Vikings rivals made some puzzling picks on Day 3 of the 2024 NFL Draft

As much as Minnesota Vikings fans are paying attention to who their own team is selecting in the 2024 NFL Draft, many have also been curious about what the other three teams in the NFC North have been doing with their picks.

The Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, and Green Bay Packers all made some intriguing selections during the first two days of this year's draft, and it's even difficult for Vikings fans to disagree.

Heading into Day 3, the Bears had already added quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Rome Odunze, the Lions improved their secondary when they picked former Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold in the first round, and the Packers used two of their first four 2024 draft selections to replace David Bakhtiari and Aaron Jones with offensive tackle Jordan Morgan and running back MarShawn Lloyd.

Minnesota Vikings division rivals made some odd picks on Day 3 of the 2024 NFL Draft

While Minnesota's NFC North rivals were able to add some impressive talent during the first two days of this year's NFL Draft, some of the decisions these three other teams made on Saturday were quite puzzling.

Let's start with Chicago, who wound up only having five selections during the entire 2024 draft. Well, on Saturday, the Bears decided to use a fourth-round pick on former Iowa punter Tory Taylor.

Now, Taylor is regarded by many as the best punter prospect in this year's draft pool. But the Bears using a fourth-round selection on a punter when they only had a total of five picks in the entire draft just doesn't seem like a very smart decision.

Then a few picks later in the fourth round, it was Detroit's turn to make a head-scratching decision. The Lions wound up trading up in the fourth round to pick Giovanni Manu, a 6-foot-8, 350-pound offensive tackle out of the University of British Columbia up in Canada.

Manu has tremendous size and he could eventually develop into a solid offensive tackle in the NFL. But he was ranked as the 282nd overall prospect heading into the 2024 draft and Detroit used the 126th overall pick on him.

The Lions could have probably signed Manu as an undrafted free agent or at least waited to select him until the sixth or seventh round. But Detroit clearly felt strong enough about this young blocker to use a fourth-round pick on him.

The Lions have taken plenty of risks in the draft under general manager Brad Holmes recently, and a number of them have paid off. Will this risk with Manu on Saturday turn out to be another good one for Holmes and Detroit?

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