Welcome back to Sports Krunch with DKrom ladies and gentlemen, I’m your host David Kromelow. After a brief six-month hiatus, I am pleased to announce that we are back and ready to give you more exciting NFL content from all angles. Whether it be your favorite team, fantasy football, the NFL Draft or anything NFL-related, we will have you covered like never before. And how fitting is it that we return right now since the first of 32 NFL training camps begins in just a few days. In that spirit, we begin our 2019 NFL division-by-division preview series with a look at the NFC North. And to help us break down all things Bears, Vikings, Packers and Lions is our good friend Jordan Reid. Jordan is one of THE best football minds out there, especially when it comes to the NFL Draft. Over the past year, his career has taken off and he is becoming one of the go-to guys for NFL Draft information and analysis. He now writes for The Draft Network, my personal favorite NFL Draft site and hosts his own podcast “The Draft Board.” Jordan is also a wonderful friend of ours here at Sports Krunch, and it’s a pleasure to welcome him back to the program. How are you doing Jordan?
1. The Bears incredible 2018 season ended in the worst possible way, with a (partially blocked) “double doink” missed FG against the Eagles in the Wild Card round. And since then, the Bears situation at kicker is arguably a million times more uncertain than it was on that day. Cody Parkey might have been jettisoned but no kicker on the current roster has been able to distinguish himself from the pack during OTA’s. Which kicker (whether on the current active roster or open market) can you see providing some stability for the Bears at that position this season?
2. Jordan Howard was traded to the Eagles and to help replace him, the Bears traded up in the third round to select David Montgomery, a talented, multi-faceted back out of Iowa State. I personally was a HUGE fan of this pick. Do you think Montgomery is an upgrade over Howard in Matt Nagy’s offense? If you do, how so? (FANTASY FOCUS: Would you be surprised if Montgomery is the back getting most of the carries right off the bat?)
3. The Bears lost two underrated pieces of their top-shelf 2018 defense in nickel corner Bryce Callahan and safety Adrian Amos. Which of those players will be the hardest to replace? How does Chuck Pagano’s system fit the skillsets of the Bears defenders better than Vic Fangio’s?
4. The main thing that derailed the Vikings in 2018 was their porous OL play. To help fix that problem, the Vikings selected Garrett Bradbury, who was considered THE best center prospects in years, with their first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network calls him “The Grim Reacher” because of his otherworldly reach blocks. Can you see Bradbury making at least somewhat of a similar impact on the entire Vikings OL as Quenton Nelson did with the Colts last year?
5. FANTASY FOCUS: With Gary Kubiak now in the Vikings building as essentially the Vikings co-OC, I am anticipating a lot more two-TE sets. The Vikings need a third pass catcher to emerge behind Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen. And while the Vikings may have extended Kyle Rudolph, they selected Alabama TE Irv Smith with their second-round pick. Daniel Jeremiah compared him to Jordan Reed, who was Kirk Cousins’ absolute favorite target in Washington. Can you see Irv Smith becoming that third option in the passing game behind Thielen and Diggs by midseason or sooner?
6. Although the Vikings were fourth in total defense last season, it didn’t feel quite as dominant as their performance during their magical 2017 season. What is the most important thing that needs to happen this season for the Vikings defense to play closer to that 2017 level?
