We move on to the NFC North, home of my squad. Huge changes have taken place.
NFC North
Detroit Lions (9.5 Wins, +135 NFC North, +900 NFC, +2200 SB)
Additions:
- Trade: WR Denzel Mimms from Jets
- Free Agency: CB Emmanuel Moseley, CB Cameron Sutton, S Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, WR Marvin Jones, DT Christian Covington
- Draft Class: RB Jahmyr Gibbs (1st), LB Jack Campbell (1st), TE Sam LaPorta (2nd), S Brian Branch (2nd), DT Brodric Martin (3rd), G Colby Sorsdal (5th)
Departures: RB D’Andre Swift (Eagles), RB Jamaal Williams (Saints), WR DJ Chark (Panthers), CB Mike Hughes (Falcons), DE Austin Bryant (49ers)
Coaching/Scheme: HC Dan Campbell has his full coaching staff return with OC Ben Johnson and DC Aaron Glenn. The Lions’ scheme did catch fire late in 2022, so no changes does make sense.
Outlook: The Lions finished strong winning 8 of their last 10 games. That type of late season surge often carries over into the next year. However, the Lions have been putrid in September and October under Campbell. Still the Lions are the favorite in the NFC North for a reason – a good mix of talent and scheme. Now, DET will start the season with 4 players suspended for gambling including WR Jameson Williams and 2 other WRs not to mention a new RB room. QB Jared Goff played really well last year and is much better in the Dome. I see the Lions winning the division, and given the weak NFC, they are a sexy NFC (+900) and SB (+2200) future pick to hedge in later in the season.
Prediction: 10-7, 1st NFC North, 4 Seed in NFC
Minnesota Vikings (8.5 Wins, +275 NFC North, +1600 NFC, +4000 SB)
Additions:
- Free Agency: LB Marcus Davenport, CB Byron Murphy, DE Dean Lowry, CB Joejuan Williams
- Draft Class: WR Jordan Addison (1st), CB Mehki Blackmon (3rd), CB Jay Ward (4th), DT Jaquelin Roy (5th)
Departures: RB Dalvin Cook (Jets), WR Adam Thielen (Panthers), TE Irv Smith (Bengals), CB Patrick Peterson (Steelers)
Coaching/Scheme: HC Kevin O’Connell returns with the same OC in Wes Phillips, so the O should still be potent, despite the loss of Cook and Thielen. On D, DC Brian Flores is in to right the ship. Flores had good defenses in MiA, so I expect immediate improvement.
Outlook: The Vikes won the division in 2022, but the D was atrocious. They also won a ton of games with 4th Quarter comebacks, including the biggest comeback in NFL history down 33-0 to the terrible Colts. If you look at the off season, management has invested a lot on defensive side of the ball in addition to Flores. So, they should improve, but I think they are still middling in the NFC. QB Kirk Cousins is good, not great, and I think the loss of Cook will be felt even if WR Justin Jefferson is in his prime. This team does not have the firepower to beat the NFC elite, but they certainly can get in the playoffs again. I just think the Division will be tougher on them and they will regress from all those comebacks last year.
Prediction: 8-9, 2nd NFC North, Miss Playoffs
Chicago Bears (7.5 Wins, +400 NFC North, +2500 NFC, +6000 SB)
Additions:
- Trade: WR DJ Moore from Panthers,
- Free Agency: LB Tremaine Edmunds, LB TJ Edwards, G Nate Davis, DE Demarcus Walker. TE Robert Tonyan, RB Donta Foreman, DE Rasheem Green, DE Yannick Ngakoue
- Draft Class: OT Darnell Wright (1st), CB Tyrique Stevenson (2nd), DT Gervon Dexter (2nd), DT Zacch Pickens (3rd), WR Tyler Scott (4th), LB Noah Sewell (5th), CB Terell Smith (5th), S Kendall Williamson (7th)
Departures: RB David Montgomery (DET), G Riley Reiff (Patriots)
Coaching/Scheme: HC Matt Eberflus enters his 2nd year of this rebuild with the same staff. I do expect the Bears to run QB Justin Fields less to save his health. The D was awful, so Williams has a lot of new faces to incorporate.
Outlook: The Bears hit the reset button, but kept Fields over Bryce Young. We will have to see if that was wise or not. Still, the weapons are better for passing on Offense with Moore and Scott plus an improved O Line, and the D is almost all new faces. I think they will have flashes of improvement, but they will not make the playoffs. One more year away.
Prediction: 7-10, 3rd NFC North, Miss Playoffs
Green Bay Packers (7.5 Wins, +400 NFC North, +2500 NFC, +6000 SB)
Additions:
- Free Agency: CB Tarvarius Moore, CB Rudy Ford, LB Justin Hollins, LB Eric Wilson
- Draft Class: LB Lukas Van Ness (1st), WR Jayden Reed (2nd), TE Luke Musgrave (2nd), TE Tucker Kraft (3rd), DE Colby Wooden (4th), WR Dontayvion Wicks (5th), QB Sean Clifford (5th), DE Karl Brooks (6th), K Anders Carlson (6th), CB Carrington Valentine (7th)
Departures: QB Aaron Rodgers (Jets), WR Alan Lazard (Jets), WR Randall Cobb (Jets), S Adrian Amos (Jets), K Mason Crosby (FA), DT Jarran Reed (Seahawks), DE Dean Lowry (Vikings)
Coaching/Scheme: HC Matt LeFleur has his staff return – OC Adam Stenavich who will have almost an entirely different group on O. On D, the group is similar with some youthful depth for DC Joe Barry.
Outlook: The Pack have had the best QB in the division for 30 years. Now, they have the worst with Rodgers departing for NY and taking a slew of players with him. QB Jordan Love could surprise me, but early reports are not great. I think the Pack are in real trouble. I have 6 wins, but that could be generous. Let’s see how good of a coach LeFleur is without Rodgers. The Pack will need to play Patriot ball with great D and a running game to win.
Prediction: 6-11, 4th NFC North, Miss Playoffs
We are halfway through. On to the South Divisions next week.
Wegs