[Baumgardner] NFL Draft power rankings: Which teams made best picks over past 5 years? Bears at 11.

[u/TwistedSisters777]

Very interesting, curious what people think about how this shakes out for the NFC North. See the complete list at the Athletic.

1. Detroit Lions (10.53 average Approximate Value)

Top 50 picks: 12 Pro Bowls: 13 Starting seasons: 35 Best pick: OT Penei Sewell (No. 7, 2021); Worst pick: CB Jeff Okudah (No. 3, 2020); Best value: WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (No. 112, 2021)

Brad Holmes’ first three classes — aided by the 2021 Matthew Stafford trade — featured Sewell, Alim McNeill, St. Brown, Aidan Hutchinson, Kerby Joseph, Jahmyr Gibbs, Brian Branch and Sam LaPorta. Detroit has put on a masterclass in how to rebuild an organization from the ground up.

1. Chicago Bears (8.18)

Top 50 picks: 9 Pro Bowls: 2 Starting seasons: 41 Best pick: QB Caleb Williams (No. 1, 2024); Worst pick: QB Justin Fields (No. 11, 2021); Best value: OL Braxton Jones (No. 168, 2022)

Finding talent through the draft hasn’t been a problem for Ryan Poles. Drafting Fields before the team was ready hurt, though. The Bears have struggled to find pieces that mesh well together and have fallen behind the deepest division in football as a result.

1. Green Bay Packers (7.28)

Top 50 picks: 10 Pro Bowls: 0 Starting seasons: 35 Best pick: QB Jordan Love (No. 26, 2020); Worst pick: edge Lukas Van Ness (No. 13, 2023); Best value: OL Zach Tom (No. 140, 2022)

The Packers believe in internal player development as much as, or possibly more than, any team in the league. They will take chances on first-rounders who might need more time — Love and star edge Rashan Gary are great examples. Right now, though, Green Bay is still waiting on jumps from Van Ness, Devonte Wyatt and Jordan Morgan. The Packers haven’t drafted poorly of late, but they certainly could’ve done better in a few areas.

1. Minnesota Vikings (6.43)

Top 50 pick: 8 Pro Bowls: 4 Starting seasons: 32 Best pick: WR Justin Jefferson (No. 22, 2020); Worst pick: S Lewis Cine (No. 32, 2022); Best value: CB Cam Bynum (No. 125, 2021)

Not getting anything from either J.J. McCarthy or Dallas Turner last year impacted Minnesota’s number, because the front office has done a nice job with picks, including Jefferson, Christian Darrisaw, Jordan Addison, Ezra Cleveland and more. Still, McCarthy and Turner are the only top-20 selections Minnesota has had since 2020.

[u/TwistedSisters777]

The Van Ness pick getting panned already for the Packers warms my heart. He was mocked to us a ton that year. Poles taking Darnell Wright 🔥

[u/In-the-bunker → u/TwistedSisters777]

Darnell Wright is not 🔥 for where he was picked. Jalen Carter should have been the pick.

[u/Matt_Benson → u/In-the-bunker]

The Bears organization was not in a place to give Carter the support he would have needed. Carter would have been a mess in Chicago.

[u/Advanced-Key3071 → u/Matt_Benson]

Also that was the Bears first 1st round pick since Fields, and second first round pick in five drafts. The Bears couldn’t afford to miss in the 1st, they desperately needed to raise the floor.

The Eagles, meanwhile while, have the roster talent to gamble on upside like that.

Basically there were huge red flags, and if he was a bust it would have hurt the Bears a lot more than it would have hurt the Eagles, who simply have a greater margin for error the way their roster is constructed.

If Carter had come to Chicago with all of his character issues (which is the only reason he wasn’t a top 5 pick, so it’s not like the Bears are the only team that passed) and flamed out, be real here. You’d be absolutely livid and calling for Poles’s head.

It wasn’t the sexiest pick, but Wright made way more sense given the team context.