NFC North Round 1 Draft Grades - Who Had The Best First Round Pick?

The highly anticipated first round of the 2023 NFL draft has come to a close, and it was… interesting. While a few teams managed to stand out by grabbing some incredible talent, I think “meh” is the word to describe how most teams fared. With that being said, let’s take a look at the NFC North and see how each team spent their first round pick(s).

4. Detroit Lions (Jahmyr Gibbs RB, Jack Campbell LB)

Not only did this team draft worse than any other NFC North team, you could make a case that the Lions had the worst round one in the draft. Jahmyr Gibbs is a great talent, but pick twelve is a massive overdraft. Not only is RB not a valuable enough position to warrant this high of a pick, the Lions already have Swift and Montgomery on the depth chart. It’s going to be interesting to see how this backfield looks week one.

If Jahmyr Gibbs at 12 didn't raise enough eyebrows, Jack Campbell might have been an even more controversial pick at 18. They filled their hole at linebacker, but Campbell was far from the best available player on the board. This pick just didn’t make much sense to me.

GRADE: D

3. Green Bay Packers (Lukas Van Ness EDGE)

The problem with this pick is not the player. Lukas Van Ness has huge potential. Give him a year or two and I could see him being a staple of the Packers’ D-line. With Rashan Gary most likely missing the start of the season with an ACL tear and Preston Smith approaching 31, Van Ness fills a huge need for the Packers. The problem with this pick is where this player was taken. I saw Van Ness as a possible pick for the Packers, but they definitely could have traded back to get him. There were so many other prospects on the board here, including WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba. It doesn’t surprise me to see Gutekunst go defense yet again, but this felt like a bit of a reach.

Despite what some would call a disappointing selection, Packers’ fans should keep their heads high. The Packers have two picks in the second round, and with a lot of valuable pass catchers still on the board, they may be aggressive in grabbing one. Gutekunst traded up in the second to get Christian Watson last year, maybe we see a similar play here.

GRADE: C+

2. Chicago Bears (Darnell Wright OT)

There were better tackles on the board here, but what matters for the Bears is that they prioritized protecting Fields. Darnell Wright has an incredibly high ceiling, but there is definitely a lot of risk here. This pick could look a lot better in a year or so if Wright fills the role the Bears need him to, but for now this gets a lower grade for passing on one of the safer options.

GRADE: B-

1. Minnesota Vikings (Jordan Addison WR)

It hurt to see one of my favorite receiver prospects go to Minnesota, especially because I see him performing well alongside Justin Jefferson. Addison was my number two ranked receiver, and the Vikings managed to land him without having to move up. This pick would be an A, but the Vikings had more pressing needs to address than wide receiver. Their secondary was horrendous last year and a corner might have been a better option, especially because they don’t have a round two pick. Regardless, Cousins lacked a number two receiver after losing Thielen, and Addison is a strong replacement.

GRADE: A-

There are still six more rounds of the draft to go, and with tons of top prospects still on the board I expect round two to be especially interesting. We will have to wait and see what happens over the next few days, but for now the Vikings should be feeling the best about how day one went for them. For Packers fans, let's hope Green Bay gets aggressive in round two by moving up for one of the few remaining pass catchers.