Five extra points: How NFC North teams got creative in the NFL draft

Anything Detroit’s Brad Holmes does as the best GM in the NFC North bears watching. He traded up four times, three on Saturday when he spent Day 3 flexing his scouting depth. Beware of betting against him. Holmes swapped a 2025 third-round pick to take little-school long-shot left tackle Giovanni Manu (6-foot-7, 352 pounds) of the University of British Columbia in the fourth round. He’s athletic with position flexibility. Six spots later, Holmes traded a 2025 fourth-rounder to select Sione Vaki, who played safety and running back at Utah after serving a two-year mission. Vaki also can return kicks, which Holmes was mindful of with the new kickoff rules. He then traded up in the sixth round for LSU’s Mekhi Wingo, an undersized defensive tackle (6-foot, 284) with an oversized motor.

The Bears’ only two picks on Saturday weren’t as glamorous as their two first-rounders Thursday. But one fills an immediate need, and the other could be a hidden gem. Iowa punter Tory Taylor in the fourth round was a smart choice. The Bears had no other picks until swapping a 2025 fourth-rounder to take former Gopher and Kansas edge rusher Austin Booker in the fifth round. Taylor was the best — and most strategically used — punter in college football. The Bears were last in net punting. Booker played only six games in two years as a Gophers backup before making only one start at Kansas in 2023. The 6-5, 240-pounder did, however, earn Big 12 newcomer of the year with eight sacks before having a standout Senior Bowl.

If you thought Tyreek Hill and his turbo-charged Miami Dolphins were as fast as an NFL team could possibly be, well, you were wrong. Two days after the two-time defending champion Chiefs traded up to select the fastest player in combine history — Texas receiver Xavier Worthy (4.21-second 40-yard dash) — the Dolphins added another leg to their South Beach sprint team by selecting Tennessee running back Jaylen Wright (4.38) in the fourth round. He’ll need to learn ball security, but the 5-11, 210-pounder averaged 7.4 yards per carry with runs of 42, 52, 75 and 82 last year. The Dolphins are a sneaky Super Bowl contender. Of course, their chances are much better when their league-leading speed doesn’t have to play wild-card games at night in Kansas City when the windchill is minus-27.

Six quarterbacks went in the top 12 Thursday. Five followed in the final 245, including a record 138 consecutive picks until South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler went to the Saints in the fifth round as a mild challenge for incumbent Derek Carr. The Jets, who used their first five picks on offensive players, took Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis in the fifth round as Aaron Rodgers’ potential successor someday. The Patriots, who took strong-armed Drake Maye third overall, used the 193rd pick on the draft’s strongest arm — Tennessee’s Joe Milton III. After Baltimore took Kentucky’s Devin Leary in the sixth round, the Packers stepped up in the seventh round and did what they do better than anyone — take a quarterback (Tulane’s Michael Pratt) to groom when everyone else thinks they don’t need one.

Kudos to Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. The Vikings GM filled an absolute must position that could directly determine wins and losses. He got his … kicker! Oh yeah, he got that other must need (quarterback), too. Three kickers were drafted Saturday, all within nine picks in the sixth round. The Vikings went first, taking Alabama’s Will Reichard. Six spots later, the Rams chose Stanford’s Joshua Karty, followed three picks later by Jacksonville taking Arkansas’ Cam Little. Reichard will have the upper hand on John Parker Romo in the battle to replace Greg Joseph, who’s in Green Bay because the Vikings grew tired of his inconsistency. Romo was an XFL standout but went undrafted in 2022 and has no NFL experience. Reichard posted an FBS-record 547 career points and a school-record 84 field goals at a high-pressure school.