Recapping the 2024 NFL Draft for Each NFC North Team
The 2024 NFL Draft is in the books.
It was an eventful draft for every team across the NFC North. Two teams came away with potential franchise quarterbacks while a total of 29 selections were made across the four teams. Here is a look at each of them.
Chicago Bears
- R1, P1: QB Caleb Williams, USC
- R1, P9: WR Rome Odunze, Washington
- R3, P75: OT Kiran Amegadjie, Yale
- R4, P122: P Tory Taylor, Iowa
- R5, P144: EDGE Austin Booker, Kansas
The headline of the draft obviously was Chicago’s selection of Caleb Williams with the first overall pick. The former USC quarterback wowed college football fans throughout his entire career, and now, he gets a chance to try and revitalize a Bears franchise that has never had a 4000-yard passer.
Joining him are a pair of top 100 picks on the offensive side of the ball. Rome Odunze was an incredible playmaker throughout his time at Washington and should be a great complement to names like Keenan Allen and D.J. Moore in Chicago’s receiver room. Meanwhile, Kiran Amegadjie will compete for a starting offensive line job to protect Williams.
Detroit Lions
- R1, P24: CB Terrion Arnold, Alabama
- R2, P61: CB Ennis Rakestraw, Missouri
- R4, P126: OT Giovanni Manu, British Columbia
- R4, P132: RB/S Sione Vaki, Utah
- R6, P189: DT Mekhi Wingo, LSU
- R6, P210: G Christian Mahogany, Boston College
Gone are the days of patching together the secondary with free agent signings and depth draft picks in Detroit. The Lions utilized both of their top picks in this spring’s draft to bring in a couple top end talents at the cornerback position. Terrion Arnold, similar to his old Alabama/new Lions teammate Brian Branch, is a very versatile player who can play on the boundary or in the slot. In fact, he was recruited as a safety coming out of high school.
Ennis Rakestraw on the other hand is an absolute bully in the secondary and immediately will be loved by both Dan Campbell and Lions fans alike. They also added a fierce presence on the interior of their defensive line with Mekhi Wingo.
Green Bay Packers
- R1, P25: OT Jordan Morgan, Arizona
- R2, P45: LB Edgerrin Cooper, Texas A&M
- R2, P58: S Javon Bullard, Georgia
- R3, P88: RB MarShawn Lloyd, USC
- R3, P91: LB Ty’Ron Hopper, Missouri
- R4, P111: S Evan Williams, Oregon
- R5, P163: OL Jacob Monk, Duke
- R5, P169: S Kitan Oladapo, Oregon State
- R6, P202: OT Travis Glover, Georgia State
- R7, P245: QB Michael Pratt, Tulane
- R7, P255: CB Kalen King, Penn State
The Green Bay Packers have loved grabbing extremely athletic players at the top of the draft in recent years, and that trend occurred once again in 2024. Jordan Morgan was a great pass protector during his time at Arizona, and with David Bakhtiari officially out of the picture, he will be tasked with protecting Jordan Love’s blindside.
Meanwhile, Edgerrin Cooper is an explosive presence at the linebacker position who can be utilized as a blitzer or in pass coverage, and Javon Bullard has sideline-to-sideline speed to play centerfield in the backend.
Minnesota Vikings
- R1, P10: QB J.J. McCarthy, Michigan
- R1, P17: EDGE Dallas Turner, Alabama
- R4, P108: CB Khyree Jackson, Oregon
- R6, P177: OT Walter Rouse, Oklahoma
- R6, P203: K Will Reichard, Alabama
- R7, P230: OL Michael Jurgens, Wake Forest
- R7, P232: DT Levi Drake Rodriguez, Texas A&M-Commerce
The 2024 NFL Draft was a historic one for the Minnesota Vikings on a number of fronts. They made J.J. McCarthy the highest selected QB in franchise history while Dallas Turner was Minnesota’s first edge rusher selection in the first round since 2005.
Further down the board, they got a great underdog story in Khyree Jackson, who not all that long ago, was focusing on his life outside of football without a clear path to the NFL.
Mel Kiper Gives Vikings an Underwhelming Grade for 2024 NFL Draft
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.