I’m not going to lie to you guys - I’m a little confused by what the NFC North teams were doing this weekend. But you know what? Often times those drafts turn into some of the best ones. If the pieces don’t look like they fit at first glance, sometimes that means the teams just decided to take the best players out there, regardless of position. The Detroit Lions have had their drafts criticized in the past - now he’s the back-to-back PFWA Executive of the Year.

Now, that doesn’t mean it can’t be a little confusing for fantasy football. But muddied waters and uncertainty can be your friends if you get a discount - and you pick things right. Let’s take a look at four questions for the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, and Minnesota Vikings following this weekend as well as the implications for fantasy football.  

 

 

Chicago Bears - Overloaded On Weapons?

The Chicago Bears have created an interesting problem for themselves. Some might have viewed drafting Colston Loveland in the first round as a redundant asset because they have Cole Kmet. Kmet is halfway through a $50 million contract so not exactly a cheap player. But many teams deploy an inlight tight end with another tight end primarily playing wide receiver. 

For instance, the Eagles did it for years with Dallas Goedert and Zack Ertz. The Baltimore Ravens have used multiple tight ends for years going back to the Nick Boyle/Mark Andrews days to the current iteration with Noah Gray inline and Travis Kelce playing more slot. They’ve made it to the Super Bowl in five of six years. These teams typically just use two wide receivers instead of three for a big chunk of snaps.

No, the interesting move came when they took Luther Burden in the second round. Now with the two tight ends, the new rookie WR, DJ Moore, and Rome Odunze, there is almost certainly going to be either an odd man out or some kind of rotation. Not to mention they made that pick instead of a running back in a loaded class (they took Kyle Mongangai very late who will battle Roschon Johnson for snaps alongside D’Andre Swift). All in all it was a strange draft for them for fantasy football purposes and there are STILL rumors that they might sign someone like Nick Chubb.

 

 

Detroit Lions - Where Does Isaac TeSlaa Fit?

As we mentioned in the intro, it’s hard to question Detroi Lions General Manager Brad Holmes. I mean, he is the back to back Exective of the Year per the Pro Football Writers’ Association. So, when he says Isaac TeSlaa was his “favorite” wide receiver of the class (not necessary the best, per Holmes, but his favorite), who are we to doubt him? 

The question I run into is where TeSlaa fits in. He primarily operated out of the slot with the Arkansas Razorbacks. But the the Lions have one of the very best slot receivers in the league in Amon-Ra St. Brown. Jameson Williams is their field stretcher and Tim Patrick is their big-bodied split end so it doesn’t seem like there is a fit for TeSlaa right away.

TeSlaa is 6’4”, 214 pounds with large hands so perhaps they do plan to have him compete with Tim Patrick on the outside. A team like the Chiefs completely changed how Rashee Rice was used from college to the NFL. Or maybe they just consider ARSB’s role so important that they needed a solid backup in the slot. TeSlaa is a guy we like so we’re willing to play the long game in dynasty but he might not offer much in redraft in 2025. Time will tell. 

 

 

Green Bay Packers - Did The Green Bay Packers Get Their Alpha Receiver?

Let’s be honest for a moment about the Packers receiving group. Jayden Reed has never played more than 75% of the snaps in a game - he’s been more of a slot/gadget guy. Neither Romeo Doubs nor Dontayvion Wicks, in their five combined seasons, has had a 100-yard regular-season game (Doubs did have one in the playoffs). Per Christian Watson’s father, he might miss the entire 2025 season.

Those guys, along with the tight ends Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave, are a bunch of solid players. Which is why I like the idea of going out in this draft and taking some high risk, high reward options. That’s exactly what they did with Matthew Golden in the first round and Savion Williams in the third.

Now, they are very different players. Golden is a speedster that can, at the very least, stretch the field. But they are hoping he can be a dynamic threat. Savion Williams is a freak athlete who mostly thrived on manufactured touches like screens and handoffs. It’s now a fairly crowded room over there and, depending on how things go in early camps, we could see guys on the trade block. A rotation of all those guys would be a nightmare. 

 

 

Minnesota Vikings - Is JJ McCarthy A Value In Fantasy?

The Minnesota Vikings simply did not have a ton of draft capital here, largely due to a trade to acquire Dallas Turner last year. They only had a single pick in the top 100 which led many to speculate that they would be a candidate to trade back. Instead they drafted guard Donovan Jackson with that pick at 24 then didn’t pick again until pick 102 when they took Tai Felton. 

Adding offensive line is always helpful, especially when it’s first round pick. Tai Felton will likely compete with Rondale Moore for slot duties though that’s only a part-time role in this offense. They have two stud wide receivers in Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison then they like using two tight end sets with T.J. Hockenson and Josh Oliver.

They also made a trade for Jordan Mason to compliment all purpose back Aaron Jones. The Vikings were already a fairly complete team in terms of weapons so the question now is whether the quarterback can live up to the high standards of providing multiple fantasy relevant assets. Barring a surprise move for someone like Kirk Cousins or Aaron Rodgers, JJ McCarthy will make his long-awaited debut. He says that he’s “110% healthy” and feeling even better than he did before the injury and, with those weapons, he could have some upside in your fantasy football drafts.