The NFC North is becoming a powerhouse of a division. The Detroit Lions were one half away from going to the Super Bowl last season. The Green Bay Packers appear to have yet another quarterback to rally around. Meanwhile, both the Chicago Bears and Vikings drafted quarterbacks in the top 10 of this year’s draft and have built strong offenses to position them into.
On paper, it’s not going to be an easy feat winning the NFC North over the next handful of years. So, let’s gaze into our crystal ball and look at which teams are set up to be the best in the division this upcoming season, five years from now and then 10 years from now.
This one is the easiest to project. The Lions overhauled their defense and locked up several of their young offensive stars to long-term deals. Retaining offensive coordinator Ben Johnson for another season will help them once again have a top-5 offense in 2024. If the defense takes a step forward, the Lions could be in the Super Bowl when February rolls around.
After the Lions, it looks like the Packers could be the second-best team in the North. Jordan Love ended last season on a heater, but the up-and-down nature of his first full season as a starter leaves plenty of questions about the future. Moving on from Aaron Jones, in favor of Josh Jacobs, is questionable. Big-time playmakers leaving in the offseason and a new defensive coordinator make the Packers’ defense a big question mark heading into the season.
The Bears and Vikings are on similar trajectories, even though they took very different paths to get there. At this point in the offseason, there is seemingly more positivity around what No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams and the Bears can do over Sam Darnold and the Vikings. This will be a learning season for both Minnesota and Chicago. We give the edge to the Vikings because they have a veteran QB with a high-powered offense, whereas the Bears are relying on a rookie QB with a stacked offense.
