NFC North Analysis: Lions find 'man’s man' in Blake Miller, Vikings play DT lottery & Bears revamp secondary
How do the scouts view the players selected in the NFC North? Bob McGinn opens up the notebook and shares his thoughts.
By Bob McGinn
The Bears and the Lions sensibly went ahead and plugged voids in their starting lineup. The reckless Vikings might have been plugging a slot machine for all that’s guaranteed out of their opening salvo Thursday night.
In an NFL draft widely panned by personnel people as inferior, especially at the top, three NFC North teams made a pick whereas the Packers, having traded their first-round choice last summer, must wait to get started until the second and third rounds begin Friday in Pittsburgh at 7 p.m.
Here’s an analysis of Day 1 for what has been an elite division over the past several seasons.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS (9-8)
1/18. CALEB BANKS, DT, FLORIDA (6-6, 327, 5.08)
With the Vikings on the clock, and after reconsidering their roster and the players remaining, I jotted down eight names that might have been most attractive to them. The list included wide receiver Makai Lemon, tackles Monroe Freeling and Caleb Lomu, running back Jadarian Price, defensive tackles Kayden McDonald, Peter Woods and Christen Miller, and safety Dillon Thieneman.
At wide receiver, the Vikings are without a suitable replacement for the capable No. 3 Jalen Nailor, and Jordan Addison’s future has been clouded by off-field incidents. Christian Darrisaw, their gifted left tackle, has a bad knee, and right tackle Brian O’Neill will be entering his ninth season. The returning running-back tandem of Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason lacks pizazz.
In a wise decision, the Vikings cut Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, the veteran defensive tackles who were disappointments in their only seasons in Minnesota. Jalen Redmond had a breakout season, Levi Drake Rodriguez made major strides, Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins showed a measure of promise as a rookie and free agent Taki Taimani will compete in his third season.
“Redmond and Rodriguez are really good,” one NFC personnel man said. “They deserve to start. One thing I’d say is they’re not very big inside. They might want to add a little size but the way they play, they can kind of get away with it.”
And, at safety, they need at least one even if Harrison Smith were to decide to play a 15th season.
Then the Vikings drafted Banks, a classic boom-or-bust pick at a position that probably has seen more gambles over the years than any other.
It always has been hard to find a big man who can run. It’s harder yet to find a fast big man who is in shape and plays all-out every down.
Banks is a physical specimen with speed, the longest arms (35 inches) of the top 30 defensive linemen and massive hands (10 7/8 inches). But as good as he looks, some scouts adopted a hands-off attitude because of minimal production, marginal conditioning, limited pass rush and questionable instincts.
“He looks the part completely,” one scout said. “Just rare all the way around traits-wise. He’s huge, and light on his feet. There’s some laziness to him, some bullshit to him, some excuses to him. There’s nothing out there that says he will give us his best. He’s got a lot of your talented, underachiever qualities that a lot of D-linemen have.”
Coach Kevin O’Connell and defensive coordinator Brian Flores undoubtedly were the drivers of the decision. The Wilf family ownership fired GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on Jan. 30 and at the same time announced that longtime executive Rob Brzezinski, whose area of expertise was more on the business side, would assume the GM duties through the draft.
“It’s a chance to really get a difference-maker,” said O’Connell. “We feel very confident we selected a top 10-type talent. In the NFC North, when that name went up on the board, people that play us twice a year, they’ve got to think about some things now.”
In their wildest dreams, the Vikings would hope Banks becomes another Kevin Williams (6-5, 311, 4.85), their great under-tackle and No. 9 pick in 2003 who made the Pro Bowl six times in an 11-year career for Minnesota.
Their nightmare would be defensive end Dimitrius Underwood (6-6, 278, 4.85), the No. 29 pick in 1999 who is thought to have attempted suicide early in his first training camp before being quickly released. He played 19 games without a start for Dallas in 2000-’01 to end his career.
Underwood was the finest physical specimen in the group that year. “Built like a statue,” one scout said. “Absolutely incredible. With him, it’s definitely all between the ears and (in) the heart. If that all straightens out and the stars all align perfectly the guy might be a great player. But I’m deathly afraid of him.”
Banks’ underachieving characteristics are worrisome enough. Just as concerning might be his 12-month foot injury that limited him to three games in 2025 and resulted in surgery March 9 to repair a fractured fourth metatarsal bone. One thing NFL teams fear are massive men with bad feet.
Underwood suffered a sprained ankle in August before his senior season at Michigan State and never played a down all year. Spartans coach Nick Saban intervened to get Underwood invited to the combine but then he wouldn’t work out.
O’Connell brushed off the foot injury, citing multiple examinations by the club’s medical staff.
“He has the athleticism to wreck the pocket,” said O’Connell.
DETROIT LIONS (9-8)
1/17. BLAKE MILLER, T, Clemson (6-6 ½, 318, 5.05)
Ten years ago, the Lions took tackle Taylor Decker (6-7, 310, 5.23) with the No. 16 choice. At Ohio State, he backed up in 12 games as a freshman before starting all 42 games from 2013-’15. Scouts said he was highly durable, tenacious, technically sound and extremely intelligent.
“Just a man’s man,” said one evaluator before the 2016 draft. “Wins you over with his leadership. You could see this guy running for Congress some day.”
