Chicago Bears
Strength: I struggled to find a strength on this team, but I like what I have seen from Darnell Mooney. Mooney was a 5th round selection out of Tulane in 2020. Last year he was rated as the 33rd WR out of 115. He hauled in 81 receptions for 1055 yards and 4 TDs. While those numbers are not spectacular by any standard, he did that with a rookie WR who struggled in his first season. Going into the season he is likely projected as the #1 WR. If he can continue strengthening the relationship he began last year with Fields he could see an increase in production this season.
Weakness: The OL for the Bears is weak, which is not what you want protecting a young, inexperienced NFL QB. The weakest player on the OL is Sam Mustipher, who is currently projected as the starting RG. He was one of the worst run blocking OL in the NFL last year. Speaking of run blocking, the Bears only have one player that was ranked in the top half of the league in run blocking last season, Cody Whitehair.
Detroit Lions
Strength: If Frank Ragnow, their starting Center had stayed healthy all last season I would likley be discussing him here. With his season cut short I am going to highlight the Tackles on this OL. Taylor Decker, the startling LT, was ranked as the 6th highest rated pass blocking Tackle in football last year. On the other side Penei Sewell, the 2021 first round selection out of Oregon, did not disappoint. He had a good rookie season and finished the season as 10th highest rated Tackle in run blocking. Detroit will need a similar performance out of these two if they have any hopes next season.
Weakness: There are a couple players or positions that I could talk about here, but the position I am going to focus on is LB. Their projected starting LBs are Alex Anzalone and Jarrad Davis. Davis missed some time last season to injury, but based on his previous seasons it doesn’t seem like a huge loss. Anzalone played nearly the whole season and did not fare much better. It is shocking that the Lions did not address this position in the offseason.
Green Bay Packers
Strength: Aaron Rodgers would be the easy selection, but there is nothing much for me to discuss for him that has not already been said. Instead I want to discuss Rashan Gary, their starting DE. The former 1st round pick out of Michigan finally lived up to his draft status in a big way last season. He finished the season with 10 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. He was also rated as the 5th highest rated pass rushing DE in the NFL.
Weakness: Robert Tonyan, the starting TE for the Packers is a liability for this team. While some would argue an undrafted player out of Indiana State is doing just fine being rated as the 61st out of 70 TEs in football, I think Green Bay can do better. Typically, TEs are rated highly as either pass blocking or receiving. It is a rare occurrence to find a NFL TE who is this poor in both, but congratulations Green Bay, you have done it.
Minnesota Vikings
Strength: Justin Jefferson is a stud WR who has been a human highlight reel since he came into the league in 2020 out of LSU. He is rated as the 4th highest rated WR in the league. He was targeted an incredible 163 times last year and he hauled in 108 of those targets. He had 1616 yards and 1o TDs. He was in the top 10 for the league in every statistical category. He averaged an incredible 15 yards per reception.
Weakness: The Vikings have a pretty deep team as a whole. The one position that could use an upgrade is their Center, Garrett Bradbury. Bradbury was rated as the 29th out of 39 Centers in the NFL. The biggest concern for me is he was rated as the 35th pass blocking Center. While the team has a stud RB in their backfield, Dalvin Cook, they are going to stay in games through the air. The key to being able to succeed through the air, is having enough time to move through your progressions and complete passes. Having a Center who lets pressure come right up the gut of the OL is not a recipe for success.