a player for their secondary who was a relative unknown. Clearly, in order to keep up with Rodgers and Lions QB Matthew Stafford in the division, Chicago needed to improve its secondary. However, Frey probably could have been brought in as an undrafted free agent.
Overall: With their first two picks, the Bears potentially got a playmaker on each side of the ball. McClellin could be a star on defense, and second-round pick Alshon Jeffery, a wide receiver, should be a much-needed weapon for quarterback Jay Cutler. After that, there seemed to be some questionable decisions in Chicago's draft room. Not adding a defensive tackle was surprising, and, with just six picks total and only two of them being spent on offense, it's difficult to imagine the Bears did enough to keep up with an increasingly pass-heavy league.
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