Packers' cornerback succession plan, Lions' big draft gamble headline NFC North's boldest moves of the 2025 NFL offseason
The NFC North was the cruelest division in football in 2024. Living up to that same standard this year will be a challenge for all involved. The Detroit Lions were picked over relentlessly by opposing teams, snatching away both Ben Johnson (Chicago) and Aaron Glenn (New York) for new head coaching opportunities. The Minnesota Vikings, who […]
The NFC North was the cruelest division in football in 2024. Living up to that same standard this year will be a challenge for all involved.
The Detroit Lions were picked over relentlessly by opposing teams, snatching away both Ben Johnson (Chicago) and Aaron Glenn (New York) for new head coaching opportunities. The Minnesota Vikings, who won 13 games last season, are undergoing a change at quarterback — no matter how confident they feel in J.J. McCarthy, there's still an element of unknown at the most important position on the field. Green Bay has reason for optimism, as do the Chicago Bears. But did they both respectively close the gap to the top of the division?
Each one of these teams has made some bold moves this offseason to try to make the leap. Which ones stand out the most for each team?
The Detroit Lions
The Boldest Move: The Isaac TeSlaa trade
This is a player that the Lions deemed was worth three third-round draft choices. TeSlaa surprised some with hearing his name called this early but I happen to be a huge fan of the player. I projected him into a big-slot role that he should find available in Detroit.
"TeSlaa projects as a big-slot receiver at the NFL level. There, his run-blocking prowess and stature over the middle of the field can serve as centerpieces for his role and allow him to serve as a potential hybrid to blur the lines between 11p and 12p. Play-action-heavy offenses will lighten the load of his route-running limitations to collect targets early on."
– My 2025 NFL Draft report on Isaac TeSlaa for The 33rd Team in March
If you picked an offense who could make the most of his physical play demeanor and run blocking attitude, it would be Detroit. This is a great "brand" player for the Lions. But coming up from pick No. 102 overall and jumping nearly the entire third-round to draft him for the cost of two 2026 third-round picks is still a big gamble to make on a player. Especially given TeSlaa's route running acumen will need to develop.
The Minnesota Vikings
The Boldest Move: The interior offensive line overhaul
I bet you thought this was going to be a Sam Darnold snippet, didn't you?
I think the Vikings made the right move in not paying up for Darnold. Part of the appeal of drafting (and hitting) on a rookie quarterback is the rookie contract. You lose that element of roster flexibility when you're simultaneously paying another quarterback tens of millions of dollars. The Vikings took all that cheddar and gave it to a pair of former Indianapolis Colts on the offensive line — offering handsome contracts to both center Ryan Kelly and guard Will Fries.
Kelly, who is 32, missed 7 games last season and has missed at least three games in three of the last four seasons. Fries, a former seventh-round draft choice, missed a dozen games last season amid what looked like a breakout season and secured one of the richest contracts for a seventh-round draft choice in NFL history.
As such, both do carry some risk. The Colts further stocked the group with Ohio State guard Donovan Jackson to give this unit a brand new interior trio. It's bold. It's inspired. And it's going to need to work for the sake of McCarthy's development.
The Green Bay Packers
The Boldest Move: The plan (so far) at cornerback
Green Bay came into this offseason needing a cornerback and they signed former Las Vegas Raiders defender Nate Hobbs. There are fans of Nate Hobbs, and then there's me. He's an absolute dog of a defender with inside/outside flexibility. I love his game. But then the NFL Draft came and went with Green Bay drafting just one cornerback, Micah Robinson. Robinson was the 237th pick in the NFL Draft.
And THEN the Packers waived Jaire Alexander. I don't question moving on from Alexander. But the original need for a corner has returned with Hobbs essentially filling the void left by Alexander.
What have the Packers done since? Well…nothing. Wide receiver Bo Melton took snaps with the corners during mini-camp. That's been the big development. You want to talk about bold plans? That, my friends, would be a bold solution to a looming problem on Green Bay's depth chart.
The Chicago Bears
The Boldest Move: The interior offensive line overhaul
It's almost like half of this division has madman Brian Flores or the combination of DJ Reader, Alim McNeill, Levi Onwurzurike and now a first-round pick in Tyleik Williams on their interior.
The line overhaul in Chicago was necessary and not just because Ben Johnson needed a competent group to run his offense. The massive turnover isn't a surprise, but it's how the Bears went about getting this group together that classifies as "bold", for sure. Trading for both Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney and then giving both of them contract extensions and adding new years to the mix?
This is, of course, before they made Drew Dalman one of the four highest-paid centers in football from an annual average salary perspective. The aggression and the financial investment is the definition of bold.
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