17. Chicago Bears: Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame
I find it hard to believe that new Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson is just going to be okay with D’Andre Swift as his top back, considering his old team – the Detroit Lions – ditched Swift like a bad habit. It feels like this is very much a one-year union before the Bears go looking for new players at running back to keep supporting Caleb Williams with more and more talent at the skill positions. Here, they make Jeremiyah Love the first running back off the board and they do a little fan service in the process by taking a guy from Notre Dame.
Key X-factor this season: The offensive line has to mesh quickly, and Caleb Williams has to prove his internal clock has sped up from a season ago.
18. Minnesota Vikings: Avieon Terrell, CB, Clemson
The Minnesota Vikings already have one of the most loaded rosters in the league, but the one area of the team that needs to be looked at under a microscope next offseason is the secondary. We’ll see how some of the incoming free agents can do this year like Isaiah Rodgers and Jeff Okudah, but it’s looking like the secondary could be getting an overhaul for the Vikings next year. The uncertainty of a young QB like JJ McCarthy and the question marks in the secondary are the two things really giving pause with this otherwise stellar team.
Key X-factor this season: The secondary cannot cause JJ McCarthy to have to constantly play from behind. McCarthy's health will be in focus, but the Vikings may have bigger roster issues that cause him to struggle than his injury last year.