Xavier McKinney thought he knew what a competitive division was.
After being chosen by the New York Giants in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, McKinney spent the first four seasons of his career in the NFC East, butting heads against the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, perennial postseason contenders and in the Eagles’ case, a franchise that’s made now two Super Bowl trips in the past three seasons.
However, after one All-Pro caliber season in the NFC North, McKinney believes that his new division may be the best in football.
“When I saw everybody just winning,” McKinney said during an appearance on The 33rd Team’s NFL Spotlight, after the Packers finished this season with 11 wins. “When I was with the Giants, I thought that division was good, but nah, this one’s way better.
“It’s going to be a tough division. There’s a lot of good teams. And, now that you’ve got Ben Johnson, he just went to the Bears, you’ve got four teams that are playoff-contending teams and Super Bowl-contending teams, I think the Bears are going to be good now. It’s going to be tough. But, we accept the challenge, and we can’t wait to compete with these teams every year.”
To McKinney’s point, the NFC North sent the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, and Packers to the postseason, as the only division in football to have three playoff teams during the 2024 campaign. And, with the Bears boasting some elite talent, a young and ascending quarterback, and now Johnson’s influence over the offense, the stage could be set for this to become one of the most competitive divisions in football for years to come.
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