What's the biggest weakness remaining on each NFC North roster?
Matt Williamson is a former scout for the Cleveland Browns and spent the last 10 years at ESPN as a scout and co-host of "The Football Today Podcast."
The time between the end of the draft and the start of training camp is one for eternal optimism among NFL fans. Their favorite team is going to be so much better in the coming season. That club fixed its problems through free agency and the draft. Its incoming crop of rookies will all work out wonderfully. Injured players from the year before will return better than ever. No one will get hurt in 2017. You get the idea.
Unfortunately, this is most likely the best your favorite team's roster will look all season. Much will happen between now and the Super Bowl, and much of it will be negative. With that in mind, this is a divisional series highlighting the biggest area of concern for each team right now. Here is the NFC North.
Bears - Wide Receiver
The Bears have some pieces on offense. The interior of their offensive line is among the best in the NFL, Jordan Howard is a legitimate starting running back, the tight end situation looks to be in good hands, and Chicago might have their quarterback for the next dozen years in Mitchell Trubisky.
The Bears are OK at best at offensive tackle, but it's the wide receiver position that's most worrisome. Alshon Jeffery sure would have made Mike Glennon and Trubisky's transition to Chicago much easier. Of course, Kevin White is the wild card here. The Bears used the seventh overall selection in the 2015 draft to add the extremely talented, but raw, receiver. Injuries have massively derailed his career, and we honestly don't know much more about White now than we did when he was coming out of West Virginia. In fact, he looked sluggish when he did see the field. Chicago needs him to explode, as the rest of their wide receiver stable is made up of No. 3-type receivers in the newly signed Markus Wheaton and Kendall Wright, as well as Cameron Meredith, who certainly exceeded expectations a year ago. Having big question marks at the wide receiver position certainly isn't the ideal way to help a highly drafted quarterback get acclimated to the NFL.
The Bears' secondary isn't exactly in an ideal place right now either, by the way, and cornerback was very close to receiving this honor.
Lions - Defensive End
Even after a defense-heavy draft, there are several areas of concern for Detroit on that side of the ball. While the Lions addressed their defense's second and third level in the draft, they didn't select a defensive end until the 205th overall pick. Even more troubling, they've used little to no draft capital on this position since selecting Ezekiel Ansah with the fifth overall pick back in 2013. And this is a defense that doesn’t blitz a lot and relies on getting to the quarterback with a four-man rush.
It has to be noted that Kerry Hyder looks to be a real find, but still, the way Detroit has ignored this position is rather amazing. Ansah is coming off a down year, but there's little reason to doubt the massive force he's capable of being. However, he's a free agent after this season. Of course, the Lions could slap the franchise tag on him, but let's just say this extremely important position is tenuous at best.
Packers - Running Back
Ty Montgomery did a lot of good things in his first season as a full-time running back, and his wide receiver background opens up a lot of options for what he might become. But, as evidenced by the Packers drafting three running backs, Montgomery is still a work in progress and can't yet be fully relied upon. However, Green Bay didn't select a running back on the first or second day of the draft, so the future at this position is still murky.
Fourth-rounder Jamaal Williams runs very hard with a closer's mentality that should serve him well in the poor weather he'll deal with, but he doesn't offer a lot in the passing game. You can argue that fifth-rounder Aaron Jones is actually the superior all-around prospect, and some have compared his style of play to Frank Gore. Keep an eye on Jones and don't be surprised if he actually takes over the lead role here around midseason. Strangely, Green Bay also used a seventh-round pick to select Devante Mays, who may not make the team. Overall, there are more questions than answers in the Packers' backfield.
Vikings - Offensive Line
The Vikings have no glaring holes in their roster. They could use another reliable wide receiver and possibly an upgrade at the safety spot opposite Harrison Smith, but we're going to a spot where Minnesota has made extreme changes and hopeful upgrades. The Vikings' O-line was just SO bad a year ago, and yes, a lot of changes were made, but is it enough for them to get a semblance of a running game going and implement anything more than a total dink and dunk passing game?
It may take some time with all the new bodies up front, but this is now more of a question mark than it is a black hole that consumes and annihilates the entire offense. The Vikings have two new tackles in Mike Remmers and Riley Reiff. On the inside, third-round pick Pat Elflein should pay immediate dividends at either guard or center, and don't be surprised if fifth-rounder Danny Isidora becomes a starting guard before long. Things are certainly looking up here without question, but is it "fixed"? We'll soon find out.
Biggest Weakness Remaining