Ranking the 4 teams in the NFC North on how we think they’ll finish this year in the division.
1 – Green Bay Packers
The Packers are still the best team in this division, although it may not be by as much of a margin as it was last year. Yes, they lost arguably the best receiver in the league in Davante Adams. However, they still have the back to back league MVP in Aaron Rodgers as well as a very capable backfield duo of Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon. With this offence and a middle of the pack defence, the Packers should be able to remain at the top of the North.
2 – Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings have been in no man’s land for the last few years. They haven’t been good enough to make a run in the playoffs but also haven’t been bad enough to land a top draft pick. In fact, the last 12 years have given the Vikings franchise the same amount of playoff wins as top 10 overall picks (2). On the positive side, Minnesota has multiple star players on both sides of the ball, including Justin Jefferson, Dalvin Cook, and Erik Kendricks. With these players leading the way and a weaker NFC conference, the Vikings could definitely sneak into the postseason this year.
3 – Detroit Lions
Detroit is definitely a team that should see some improvement from last year’s 3-13-1 record. They’ve got some young talent on both sides of the ball, especially at WR, and a promising young coach in Dan Campbell that would make anyone want to run through a brick wall for him. If the Lions can find a way to win the close games, they could surprise people this year a little in the NFC.
4 – Chicago Bears
No one should be expecting too much out of the Bears this year. After finishing 6-11 last season, Justin Fields will hopefully take a big step in his development, but the team as a whole isn’t going to do too much and I expect the wins to be few and far between. Besides Fields, two bright spots on offence to look for this year are RB David Montgomery and WR Darnell Mooney.