Around the NFC North: Mock Draft
Who will the inferior teams pick?
By Mike Price
I have to admit, this draft season hasn't been as fun for obvious reasons. There are only so many times that you can watch Micah Parsons' highlights on the treadmill before you zone out. In prior years, I'd watch draft prospects over and over, but no first-round Packers pick really puts a damper on that. Am I really going to watch the Big Citrus while running? Anyway, I'm still going to put together a mock draft for the inferior teams. Leaning heavily on their needs and the PFF board.
This is close to a perfect draft for the Bears. They get a starter at tackle in the first, DJ Moore replacement in former Badger Skyler Bell in the second, a press-man corner from a big school with their second second and then a workable nose in the third. There's an outside chance all four of these guys would start. Of course, knowing the Bears, they could do this exact draft and have none of them be good.
The Bears will target o-line for sure, and I think they'll go WR sooner than some people may think.
The Lions only had two picks in the first three rounds, and in this mock, I tried to take guys who would shock, which is what the Lions normally do. Remember, last year they took a nose tackle after signing Alim McNeil and DJ Reader to big deals. Before that, they took a running back and a linebacker in the first.
The first pick is Keyon Sadiq, which you may think is insane because he's not only a first-round tight end, but he's a first-round tight end for a team that has Sam LaPorta. Two points here: the Lions will likely lead the league in two-tight-end sets this season with their new offensive coordinator, and there are already rumblings on Detroit sports radio about trading LaPorta instead of paying him. This pick would just about guarantee a top-3 offense next year and give them flexibility when LaPorta wants a deal.
My Vikings mock went a little haywire. Maybe that'll turn out how it goes in real life, since the team is doing the insane interim GM run-the-draft instead of just hiring a guy thing. We started with the econd first-round edge in three years with Akheem Mesidor. Lot of capital to spend on edge, but if the team is really trying to trade Jonathan Greenard and recognizes Dallas Turner as a bust, it needs to draft an edge.
AJ Haulcy is the Harrison Smith replacement, and Drew Allar is a lottery pick on Kevin O'Connel's rep as a QB whisperer.
Slaughter seems like an ideal fit to develop for a year at center and then run the McVay scheme.
PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHEESEHEAD NATION WEEKLY NEWSLETTER HERE.
__________________________
Mike Price is a lifelong Packers fan who recently moved from Utah to Stoughton (a Madison suberb). You can follow him on twitter at @themikeprice.
__________________________
Comments (2)
splitpea1
April 21, 2026 at 10:24 am
You sure it isn't the Bulls who will be taking Skyler Bell? Seriously, I didn't know UConn had draftable football players. I understand he played for Wisconsin first, so maybe the locals are a little more familiar with him.
No disrepect because a lot of fans enjoy doing mock drafts, but I really don't see much of a point. Once the first few picks are out of the way, then it becomes a bit of a free-for-all; you can maybe start predicting once you're within range of any particular team's pick (i.e., you could smell the Musgrave selection coming). Also, the Lions have a lot of Day 3 picks, so they have some capital to be moving up in their premium slots and I would expect them to do so.
Cheezehead72
April 21, 2026 at 10:53 am
I agree with you on the value of the mock drafts. I do not look at them as the analyst will get every pick correct because I know they will get very few correct. I look to see who they project to be picked around the Packers pick ussually 5 up and 5 down because there is a good chance the Packers might be thinking of that player. Then I look at the analysis of that player and if they are a fit to what I think the Packers need.
I do not see the Lions using their 3rd day picks to trade up and if they do it will not be a big move. If they traded all their 3rd day picks that would allow them to move up about 15 spots from their 2nd round pick and then they would have no more picks. They do not have a 3rd. They might try to move up in the 4th which would be doable.