Earlier this afternoon, we took a look at a possible extension between Mike McCarthy and the Packers. Now, let’s move on to some more notes from the rest of the NFC North:
- The Bears’ cornerback positions are filled for now, believes John Mullin of CSNChicago.com, and he grades corner as only a “medium” priority for the team heading into Thursday’s draft. Due to the age of Chicago’s top pass defenders, however, I wouldn’t at all be surprised if the Bears used the fourteenth overall pick on a cornerback, especially if defensive tackle Aaron Donald has already been selected.
- Jordan Palmer looks to be the early favorite for the Bears’ backup quarterback job behind starter Jay Cutler, although the team could look to pick a developmental QB later in the draft, writes Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com.
- The Vikings have never been great at manipulating the compensatory pick system, according to Mark Craig of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, who also looks at the success of Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome, who is considered by many to be a master of the compensatory machine.
- Blake Bortles, C.J. Mosley, and Donald are among a list of ten players who could be available and intriguing to the Vikings at pick No. 8, per the Minneapolis Star Tribune staff.
- We noted more than a month ago that the Lions were looking for a backup quarterback after losing Shaun Hill to the Rams, and now Chris McCosky of the Detroit News reports that the team will likely look to the draft to fill the position. Within the article, ESPN’s Jon Gruden mentioned David Fales and Tajh Boyd as late-round options for Detroit.
- Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com lists his top five need areas for the Lions, and among them are defensive end, linebacker, and receiver.