ESPN NFL

A committee of ESPN experts -- including Trent Dilfer, Mel Kiper, Gary Horton, Matt Williamson -- assembled this offseason to create a unique version of our traditional Power Rankings.

Naturally, NFC North teams are featured prominently in what amounts to a three-year projection of Power Rankings for the 2015 season . The Green Bay Packers received the top spot as the team best equipped to compete three years from now, while the Detroit Lions were not far behind at No. 6.

The file requires an Insider subscription to read in full, but I can pass along where our four teams ranked and also a glimpse at the methodology used. Here is how the committee evaluated each team and the degree of impact each category had:

• Roster (32.5 percent of total score): Players under 30 emphasized
• Coaching (20 percent): Capability and stability of current staff
• Quarterback (17.5 percent): Where quarterback play would be in three years
• Draft (15 percent): Based on team's 2012 class and how many picks available in next three years.
• Front office (15 percent): Ability to manage roster and market's attraction to free agents.

Now on to the NFC North rankings with comments from me:

1. Green Bay Packers
Seifert comment: The presence of a 28-year-old MVP quarterback and one of the NFL's top general manager-coach combinations puts the Packers on an ideal long-term path.

6. Detroit Lions
Seifert comment: Quarterback Matthew Stafford had a 5,000-yard season before his 24th birthday. That's a nice start. General manager Martin Mayhew has elevated the team's talent level every season of his tenure and most of the Lions' key players -- Stafford, receiver Calvin Johnson, tight end Brandon Pettigrew, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, safety Louis Delmas and linebacker Stephen Tulloch -- are under 30.

17. Chicago Bears
Seifert comment: Jay Cutler is a legitimate franchise quarterback, but the best players on the Bears' defense are all over 30. That list includes defensive end Julius Peppers, linebackers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs, and cornerback Charles Tillman.

31. Minnesota Vikings
Seifert comment: Questions about quarterback Christian Ponder's long-term prospects made it difficult for the committee to project future success. There are also concerns about a lack of young impact players on defense. Defensive end Jared Allen is 30 and linebacker Chad Greenway is 29.

We noted Wednesday morning that Detroit Lions general manager Martin Mayhew had a history with the short-lived XFL, a connection that ultimately led to a rare tryout for German receiver Christian Bollmann. Many of you asked what Mayhew did with the XFL, and considering the league's relatively scandalous run, I wanted to make sure I was explicit.

No, Mayhew did not play with a silly made-up nickname on the back of his jersey. Nor did he ambush coaches after games for postgame interviews. (That was Rod Smart and Jesse Ventura, governor of the great state of Minnesota at the time.) My understanding is that Mayhew was the league official charged with making the football as legitimate as possible.

Mayhew left the XFL to join the Lions in February 2001, just before the XFL season opened. But in his time there, according to an early Lions biography of Mayhew, he was "instrumental in developing policies and procedures for the start-up pro football league. Mayhew also organized training camps and supervised team officials in planning of practices and other team activities."

So there you go, for the record. Now I just hope He (Won't) Hate Me for bringing it up.

We're Black and Blue All Over:

Ben of Frankfurt was among those who sent us a heads-up of European Internet reports that made for an unusual offseason note: A professional German football player traveled to Detroit this week for a tryout with the Detroit Lions, a relative rarity in NFL player procurement.

Receiver Christian Bollmann is scheduled to work out Wednesday, according to this press release from his New Yorker Lions team. (You'll need to run a translator program to read it, unless you know German.) Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press confirmed the workout, which was arranged by coach/general manager Phil Hickey, who has a relationship with Lions general manager Martin Mayhew dating to their time in the XFL.

Bollmann is 6-foot-5, 220 pounds and runs a 4.5 in the 40-yard dash, according to Hickey.

It's rare but not unprecedented for a player without American high school or college experience to get attention from the NFL. The league doesn't keep records of such things, but typically when European players make their way to the NFL, even on tryouts, they have some American experience.

The most recent example is defensive tackle Markus Kuhn, a German who attended North Carolina State before the New York Giants made him a seventh-round draft choice this year. Kuhn is one of three European-trained players to be drafted. The others are defensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer in 2009 by the New England Patriots and defensive tackle Romeo Bandison by the Washington Redskins in 1994.

Continuing around the NFC North:

• Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and tight end Tony Scheffler opened a gym in suburban Detroit, notes Birkett for the Free Press.
• Rod Beard of the Detroit News profiles Lions rookie running back Stephfon Green.
• The Lions placed running back Jerome Harrison on the non-football/reserve injury list as he continues to recover from a brain tumor discovered last fall. Harrison is not eligible to play in 2012, notes Anwar S. Richardson of Mlive.com.
• Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel looks at how the Green Bay Packers are adjusting to a shorter offseason.
• Weston Hodkiewicz of the Green Bay Press-Gazette speaks with Packers receiver Jordy Nelson before Nelson joins the team's Tailgate Tour.
• The Packers still own the NFL rights to defensive tackle Johnny Jolly, who is under indefinite suspension but was released from jail Tuesday. Jason Wilde of ESPNMilwaukee.com has more.
• The Minnesota Vikings signed defensive tackle Nick Reed and claimed offensive lineman Kevin Murphy off waivers, notes Tom Pelissero of 1500ESPN.com.
• The Chicago Bears signed third-round draft choice Brandon Hardin, completing negotiations with their draft class, notes Michael C. Wright of ESPNChicago.com.
• Bears receiver Alshon Jeffery changed his mind and has decided to attend the NFLPA Rookie Premiere presented by Nike, according to Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com.

We're Black and Blue All Over:

News that Detroit Lions running back Jahvid Best will be cleared for football activities in June was not unexpected but still odd for its timing.

Best has been recovering from two concussions suffered last season. The Lions have maintained optimism about his return while noting it is impossible to project a timetable on his recovery. So general manager Martin Mayhew's announcement means one of two things:

Either Best has already passed the medical tests required for full participation and the Lions are simply waiting until next month to put him on the field. Or, the timing of his progress suggests his recovery will be complete next month. The latter is not quite as definitive.

Ultimately, though, the big-picture news is that it continues to appear likely that Best will be ready when the Lions begin their serious on-field preparations for the 2012 season.

Continuing around the NFC North:

• The Lions signed veteran receiver Lance Long, notes Anwar S. Richardson of Mlive.com.
• Lions running back Mikel Leshoure has a preliminary exam hearing on May 11 in connection with two marijuana-related legal entanglements, according to Eric Lacy of the Detroit News.
• The Minnesota Vikings released running back Caleb King, who was arrested over the weekend in connection with an alleged assault. The St. Paul Pioneer Press has more on the story of a running back who spent most of last season on the Vikings' practice squad.
• The Star Tribune has the latest on an unexpected twist to the Vikings' stadium bill, including the fact that the bill's authors were not looped in on a new idea for a roofless, bonded stadium.
• The Green Bay Packers are likely to shuffle their front office now that the draft is complete, writes Rob Demovsky of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
• The selection of linebacker Nick Perry is a risk, writes Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
• The Packers' NFC North rivals spent the draft trying to fortify themselves to beat Green Bay, writes Tom Oates of the Wisconsin State Journal.
• Troy offensive lineman James Brown could be a sleeper for the Chicago Bears, according to Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times.
• Bears receiver Earl Bennett told a 670-AM, via the Chicago Tribune, that quarterback Jay Cutler and his fiancé, Kristin Cavallari, are expecting a boy.

As they approached their second-round position Friday night, the Detroit Lions sure seemed to be sitting pretty. A team with a shortage of cornerbacks was looking at a nice group of second-tier defensive backs whose time on the market appeared up. In addition, the draft's top center was still available if the Lions were inclined to secure a future replacement for starter Dominic Raiola.

With their No. 54 overall pick, the Lions passed on Wisconsin center Peter Konz, who ultimately went one slot later to the Atlanta Falcons.

They turned away a trio of cornerbacks: Vanderbilt's Casey Hayward, Montana's Trumaine Johnson and Central Florida's Josh Robinson. Hayward went at No. 62 to the Green Bay Packers, Johnson at No. 65 to the St. Louis Rams and Robinson at No. 66 to the Minnesota Vikings.

The Lions? Naturally, they went for a 24-year-old slot receiver who tore his anterior cruciate ligament last November. Oklahoma's Ryan Broyles will join a seemingly crowded position group that also includes Calvin Johnson, Nate Burleson and 2011 second-round pick Titus Young.

I got a number of immediate reactions along these lines of this one from @breynolds0324: "Sadly, best case he is 4th receiver. That secondary made [Matt] Flynn a multimillionaire. Feel like we are a secondary away from SB."

I understand where you're coming from, and perhaps some of you were assuaged when the Lions drafted Louisiana-Lafayette cornerback Dwight Bentley in the third round. But I feel like many of you allowed your immediate emotions to overtake rational thought, and more importantly, what should be a clear understanding of how the Lions operate under general manager Martin Mayhew and coach Jim Schwartz.

You can object to the relative lack of attention the Lions have paid their secondary during this rebuilding process. Feel free to dispute their assessment of the talent they've passed over. But by now, like it or not, you should have come to expect that they will follow their board in as much of a vacuum as any team in the NFL. And I hope you also realize that approach has left the Lions short in the secondary but is probably the single-biggest factor in their return to contention.

"You don't solve needs by drafting poor players," Lions coach Jim Schwartz told reporters in Detroit. "… There's a discipline that goes into it. You have to be able to stick with that philosophy. The philosophy is: 'Talent rules the board.' … If you chase need, you're chasing a moving target. What looks like a need one day might not be a need another day. If you have the discipline to say, 'Hey look, let's get good football players that fit a philosophy that we have a plan for, that continue to be the highest rated guys on your board,' then you're going to be successful over the long run.

"Even in this organization in the past, I think everybody knows some examples where this organization reached for certain players because of needs. I don't see how that solves your need. When it's all said and done, the need is still there."

It would be reasonable to question whether, say, Hayward would have been a reach at No. 54 when the Packers selected him just a few spots later. But the more relevant question is whether the Lions would have left a more talented player on the board. And in the Lions' evaluation, they would have. That made their decision easy Friday night at No. 54.

Broyles is one of the most productive receivers in the history of college football, having caught an NCAA-record 349 passes in his career. Just five months after surgery to repair his ACL, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.57 seconds. Mayhew, whose success in recent drafts grants him some leeway in making such judgments, told reporters: "If the guy were healthy now he'd have been gone way before our pick."

And while they are in fact stacked at the front end of their depth chart, the Lions in reality were one injury away from not being able to use offensive coordinator Scott Linehan's three-receiver set. Burleson, meanwhile, will turn 32 this summer. In other words, the Lions could be a year or two away from having an obvious need at receiver. As we discussed Thursday, the key to orderly transitions is acquiring the replacement before he is needed.

Look, the Lions don't need me to be an apologist for a decision -- and thus far, an entire draft -- that might not have much impact on their 2012 team. You have a right to dispute it. But you shouldn't be surprised, and the Lions' success to this point earns them at least a partial benefit of the doubt from me.

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Thanks to everyone for bearing with me during a fast-paced and surprising first round of the NFL draft. I told you ahead of time that my focus would be on the Minnesota Vikings, given their spot at No. 3 overall, but that I would account for each of the NFC North's first-round picks in a substantive way.

I did that as best I could as the first round sped on. We have months to pull apart and dissect this draft, but for now it occurs to me that there might be some question about what position three of our five first-round picks will play when training camp begins this summer.

Let's work through that issue for Shea McClellin and the Chicago Bears, Riley Reiff and the Detroit Lions, and Nick Perry and the Green Bay Packers before calling it a night (or early morning).

McClellin played defensive end and middle linebacker at Boise State and was projected by many teams as an ideal 3-4 outside linebacker. The Bears run a 4-3, of course, and general manager Phil Emery said he will begin his career at left defensive end, opposite of right end Julius Peppers.

"We like him at D-end," Emery told reporters in Chicago. "He has versatility, if we were to have a string of injuries, to play 'Sam' [linebacker], but we like who he is as a football player better as an end than at linebacker for us."

While McClellin seemed destined to play outside linebacker for a 3-4 team, it was assumed Perry would land with a 4-3 team so he could play defensive end. That was his position at USC, and he'll need to make a significant adjustment with the Packers.

General manager Ted Thompson told reporters that Perry's athletic ability should smooth the transition.

"He's played with his hand on the ground," Thompson said, "and we're convinced he's athletic enough to play standing up and do some of the things that we do."

Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers told reporters that the "top priority" for outside linebackers is to "have that explosive ability to come off the edge."

Capers added: "Some of the coverage stuff we'll be doing with him will be a learning process, but that isn't uncommon with these guys."

Finally, pre-draft discussion centered around whether Reiff projected as left or right tackle in the NFL. Lions general manager Martin Mayhew told reporters that Reiff could play up to four positions, but coach Jim Schwartz said: "Riley is a left tackle."

Schwartz added: "He fits the criteria for that position."

That makes Reiff the heir apparent to incumbent Jeff Backus, but the succession might not occur until 2013 or even 2014.

Now that we know McClellin will play defensive end, Perry projects as an outside linebacker and Reiff as a left tackle, we can close up shop for Thursday night/Friday morning. Back with you a bit later on Friday morning. Peace out.

From a Detroit Lions perspective, I got lucky in our ESPN.com blogger mock earlier this week. Cornerback and safety are probably the Lions' two top needs, and for reasons I did not anticipate, Alabama cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick was still available at No. 23 and the obvious pick for me/Lions.

But what if Thursday night's draft plays out a different way? Can the Lions really be assured that a cornerback, be it Kirkpatrick or South Carolina's Stephon Gilmore, will fall to No. 23? And based on recent speculation, there appears to be no chance that Alabama safety Mark Barron will fall into the second half of the round, let alone No. 23.

That makes the Lions a likely candidate to move up in the first round, and ESPN's John Clayton reported Thursday afternoon that they were among a handful of teams inquiring about the feasibility of moving up perhaps 10-12 spots to grab a defensive back, most likely Barron but possibly Gilmore.

General manager Martin Mayhew is no stranger to moving up, having done it in 2010 to select tailback Jahvid Best and tailback Mikel Leshoure in 2011, among other instances.

A playmaking safety alongside Louis Delmas would significantly change the look of the Lions' defense. So would a second reliable cornerback next to Chris Houston.

So we have at least two of the necessary ingredients here. The Lions have a need and a decision-maker who is unafraid to invest significant resources to secure a particular player. Now the Lions need to find a willing trade partner at the right price. That's all. Stay tuned.

We're Black and Blue All Over:

Long before he led a team of investors in purchasing the Minnesota Vikings in 2005, Zygi Wilf's family owned a real estate company that had significant investments in Southern California. His frequent visits have often provided convenient fodder for the rumor mill, mostly because his private plane has an unmistakable Vikings logo painted on its tail and the team has always been rumored to be a candidate to relocate there.

So when the Los Angeles Daily News reported Thursday that Wilf's plane was spotted at a Southern California airport, in the same week when his stadium bill in Minnesota was quashed, the news spread quickly.

As we've discussed, we are now in a phase of increased pressure and dramatic rhetoric as the franchise's future is sorted out. Whether the plane's arrival in Southern California was coincidental, an expensive message or an indication that Wilf is in negotiations to sell the team to a Los Angeles investor, the overlying point hasn't changed: The Vikings will eventually leave Minnesota if they don't secure a stadium deal.

Are they already angling to leave with 10 days remaining in the state's legislative session? I can't answer that. Just consider it another reminder of a potential future reality.

Continuing around the NFC North:

• Regardless of the plane's purpose in California, the NFL is sending commissioner Roger Goodell and other executives to Minnesota for meetings Friday on the stadium, notes the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
• The Vikings have met two league requirements for a relocation, notes Mark Craig of the Star Tribune.
• The Vikings' contingency plan at running back is incomplete, writes Tom Pelissero of 1500ESPN.com.
• It's safe to assume the Green Bay Packers will select an outside linebacker relatively high in the draft, writes Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
• Offensive lineman Chad Clifton has been working out in the Packers' offseason program, a good sign that he will get a chance to return in 2012. More from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
• Packers general manager Ted Thompson said he is "fine with" having Graham Harrell and Nick Hill as the backups to starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers, notes Jason Wilde of ESPNMilwaukee.com.
• Detroit Lions running back Jahvid Best (concussion) has been working out in the team's offseason program, according to Anwar S. Richardson of Mlive.com.
• Lions general manager Martin Mayhew's draft philosophy can be boiled down to "the best player for us." More from the Detroit News.
• The Lions haven't changed how they evaluate prospects after having three of their 2011 draft class members have legal entanglements related to marijuana, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
• Michael C. Wright of ESPNChicago.com takes a look at the Chicago Bears' prospects for drafting a receiver.
• Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emery's approach is rooted largely in the "Patriot Way," writes Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times.

The newsbits were flying Thursday afternoon in the NFC North. Noting outrageous, but all worth a mention. Let's do just that in quick-hitting fashion.

Item: Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that he's narrowed down his options for the No. 3 overall pick to three players: USC left tackle Matt Kalil, Oklahoma State receiver Justin Blackmon and LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne.
Comment: The only news there is that Spielman has apparently eliminated Alabama running back Trent Richardson, a player believed to be coveted by the Cleveland Browns at No. 4. Spielman said that Kalil, Blackmon and Claiborne all grade out equally as prospects. I have a hard time believing that.

Item: The Chicago Bears signed free-agent linebacker Geno Hayes.
Comment: The Bears were in fact trying to add depth at the position before the draft. Hayes has played four years but is still only 24.

Item: Detroit Lions general manager Martin Mayhew said he has narrowed his options at No. 23 to between four and seven players.
Comment: That's about as much pre-draft insight as you'll get from Mayhew, who went out of his way to note how delicate information is when picking at the bottom of the first round.

Item: Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson told reporters that he is comfortable in not knowing the future of safety Nick Collins until after the draft.
Comment: It's probably safe to assume Thompson has sized up how his roster would look without Collins and has made his draft plans accordingly just to be safe.

ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. took a stab at a three-round mock draft using only his personal rankings of players. In this edition, Kiper did not take into consideration who he thought the teams might be leaning toward. Kiper is the judge and jury here. My comments follow his picks:

Chicago Bears
1. Illinois defensive end Whitney Mercilus
2. Appalachian State wide receiver Brian Quick
3. Penn State defensive tackle Devon Still
Seifert comment: Most everyone agrees the Bears need to find some help at defensive end, and their inability to do so in free agency leaves the draft as their final option. Mercilus has gotten as much attention as anyone at that pick. Quick is a 6-foot-3 receiver who ran a 4.55 at the scouting combine but, like veteran Brandon Marshall, would offer a different skill set than what the Bears have been using in recent years.

Detroit Lions
1. Nebraska outside linebacker Lavonte David
2. Montana cornerback Trumaine Johnson
3. Boise State safety George Iloka
Seifert comment: I like the David pick mostly because it mirrors the thought process Lions general manager Martin Mayhew usually takes in the draft. Need, or lack thereof, won't influence his decisions anywhere but at quarterback. If David or another linebacker sits high on the Mayhew's draft board, the Lions won't hesitate to take him if he's there at No. 23.

Green Bay Packers
1. Boise State linebacker Shea McClellin
2. Nebraska defensive end Jared Crick
3. South Carolina safety Antonio Allen
Seifert comment: McClellin is getting a lot of discussion as a so-called late riser who would fit the versatile pass-rushing role the Packers would like to have. Meanwhile, the third round is a solid place to find a potential replacement for safety Nick Collins if he retires.

Minnesota Vikings
1. USC tackle Matt Kalil
2. Notre Dame safety Harrison Smith
3. Iowa receiver Marvin McNutt
Seifert comment: Kiper notes he would try to trade down in the first round and would consider LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne if he couldn't. But in the end, there aren't many people who think the Vikings will look elsewhere from Kalil if they keep the No. 3 spot. Getting Smith in the second round would be a nice pick if he is still available.

We're Black and Blue All Over:

Classic sports blogger dream: I'm on a football team. Everyone's wearing white T-shirts and shorts, so I don't know what team it is, and it's quite possible we're in some kind of institution. I'm on offense and defense, it's a day before the first game, and I don't know any of the plays.

I walk into the defensive meeting room. The late Foge Fazio is the defensive coordinator, and he kicks me out because I don't know where I'm supposed to line up. Tells me to go to the offensive meeting room. I can't find it. I wake up breathless. Overslept. BBAO is late!!!!!

True story. I think the dream means I don't know anything about football. Or maybe I have anxiety about not knowing anything about football, which many of you would consider entirely justified.

Anyhoo. Let's get to it:

• Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel offers the most thorough picture imaginable of the situation Green Bay Packers safety Nick Collins is facing with his surgically-repaired neck. According to Silverstein, Collins wants to continue to playing but will have to sell the Packers on the idea.
• The 2012 draft will be the most interesting in the tenure of Packers general manager Ted Thompson, writes Jason Wilde of ESPNMilwaukee.com in his "Hey Wilde" column.
• Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher is excited to see the kind of moves the team has made this offseason, notes Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune. Urlacher: "It's exciting to see us making moves like that because we haven't done that a lot in the past. We needed a receiver, we got a receiver, and we still have the draft."
• Urlacher said his injured knee will be "good to go when the time is right," according to Melissa Isaacson of ESPNChicago.com.
• Detroit Lions linebacker DeAndre Levy will sign his restricted free agent tender in time to participate in the start of offseason conditioning on Monday, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
• Lions president Tom Lewand noted that defensive end Cliff Avril could participate in the program if he signed an injury waiver, writes Chris McCosky of the Detroit News. Avril has not signed his franchise tender.
• Lions general manager Martin Mayhew does not reach for need in the draft, writes Anwar S. Richardson of Mlive.com.
• Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak faced a testy crowd at his first pubic forum on the Minnesota Vikings' stadium bill, according to Eric Roper of the Star Tribune.
• The Vikings signed free agent linebacker/special teams player Marvin Mitchell to a one-year contract, notes Tom Pelissero of 1500ESPN.com.
• Jeremy Fowler of the St. Paul Pioneer Press speaks with Carolina Panthers center Ryan Kalil about his brother Matt's visit with the Vikings.

So, two days away from the blog at the end of March was long enough to miss out on the conception and some of the execution of an ESPN.com blog network mock draft. I handled the NFC North's first two choices, for the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears. My ESPN.com blog colleagues filled in on the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers.

There will be more mock drafts to come from the blog network, in addition to those authored by ESPN's host of draft analysts. So hang on. Below are the NFC North choices from Monday's blog network mock:

3. Vikings: USC offensive tackle Matt Kalil
Comment: There are of course no trades in this mock so we can't really explore what might be the Vikings' top choice here at No. 3. But barring a trade, I'm not prepared to predict they will choose outside the box at this spot. They don't have a left tackle, and Kalil is the consensus choice as the best non-quarterback prospect available. Despite general manager Rick Spielman's posturing, I don't see him getting cute. Yet.

19. Bears: Stanford T Jonathan Martin
Comment: I bet NFC East colleague Dan Graziano will grab Martin in our next mock, considering the newly-revealed Achilles injury of Philadelphia Eagles left tackle Jason Peters. But for now, we get to ponder a Bears future with a more promising left tackle than current starter J'Marcus Webb. Coach Lovie Smith expressed support last week for Webb, but you have to couch such pre-draft statements. I was actually hoping that Stanford guard David DeCastro would be available, but AFC North colleague Jamison Hensley grabbed him for the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 17. DeCastro is a beast.

23. Lions: South Carolina cornerback Stephon Gilmore
Comment: This is a perfectly logical and reasonable choice by my colleagues, addressing a need with an appropriately-ranked player. Gilmore would give the Lions an immediate alternative to Aaron Berry and/or Jacob Lacey at cornerback, and would certainly give them depth at a position that contributed to their defensive collapse in 2011. We all know that general manager Martin Mayhew doesn't make decisions based on need, especially at the top of the draft, but this might be a fortuitous combination of talent and need.

28. Packers: Wisconsin center Peter Konz
Comment: Again, I see where my colleagues were coming from. Scott Wells departed via free agency and replacement Jeff Saturday is a year-to-year proposition. But I wonder if there is enough urgency to draft a center in the first round. Often you can find a development center in the later rounds, and the Packers have a total of 11 picks after the first. Unless general manager Ted Thompson thinks Konz is so far beyond the rest of the class, I'm not sure he would pull the trigger on this one.

Related: Two other mock-related features posted during my short time away from the blog. ESPN.com's Todd McShay offered a two-round mock that, among other things, got the Vikings a receiver (South Carolina's Alshon Jeffery) and the Bears a tight end (Clemson's Dwayne Allen) in the second round. Meanwhile, ESPN.com debuted a "Draft Machine" that allows you to conduct your own mock and compare it to your friends'. By all means, go at it.

We're Black and Blue All Over:

Good morning. It's nice to be back.

A weekend political breakthrough has allowed the Minnesota Vikings' stadium proposal to clear another hurdle and be scheduled for a public hearing Monday night in front of the House Commerce and Regulatory Reform Committee, according to Doug Belden of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. We'll spare you the details, but in essence the bill authors have agreed on how to share revenues for new electronic pull tabs that will fund the state's portion of the $975 million stadium

And as Mike Kaszuba of the Star Tribune reports, there is now a formal backup plan in the bill should the pull tabs fall short of funding expectations. The flurry of activity led a legislative stadium proponent who had been pessimistic about progress, to express optimism Sunday evening. State Rep. John Kriesel tweeted: "Here's the deal, I am now optimistic about the stadium bill's chances, but being a #Vikings fan my whole life I am used to being let down."

Well, nothing is perfect. But momentum has continued. Last week, as we noted, the plan received support from the Minneapolis City Council. Stay tuned.

Let's take a quick tour around the division:

• It's hard to imagine the Vikings trading down below No. 6 in the draft, writes Tom Pelissero of 1500ESPN.com.
• Packers safety Nick Collins is awaiting results from a battery of tests on his neck, according to Rob Demovsky of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
• The Packers are trying to raise the level of competition on their defensive line with high-energy acquisitions, writes Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
• Detroit Lions general manager Martin Mayhew would like to see rosters expand to 90, notes Justin Rogers of Mlive.com.
• Here's a video, via the Detroit Free Press, of Lions president Tom Lewand's April Fool's joke. Good stuff.
• Reports of the New Orleans Saints' bounty program are "unreal," according to Lions linebacker Stephen Tulloch via Carlos Monarrez of the Free Press.
• ESPN Insider KC Joyner offers a draft plan for the Chicago Bears. It requires an Insider subscription, but let's just say he suggests the Bears add a Stanford tight end to their arsenal.

Chicago Bears

Bears GM Phil Emery is already putting his stamp on the team, writes the Chicago Sun-Times' Sean Jensen.

How will the Bears utilize Devin Hester in 2012? Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. at Windy City Gridiron examines the possibilities.

Detroit Lions

The Lions aren’t interested in trading for Eagles cornerback Asante Samuel, reports NFL.com's Jason La Canfora.

Lions GM Martin Mayhew will attend this weekend's Super Regional Combine at Ford Field, which is expected to include more than 100 draft prospects, reports Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. "Some of them [the prospects] have played at good schools and played good football and been productive, so I'm excited about who that crop of guys is, or who those players are. Looking forward to getting over there," Mayhew said.

Look for the Lions to pick a developmental quarterback late in the draft, writes Tim Twentyman for the team's website.

Green Bay Packers

Coach Mike McCarthy will shake up his normal training camp practice schedule after the new collective bargaining agreement banned true two-a-day practices, writes Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Is automatic replay review for turnovers a good rule change? Packers.com's Mike Spofford and Vic Ketchman debate.

Minnesota Vikings

Matt Kalil, Morris Claiborne, and other top draft prospects are scheduled to attend the team's annual Top 30 event at the Winter Park practice facility, reports Jeremy Fowler of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Linebacker Chad Greenway told 1500ESPN.com that he thought Roger Goodell made the right move by coming down hard on the Saints for their bounty program. "I think you need to have them learn their lesson, and have it be a lesson to everybody else in the NFL that this is just not going to be happening," Greenway said. "Even though it may have been the culture 30 years ago, it's not the culture anymore, and the game has changed a lot."

We're Black and Blue All Over

PALM BEACH, Fla. -- We've arrived at the final day of the 2012 NFL owners meetings, one that might be the busiest from an NFC North perspective.

There is a 7:15 a.m. ET breakfast with NFC coaches, and I'll do my best to circulate among Lovie Smith, Jim Schwartz, Mike McCarthy and Leslie Frazier without spilling orange juice all over myself. I'll then endeavor to give you a blog post from each interview session, while saving some of the information for later posts, and by midday we should get word on any rule changes approved by NFL owners before the meeting has adjourned. An early-evening flight back to blog headquarters is also on the docket.

I know we've been a little light on Chicago Bears coverage here, but they've been quiet from a news perspective and sometimes life isn't fair. Hang in there.

Continuing around the NFC North:

• The Bears' shift to general manager Phil Emery has been a "smooth transition," according to Smith via Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune.
• Bears receiver Brandon Marshall is still well liked by former Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, writes Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times.
• Detroit Lions general manager Martin Mayhew has had trade discussions about veteran players while at the owners meetings, writes Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
• Mayhew said he has never been part of a team that put up money for big hits, writes Chris McCosky of the Detroit News.
• Mayhew admitted he told defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh to slow down after a recent traffic ticket, notes Philip Zaroo of Mlive.com.
• Jason Wilde of ESPNMilwaukee.com speaks with former Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin, now the Miami Dolphins coach, about his decision to move his family immediately to Miami after the death of his son, Michael.
• Free-agent defensive end Dave Tollefson will visit the Packers at the end of the week, according to Rob Demovsky of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
• Nine of the Packers' 12 draft picks will come on the final day of the draft, notes Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
• The Minnesota Vikings lobbied owners and then made a presentation of their stadium situation Tuesday at an afternoon session, according to Tom Pelissero of 1500ESPN.com.
• Political support for the stadium in the Minnesota state legislature is tenuous, writes Mike Kaszuba of the Star Tribune.