2012 NFL Draft Grades: Evaluating the NFC North Draft Classes

Finally, it's all done. We've wrapped our features, struck the sets and the lights have, quite literally, been turned off at Radio City.

As was the Internet, which is why I am typing this at close to midnight, not 8 p.m. when the thing shut down.

I can't complain. This year there was media food on day three AND official NFL draft cookies.

It was, as it has been the last three years, a tremendous three days, exhausting and exhilarating at the same time.

I have always enjoyed interviewing the new rookies, some of which I have met before and many I have not.

Before we get to the ugly business at hand, I want to thank CheeseheadTV for sending me and Bleacher Report for the fantastic camera equipment with which I brought you guys all that lovely interview footage.

There are a few more of those from Friday so stay tuned.

Now, while the draft is done, the work is not. While the rookies begin to acclimate to the league and come to terms that they've a lot of work to do, the media sets about the difficult task of grading the classes each team has put together.

I say difficult, but I mean nigh-impossible. The fact is that the truth of the 2012 draft class will not be known for anywhere from three to five years as players develop, get hurt, succeed, fail and get off the mat or quit.

However, we can look at the teams and what they did or how they did it and judge their efforts. These grades will change this week or next, this month or August.

As it stands now, the NFC North did very well as a group. They made a few mistakes but for the most part did a great job of grabbing value and filling need.

There were some blunders to be sure. We'll touch on those below. Overall, though, this was a good outing for the division.

I give the whole NFC North a collective B.

Now onto the individual teams, in "draft order."

Minnesota Vikings—Grade: B+

No. 4—Matt Kalil, OT, USC

No. 29—Harrison Smith, S, Notre Dame

No. 66—Josh Robinson, CB, UCF

No. 118—Jarius Wright, WR, Arkansas

No. 128—Rhett Ellison, TE, USC (compensatory)

No. 134—Greg Childs, WR, Arkansas (compensatory)

No. 139—Robert Blanton, DB, Notre Dame

No. 174—Blair Walsh, K, Georgia

No. 172—Audie Cole, LB, North Carolina State

No. 219—Trevor Guyton, DE, CAL

They started out about as well as any team can, trading back one spot, gaining extra picks and still getting their man in Matt Kalil. All the smoke about Claiborne and Blackmon? Just that—smoke.

Unfortunately they followed it up with a head-scratching move back into the first for safety Harrison Smith. As I said at the end of the draft slideshow, everything I've heard and found out points to nobody sniping him. Denver had zero interest (and that's as solid a "no" as I have ever gotten from anyone). The Niners, Bucs, Rams, Colts were not threats. The Giants might have been but they had bigger fish to fry.

No, it wasn't a move they had to make for a player who was not that different from a lot of other mediocre safety prospects in this class.

That said, the rest of the draft was solid and the seventh round was fantastic.

They picked up Audie Cole, LB from North Carolina State and Trevor Guyton, a defensive tackle from Cal.

Cole can play inside or out, has a tremendous motor and will be a great depth pick at the very least for the Vikings. I'd go so far as to say I think he's going to be starting on this defense in a few years and making a very big impact.

Guyton, too. He's raw and needs to improve his technique but he will be a guy who can clog the middle or (like Cole) kick outside and do either effectively.

Great drafts are made in the middle and late rounds. This isn't a great draft, but it's close.

Chicago Bears—Grade: B-

No. 19—Shea McClellin, LB/DE, Boise State

No. 45—Alshon Jeffery, WR, South Carolina

No. 79—Brandon Hardin, FS, Oregon State

No. 111—Evan Rodriguez, TE, Temple

No. 184—Isaiah Frey, CB, Nevada

No. 220—Greg McCoy, CB, TCU

For the fact that they had only a handful of picks, the Bears did all right. I love the McClellin pick, either at defensive end or outside linebacker. I think Jeffery would have been over-drafted in the first but he's a great second-round value—especially given some of the guys in front of him.

Hardin is a solid safety and Rodriguez will be a good role player.

What's missing is offensive line talent. I understand they believe the line is OK, and that's great. So don't use the first- or second-rounders on them (despite some great tackles tumbling down). Fine.

To not use any picks for the line? That seems risky to me.

I will say this: GM Phil Emery played this draft very well. I may not agree with not drafting offensive line but Emery did the same thing the Patriots and Packers do very effectively—lay back and wait for talent to drop.

For the most part they picked effectively. Not doing anything for the offensive line knocks it down a notch though.

Detroit Lions—Grade: B-

No. 23—Riley Reiff, OT, Iowa

No. 54—Ryan Broyles, WR, Oklahoma

No. 85—Dwight Bentley, DB, Louisiana-Lafayette

No. 125—Ronnell Lewis, DE, Oklahoma

No. 138—Tahir Whitehead, OLB, Temple

No. 148—Chris Greenwood, CB, Albion

No. 196—Jonte Green, DB, New Mexico State

No. 223—Travis Lewis, OLB, Oklahoma

The Lions draft was really up and down for me. Getting Reiff was an incredible stroke of luck that reminded us that despite the panicked trading frenzy of the rest of the round, standing pat would prove just as beneficial.

I can't get past that second-round pick, though. I get the concept of best pick available, but wide receiver? In what world is that something the Lions should have had on their board early?

In a vacuum, Broyles is a solid pick, albeit a little early. When lined up against their need in the secondary and the three defensive backs they took—why blow an early pick on a luxury item when value was sitting right in front of you?

Aside from that, the Lions did a good job the rest of the way, adding those aforementioned D-backs later.

A pick I really liked was Ronnell Lewis, a defensive end from Oklahoma. Like Broyles, Lewis was not a need pick but the value in the fourth round is much different than the second and the pick makes more sense.

One I disliked almost as much as the wide receiver gaffe in round two was Temple's Tahir Whitehead. Not only is he a guy with a lot of work to be done, but the Lions traded up for him.

Overall this was a rock-solid draft for the Lions, save for a few gaffes which push their grade down a little bit.

Green Bay Packers—Grade: B

No. 28—Nick Perry, DE/OLB USC

No. 51—Jerel Worthy, DT, Michigan State

No. 62—Casey Hayward, DB, Vanderbilt

No. 132—Mike Daniels, DE, Iowa (compensatory)

No. 133—Jerron McMillian, FS, Maine (compensatory)

No. 163—Terrell Manning, LB, North Carolina State

No. 241—Andrew Datko, T, Florida State (compensatory)

No. 243—B.J. Coleman, QB, Chattanooga (compensatory)

I have to say that, despite a few picks I am not sold on (McMillian in particular), this was a very good draft for Ted Thompson and the Packers. They sat back and got tremendous value with Perry and Worthy, both of whom will contribute early. They shored up the secondary. They even got a very good project quarterback.

The Packers had defensive problems in 2011. Guess what? Not as much anymore. If these guys pan out, the Packers are going to be in very good shape defensively.

They had a plan, they executed and they leave the 2012 NFL draft with a good group of players.