The NFC North is up for grabs for this year. The Packers are no longer the favorites like in years past. It will be a very competitive division this season.
Now everyone will count the Packers out with Aaron Rodgers no longer on the team. However, they still are in the mix, just like the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, and Detroit Lions. Here is the current state of the NFC North.
State of the NFC North As Camp Approaches | 2023 NFL Preview
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears had a very impressive offseason this year, as they were making big moves. They had a ton of cap space and draft capital to make moves, and they took advantage of it. They signed T.J. Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds to help boost their inside linebacker core. They landed one of the best guards in the NFL in Nate Davis. They also added former Packer Robert Tonyan, getting more pieces on offense for Justin Fields to throw to.
Then the biggest offseason move was trading for D.J. Moore, arguably the most underrated wide receiver in the NFL. In addition, with the trade, the Bears have two first-round picks in next year’s Draft. They also had a very solid Draft this year too. The question is can they put it all together, and will Justin Fields take that next step? On paper, the Bears are a potential NFC North contender, but they will have to prove it this year.
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings were last year’s NFC North winners but unfortunately lost in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. After last year, it seems the Vikings are sort of in a rebuilding mode as they released long-tenure veterans there like Adam Thielen, Eric Kendricks, and recently Dalvin Cook. The Vikings’ new regime wants to bring in their own players as they want to turn the page from the old regime. They did not make too many moves in free agency due to their cap space.
The defense has a lot of question marks, but the offense is loaded with Justin Jefferson, T.J. Hockenson, K.J. Osborn, and new rookie Jordan Addison. They also have Kirk Cousins, who is a solid quarterback and had a career year last season. The Vikings will be competitive this season, but how good will they be? We will have to find out this season if they can repeat the same success as last year.
Detroit Lions
The favorites to win the NFC North this season are the Detroit Lions. Under head coach Dan Campbell, they have been improving every year. Despite the talent not always being there, the Lions have stayed competitive and finished on a very strong note last season. They made good signings in free agency and have had solid drafts to build their roster up to push for a playoff spot this year.
The defense looks much improved with the new additions to go along with their No. 1 scoring offense from last season. The pressure is on the Lions now, as they have huge expectations to be a very good football team this season. Can they take that next step this year with all the hype around them?
Green Bay Packers
The Packers are in a transition year with Aaron Rodgers being traded to the New York Jets in the offseason. It is a new era of Packer football with Jordan Love as the new starting quarterback for the team. This is a very young football team this year. There are not many expectations for the Packers this year to really win anything. However, there is certainly a lot of talent and potential on this football team. With a lot of question marks on this team, it will be very interesting to see how the Packers look this year in the NFC North.
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