Five extra points: Vikings' NFC North rivals show how to rebuild an offensive line, upgrade a secondary

The Bears needed less than a week to do to their interior offensive line what the Vikings have been talking about doing to theirs. Two trades last week and a contract agreement on Monday completed a total overhaul of Chicago’s starting guards and center. Not a bad start on paper for new coach Ben Johnson, hot-seat-sitting GM Ryan Poles and rising franchise QB Caleb Williams. Last Tuesday’s trade with the Rams brought 28-year-old guard Jonah Jackson, who was exceptional under Johnson for two years in Detroit, for a sixth-round pick. A day later, Chicago landed Joe Thuney, a salary-cap casualty in Kansas City and the NFL’s two-time reigning first-team All-Pro left guard, for a fourth-round pick in 2026. Then Monday’s legal tampering period opened with Chicago agreeing to a three-year deal with Atlanta’s Drew Dalman, who’s 26 and the best center available in free agency.

NFL.com listed cornerbacks Carlton Davis III and D.J. Reed seventh and ninth, respectively, on its list of top free agents available. These eyes would take Reed, even though he’s 5-9, over the 6-1 Davis. According to reports Monday, the Lions lost Davis to New England for a three-year, $60 million deal with $34.5 million guaranteed. Then they rebounded quickly, agreeing to a three-year, $48 million deal with Reed. He spent two years with the 49ers and two with Seattle before playing the last three years opposite Sauce Gardner with the Jets. Gardner, a two-time first-team All-Pro, got all the attention. Reed just did his job very well while also being durable – the latter a trait the Lions defense desperately needs. In 2022, when Pro Football Focus ranked Gardner first among cover corners for the first of two consecutive years, Reed ranked 12th. This is an upgrade for Detroit.

Well, the Super Bowl champion Eagles couldn’t re-sign everyone. So they lost edge rusher Josh Sweat and defensive tackle Milton Williams, two guys who combined for 4½ of Philly’s six sacks in the Super Bowl beatdown of Patrick Mahomes. Williams, 26, is heading to New England for $104 million over four years. Sweat, who turns 28 later this month, is getting $76.4 million over four years from Arizona. The Eagles, meanwhile, are likely to use GM Howie Roseman’s D-line genius to restock the shelves with cheap gems via the draft. The Eagles used nine front-four players in the Super Bowl. Eight were drafted by the team, including six who are 25 or younger. Sweat was a fourth-round pick in 2018, Williams a third-rounder in 2021. Drafting well still trumps free-agent spending sprees.

Some of the best money spent was from teams keeping their best players under contract or, in Myles Garrett’s case, suddenly happy again in Cleveland. The Ravens re-signed left tackle Ronnie Stanley. The Eagles re-signed All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun a year after essentially discovering Zack Baun. The Chiefs had to make a lot of tough choices. They didn’t want to lose Thuney, but his $16 million cap hit, at age 33, was too big to justify over other deals such as re-signing 25-year-old three-down linebacker Nick Bolton or putting the franchise tag on 25-year-old right guard Trey Smith. The Buccaneers re-signed receiver Chris Godwin. And the Browns found a way to make Garrett, the league’s best defender, take back his desire to be traded. All it cost was $123.5 million guaranteed and an average of $40 million a year, making Garrett the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. Poor Justin Jefferson. Since setting that record at $35 million last year, he’s been passed by the Raiders’ Maxx Crosby ($35.5 million) and now Garrett.

Jacksonville was especially aggressive under new coach Liam Coen and first-year offensive coordinator Grant Udinski, the 29-year-old former Vikings assistant who clearly wields some power. According to reports, the Jaguars agreed to terms with eight players from seven teams. Six are offensive players. Two – quarterback Nick Mullens and tight end Johnny Mundt – came from the Vikings. The Jaguars made two big moves to bolster the interior of their offensive line. They agreed to terms with 26-year-old center Robert Hainsey, who was in Tampa Bay with Coen, the former Bucs offensive coordinator, and 27-year-old Ravens guard Patrick Mekari. Hainsey (three years, $21 million) has 35 starts in 60 games. Mekari (three years, $37.5 million) has 53 starts in 88 games.

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