Biggest remaining needs for each NFC team heading into the 2023 NFL season
As we trundle towards the 2023 NFL season, it felt like a good time to go poking some holes in rosters or, rather, talk about one area that each team should still be looking to address.
We’ll start with the NFC and go through each of the four divisions, explaining the reasoning for the spot or unit, with a quick look at the depth chart and analysis of what certain roles entail.
For some teams, it may be a glaring need for a starter, while for others, we’re looking more so at finishing touches that are supposed to insulate them for injuries.
You’re not going to find a franchise quarterback or star pass-rusher at the end of June. However, one more piece to your offensive skill-position group, a role player in your defensive back-seven or depth in the trenches, could still be added and ultimately be key when the season rolls around.
Below is my divisional draft and roster review series, where I broke down every single pick made by all 32 teams, laid out what role they would fulfill for their new squad, and discussed the classes as well as their approach to roster construction as a whole.
So, let’s get into it now:
Chicago Bears, NFC North - Complete/Proven edge rusher
By getting D.J. Moore from the Carolina Panthers (as part of the trade-down from the number one overall pick) as a primary target in the passing game and selecting Tennessee’s Darnell Wright to sure up the right end of the offensive line, Chicago has surrounded Justin Fields with the pieces necessary to take another step in year three under center.
Defensively, they’ve surrounded Eddie Jackson with four second-round picks to build out that secondary. In this year's free agency class, they invested substantial financial resources into their linebacker corp with Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards.
In terms of the defensive line, they bring back Justin Jones for one more year, who’s coming off his most productive season rushing the passer but also probably his worst in run-defense, and handed Andrew Billings another one-year prove-it deal for 2.8 million dollars, coming off the best season of his career in Las Vegas, as a mobile nose-tackle.
Otherwise, I thought they reached on a couple of mid-day two picks on the interior in Gervon Dexter (Florida) and Zacch Pickens (South Carolina), who I don’t believe either is ready to perform well in the pros yet. And shockingly, they haven’t invested any legit resources into the edge position. They did bring in DeMarcus Walker and Rasheem Green as alignment-flexible guys up front, who are both most effective sliding inside on passing downs.
So in terms of actual EDGE rushers, Trevis Gipson is the only somewhat proven commodity. Dominique Robinson had some pretty good success as this undersized finesse-designated pass-rusher they gambled on in the fifth round last year. Yet, I don’t see anybody with a proven track record who can win the corner consistently.
Detroit Lions, NFC North – Swing tackle
Moving on to the current favorites to win the NFC North, there’s a lot of reason for optimism in Detroit. We’ll have to see how that defense comes together, which went from Swiss cheese early in 2022 to an average unit over the second half of the season once they started taking the ball away and changed their personnel usage a little bit.
Offensively, they already finished top-six, respectively, in DVOA and EPA per play. Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Jamaal Williams all had career years, and I think they have upgraded their backfield since then.
However, I believe the two biggest reasons for their success on that side of the last this past season were the services of Ben Johnson calling plays – who they surprisingly were able to bring back – and what I believe is one of the top offensive lines in the league staying largely healthy.
Halapoulivaati Vaitai missed all season due to needing back surgery on the eve of Week 1. Still, Evan Brown was available for all but three games, and both their starting tackles played 100% of the snaps. My worry is about what they have behind those guys.
Since being drafted by Seattle in 2016, I’ve said Germain Ifedi isn’t somebody you want playing extensive stretches on the edge. He’s never earned a PFF grade above 62 across his seven seasons in the NFL when playing the right tackle position, and he has never switched sides. To me, he’s an okay backup option at guard.
Otherwise, the Lions only have Matt Nelson and Obinna Eze. Proof of the former not being a solution is how much of a weak link that RT spot was when pressed into action in 2021, and Eze has yet to play an NFL snap as a UDFA from last year.
Green Bay Packers, NFC North – Backup quarterback
The Pack are making a monster switch under center, going from 30 years of first-ballot Hall of Fame play to a guy with 83 regular season pass attempts since shockingly being drafted at the end of the first round three years ago.
I think, generally, the public is underrating the support system around Jordan Love. The Packers have a defense that found its stride over the latter parts of this past season, one of the better two-headed backfields in the league, and an offensive line that should be better (if David Bakhtiari starts looking more like his former self, Elgton Jenkins finally is back at his natural spot inside, and some of their young guys take a step, whilst having some options in case of injuries).
The one area where it’s more about a lack of experience is the receiving corp, where Josiah Deguara is the most seasoned player among the entire crew, and they haven’t been able to create a role for him through three years in Green Bay. So looking at some of the signs Love has shown in the preseason and jumping in late a couple of times this past year, there’s certainly reason for optimism.
However, if he misses any extended stretch, their season may go completely sideways, looking at their alternatives. Danny Etling has yet to attempt a single pass since being drafted in the seventh round back in 2018, and freaking Sean Clifford as the 149th pick this past draft was the one that had my jaw on the floor.
For anybody who’s watched him at Penn State over the last four years, even if you may appreciate the toughness and pure arm strength, the idea of this guy having NFL accuracy or decision-making qualities is just wild.
Minnesota Vikings, NFC North – Proven commodity in the secondary
You can’t fault them for not addressing the secondary, considering over the last four years they’ve now invested eight picks across the first four rounds into that group. That, along with bringing on veteran Patrick Peterson on a couple of one-year deals and this offseason signing Byron Murphy to a two-year, 17.5-million contract.
The Vikings probably moved on from P2 at the right time, entering his 13th NFL season after he provided some critical turnovers for them last season. They do have plenty of bodies back there now. Still, other than Harrison Smith – another one of those guys at the twilight of his career – and Murphy, you’re looking at all players that are either still on their rookie deals or were cut from the teams that initially selected them during those.
I was a big fan of both their second-round picks, Lewis Cine and Andrew Booth Jr., last year, but they combined for just 107 regular season snaps due to injury. I’m guessing Booth is in the driver’s seat for one of those starting spots on the outside, and the plan with Murphy should be to put him in the slot. So now it’ll be up to fourth-rounders from these last two years in Akayleb Evans and Mekhi Blackmon (USC) to compete for that third spot.
Yet, if there are any injuries, you’re looking at the potential of a bunch of inexperienced players contributing significant snaps in a system that needs brilliant guys, who understand tendencies, have great route anticipation, and know when they can drive on stuff (especially with Brian Flores taking over at DC, with as much cover-zero rain as he typically wants to run in passing situations, where they’re asked to play off-man across the secondary and make great decisions).