How Has Free Agency Changed Draft Plans in the NFC North?

The NFC North has feasted on itself during free agency, with a game of musical chairs inside the division filling holes and shifting needs for the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings in the 2014 NFL draft. 

The four teams have signed a total of 25 players through Wednesday. Eight of those 25 newcomers, or almost one-third, have come from inside the division. And we're not just talking about bottom-of-the-roster players. 

Julius Peppers left Chicago and signed in Green Bay. Willie Young bolted Detroit to join the Bears. Corey Wootton landed in Minnesota after four years in Chicago. Other signings within the division include M.D. Jennings (Bears), Israel Idonije (Bears), Austen Lane (Bears) and Letroy Guion (Packers). 

Jared Allen completed the NFC North's pass-rusher shuffle. 

According to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, Allen and the Bears agreed to a four-year deal worth $32 million, with $15.5 million guaranteed. After 85.5 sacks over six years in Minnesota, Allen arrives in Chicago to help replace Peppers, who provided the Bears with 38.0 sacks after signing inside the division in 2010. 

Two weeks of free agency have taken almost all of the big names off the market, with Allen representing the last of the top-tier players to find a new home. Teams will now be left to bargain shop for lower-tier free agents before the final roster renovation arrives in May.

Any remaining needs are more likely to be filled during the draft.

Here's how the happenings of free agency—including the intra-division swapping—have altered draft plans in the NFC North.  

Chicago Bears

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Key Additions: DE Jared Allen, DE Lamarr Houston, DE Willie Young, S Ryan Mundy
Key Losses: DE Julius Peppers, DT Henry Melton, QB Josh McCown, DE Corey Wootton, KR Devin Hester
Re-signed: DT Nate Collins, CB Tim Jennings, CB Charles Tillman, C Roberto Garza

Despite losing two starters along the defensive line, the Bears actually upgraded the position group—potentially to the point that it is no longer the most pressing need. 

Allen, Houston and Young are all defensive ends, but Houston has the ability to slide inside and play Melton's attacking role as a 3-technique, especially on passing downs. The Bears will still want to add another defensive tackle or two, but bringing in Allen improves the rotation on the edge and gives defensive coordinator Mel Tucker options across the defensive line. 

The other biggest needs come at safety, cornerback and backup quarterback.

At safety, the Bears added Mundy, M.D. Jennings and Danny McCray and re-signed Craig Steltz. But save for maybe Mundy, these additions bring nothing more than roster depth—not legitimate game-changing talent. 

In the video below, Bleacher Report's Matt Bowen discusses Chicago's potential to add a safety high in the draft:

The Bears also need to get younger at cornerback—Jennings and Tillman are back, but both are over 30 years old—and replace McCown, a quality backup behind Jay Cutler who left for a starting opportunity in Tampa Bay. 

The offense otherwise remains mostly intact after Cutler signed his big deal in January.

Free agency has helped mitigate Chicago's pressing need along the defensive line. But Phil Emery's defense still needs an infusion of young talent at every level, so expect the Bears to keep their focus on adding defensive players in May's draft. 

Detroit Lions

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Key Additions: WR Golden Tate, S James Ihedigbo, DE Darryl Tapp
Key Losses: DE Willie Young, S Louis Delmas, QB Shaun Hill
Re-signed: RB Joique Bell, TE Brandon Pettigrew, C Dominic Raiola

Strapped for cash and unable to get a restructure completed with Ndamukong Suh, the Lions had a somewhat quiet—but still productive—two weeks in free agency. 

Tate has found a new home as the Robin to Calvin Johnson's Batman, a role he should thrive in and one the Lions have been attempting to fill for years. He cost the second-most in guaranteed money among receivers (Eric Decker), but the Lions now have as balanced and talented an offense as any in the division or conference. 

Detroit should still look heavily at receiver in this draft—it's loaded with talent, and any good offense has at least three reliable weapons—but Tate's arrival should lessen the need to take one in the first round. 

Ihedigbo is a slight upgrade at safety over Delmas, who was always injured and too pricey. The Lions shouldn't shy away from a safety if the value is there, but the defense appears to again have two starters. 

Detroit's biggest remaining needs come at cornerback and defensive end. 

Veteran Chris Houston is coming off a down year, and Darius Slay and Dwight Bentley are both young, unproven commodities. Detroit did nothing to strengthen the position in free agency. Luckily, this year's cornerback class looks deep, with guys such as Justin Gilbert and Kyle Fuller capable of being plugged in as starters right away. 

The Lions also need to find a replacement for Young, who was an underrated edge-rusher for Detroit last season. Jason Jones will be back, and Devin Taylor oozes potential, but the Lions always seem to prioritize reloading along the line over any other defensive need.

Detroit might also want to add another offensive tackle, and losing Hill to St. Louis opens up an opportunity to draft a backup quarterback. 

Despite a few lingering positional needs, the Lions have done well in free agency to fill major roster holes—leaving general manager Martin Mayhew the ability to truly select the best players available in May.   

Green Bay Packers

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Key Additions: DE Julius Peppers, DL Letroy Guion
Key Losses: C Evan Dietrich-Smith, WR James Jones
Re-signed: CB Sam Shields, DL/LB Mike Neal, NT B.J. Raji, RB James Starks

Free agency could have done a number on a Packers defense that didn't play well last season. But instead of starting over at several positions, general manager Ted Thompson brought back Shields, Neal and Raji, hoping a healthy defense with a few more parts will finally get it over the hump. 

Peppers was one big piece of that puzzle. He is a versatile and uniquely talented front-seven player, provided he is properly motivated and free of regression at age 34. A switch to the 3-4 defense—in which Peppers will play linebacker, defensive end and interior rusher—could help restart his inconsistent motor. 

Guion, a former Viking who flashed at times in Minnesota, adds another body along a defensive line that is clearly shifting more toward athletic, gap-shooting players. 

But the defensive rebuild is far from over for Thompson, who still needs to add help at safety and inside linebacker. Neither position has been addressed in free agency, save for letting M.D. Jennings—a 17-game starter last season—walk in free agency.

If neither Ryan Pickett nor Johnny Jolly returns, the Packers will probably want to find another big body to play up front on early downs. Thompson has picked at least one defensive lineman in every single one of his drafts, a trend that should continue in 2014.

He's also selected at least one offensive lineman in every draft, and the Packers currently have a hole at center. Thanks to Dietrich-Smith's departure to Tampa Bay, Green Bay will go into next season with its fourth starter at the position in as many years. 

Losing Jones to Oakland might also open up a need for another receiver. And considering Thompson was awarded third- and fifth-round compensatory picks, it's possible he'll go a familiar route and pluck a receiver from the early to middle rounds. 

Still, Thompson's 2014 draft will likely be heavy on defense. Green Bay's biggest needs—at safety, linebacker and along the line—were never likely to be filled during free agency, which Thompson historically avoids. 

Minnesota Vikings

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Key Additions: NT Linval Joseph, CB Captain Munnerlyn, DE Corey Wootton
Key Losses: DE Jared Allen, CB Chris Cook, RB Toby Gerhart
Re-signed: DE Everson Griffen, QB Matt Cassel, DT Fred Evans

There was no secret to the way the Vikings wanted to attack free agency under new head coach Mike Zimmer: defense, defense, defense. 

Minnesota locked up Griffen and Evans on new deals and signed Joseph and Wootton to add to the defensive line and Munnerlyn and Derek Cox to aid a beleaguered secondary. Allen and Cook left, but the talent ledger in free agency still reads positive for the Vikings. 

Griffen, an ascending pass-rusher, will replace Allen on one edge. Joseph finally brings a true nose tackle to the defensive front, and Wootton is a versatile player who can play at end or tackle in passing situations. The Vikings should feel good about their front four, although their pursuit of Henry Melton shows Zimmer still isn't satisfied. 

Munnerlyn was a big get as a nickel cornerback, and he'll slide into a role once occupied by Antoine Winfield. But the secondary still isn't settled. Cox is more of a gamble than an answer at perimeter corner, and Harrison Smith still doesn't have a solid running mate at safety. The Vikings might yet need two new starters. 

Minnesota is flush with mostly average options at linebacker, but Zimmer's defenses in Cincinnati operated without real game-changers at the second level. Jasper Brinkley, signed back from Arizona, will compete for a job. 

And while Cassel is back on a two-year deal, the Vikings still have a gaping hole at quarterback. The team has a stopgap option but no long-term answer, and it's nearly a certainty that the Vikings will use one of their draft picks on a young quarterback offensive coordinator Norv Turner can mold into his offense. 

Also on offense, the departure of Gerhart to Jacksonville created a need for a quality backup to Adrian Peterson. 

The Vikings aggressively filled their two biggest needs on defense—cornerback and nose tackle—and the defensive line looks like it could be a dominant unit next season. But holes still linger for the league's worst scoring defense in 2013, and this team isn't going anywhere until a new franchise quarterback is anointed. The draft is needed to solve both headaches. 

Zach Kruse covers the NFC North for Bleacher Report. 

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