Don’t get distracted by the NFC West’s domination in the 2025 season, the NFC North is still one of the NFL’s toughest divisions. If this is any consolation, the Vikings ended the year on a five-game win streak to avoid a losing season and all four teams finished with a winning record. The separation between them is marginal, which makes this year’s draft paramount for the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions as they try to catch up to the Chicago Bears.

Chicago Bears

Biggest needs:

• EDGE rusher
• Defensive line
• Safety 

The Chicago Bears need to draft an edge rusher with their first pick. In fact, it’s so paramount they improve their pass rush that trading up to get an even better pick should be on their mind as well. They didn’t get a big name in free agency so the next best thing is to turn to the draft. Ahkeem Meisidor and Keldrick Faulk are probably their best options at No. 25. Again, they could trade up to get a better option, but neither is a bad pick. 

I think they use their second round to bolster their defensive line. In a mock simulation, Christen Miller fell to No. 57 and Lee Hunter ultimately fell to No. 60 on multiple occasions. In a perfect world, the Bears would take Faulk first, then Miller and then Hunter and draft Kamari Ramsey with the No. 89 pick at safety. 

I was able to make this work in a mock simulation, but anything can happen on selection day. The Bears should focus all their attention on the defensive line and then go from there. In this case, they shouldn’t have any rush addressing their safety position unless a player falls they absolutely have to take.

Detroit Lions

Biggest needs:

• Offensive Line
• Defensive back
• Linebacker

The Detroit Lions have a lot of pressure to turn things around in 2026. A lackluster 2025 season ended 9-8 and halted their playoff streak. If they want to get back into playoff contention, the Lions need to replace Taylor Decker on the offensive line as priority No. 1. The Lions don’t have a lot of needs, so they should focus on the offensive line and improving the secondary. The Lions have reportedly been interested in Kadyn Proctor at No. 17. 

The Lions have to figure out a way to get back to contending in the NFC North and with the Chicago Bears as the frontrunners, they have a lot of catching up to do. They’ve completely restructured their secondary as well. I don’t think adding a defensive back in the first round will be their focus after Jeff Okudah didn’t work out. 

They also need to look at linebacker after not re-signing Alex Anzalone this past season. He was a key contributor on their defense during their turnaround and playoff success the last couple of seasons. Finding a replacement won’t be easy, but it won’t be impossible either. 

Green Bay Packers

Biggest needs:

• Defensive back
• Offensive line
• Defensive line

Green Bay’s NFL Draft is going to get very interesting without a first-round pick. The Packers acquired Micah Parsons, giving the Dallas Cowboys their first-round pick this year and next. Clearly they felt they were better than they are because not having that pick is going to hurt them as they try to keep pace with the rest of the division. The good thing is this class has some solid prospects inside the top 100. Even without a first-round pick, the Packers should be fine. 

Packers Wire identified Christen Miller as an option with the No. 52 pick. I like Devin Moore, Chandler Rivers and Malik Muhammad as options for them in their secondary as well. They could draft any of them in the third or fourth round. As far as getting more depth on this offensive line, well that will be tricky. 

Depending on how things go in the beginning of the draft, one could fall to them, but having just two picks inside the top 100 makes it difficult to find an offensive lineman who’s going to be an instant contributor. 

Minnesota Vikings

Biggest needs: 

• Safety
• Defensive line
• Cornerback 

The Minnesota Vikings turned to Kyler Murray this offseason to save them from another quarterback disaster with J.J. McCarthy. That pretty much solidified their offense. The next goal is fixing this defense. They need to look at just about every position. With their first-round pick, it makes too much sense for them to go after Dillon Thieneman or Emmanuel McNeil-Warren. They need a safety badly and both have great value at No. 18. 

As for their defensive line, yeah, losing Jonathan Allen is going to hurt them more than they realize. I think they address that with their second-round pick, where Miller could be an option or even Lee Hunter from Texas Tech. It would make sense to go that route with the second round just because that’s still a top 50 pick and this draft is loaded with defensive line talent inside the top 50. 

They should have no problem finding good cornerback talent in the third round. They can turn to Keith Abney II if he falls or wait on someone like Muhammad, Rivers or Moore. During a mock draft, only Abney and Muhammad were available at No. 82 and 98, respectively. That said, each of them could turn into decent prospects and with Byron Murphy II, only one could be thrown into the starting role Week 1. 

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