Most underrated offseason moves from Bears' NFC North rivals

The Chicago Bears are undoubtedly the most-improved team across the NFC North, this offseason.

It cannot be debated.

But, how about the Lions, Packers and Vikings? They all made some notable moves on both sides of the ball, and some were more underrated than you might think. Which moves were the most underrated throughout the division?

Let's start in Detroit, and while a lot of Bears fans got a chuckle out of Jared Goff's new contract, that's not where we're headed, here. We know the Bears have had some success against Goff, but we'll save the jokes.

The Lions' addition of D.J. Reader cannot be overlooked

Much of the Lions' offseason, at least from the perspective of Detroit fans, has been dominated with talk about improving the secondary. And, the Lions did just that by way of the draft when they selected Terrion Arnold in the first followed by Ennis Rakestraw Jr. in the second.

But, it cannot be overstated just how much the addition of D.J. Reader means to that Lions defense. Look, Detroit was already the no. 2 team against the run in 2023, right behind the Bears. The Lions added a top-3 interior run defender in Reader, making that front even tougher.

From the Bears' perspective, that will put even more pressure on Caleb Williams. The Bears want to be a running football team. Make no mistake about it. They always will be. However, going up against a front like Detroit, with the addition of Reader, is going to make life difficult on the Bears' rushing attack.

Williams is going to be forced into putting the team on his shoulders in games against Detroit, because Chicago could have a difficult time running the football.