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.
Kalen King may have gone in the seventh round, but Green Bay knows better
Believe it or not, the Packers ended the 2023 regular season with the league's no. 9 pass defense. For Packer fans clamoring about fixing the secondary and ensuring depth is taken care of, there, they sure seem far more panicked than they should have been.
Now, Green Bay went out and signed Xavier McKinney, one of the top safeties on the free agent market this offseason. But, that was more of a splash move. The real underrated move came all the way in the seventh round when Green Bay landed Penn State cornerback Kalen King.
Somehow, King fell this far. Many will argue that his 2023 campaign was the reason why. He was not nearly as good last season as he was in 2022. But, that's because he was playing opposite Joey Porter Jr. in 2022. You take out Porter from the equation, and King fell down to earth.
Look at the Packers, though. They have one of the top corners in football, in Jaire Alexander. There's not going to be the same amount of pressure on King, should he end up winning a starting job. That second starting job is up in the air, with Eric Stokes' injury concerns and the lack of depth behind. King was tremendous in 2022, coming up with a whopping 18 pass breakups and three interceptions.
He is going to make some noise in training camp this summer, and could wind up being a thorn in the Bears' side.
However the Vikings plan to use Sam Darnold, it will have been worth it
If the Vikings roll into the season with Sam Darnold as their starting quarterback, Bears fans will probably be laughing. And, to an extent, it makes sense. The Vikings let Kirk Cousins walk after putting up several 4,000-yard seasons in Minnesota, only to sign Darnold.
They lucked into drafting J.J. McCarthy where they did because, by all accounts, he very well could have gone in the top five or six picks. But, Minnesota was able to get hiim at no. 10 without trading up more than a single spot.
Back to Darnold, though. The last time we saw a decent sample size out of him, he was in Carolina with a poor offense, poor coordinator and not a lot of help. However, he went 4-2 as a starter for the Panthers in 2022, throwing for 1,143 yards, seven touchdowns and just three picks. Darnold played great football for a bad Panthers team to end that season. Don't also overlook the 106 yards rushing and two scores he accounted for on the ground.
Darnold is not a bad football player. He has grown since being drafted in 2018 and spent last season under Kyle Shanahan. Do not be surprised if Darnold not only starts the season, but plays well for Minnesota.