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Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams stares down the NFC North rival Green Bay Packers Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

NFC North power rankings before the NFL draft and free agency shake things up

Originally posted on Chicago Bears on SI
By Alan Goldsher | Last updated Feb 13, 2025 10:46 AM ET

About one-third of the way through the 2024 NFL season, many considered the NFC North to be the best division in football. And it made sense, because...

The explosive Detroit Lions were favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.

Not expect to compete for, well, anything, the Minnesota Vikings were among the feelgood stories of the year.

The Green Bay Packers were their usual Packer-y selves, winning enough games to remain in the playoff mix despite the fact that, on paper, their roster wasn’t super-impressive.

And the Chicago Bears were a surprising 4-2, with legitimate dreams of a postseason berth.

Come playoff time, it became evident that the North was populated by a trio of paper tigers and a team of underachievers:

The Vikings and the Packers were both ousted from the playoffs during Wild Card Weekend, losing their games by a combined total of 30 points.

The following week, the Lions were upset at home by the Washington Commanders, 45-31.

And the Bears finished the season losing ten of their last 11, the only victory coming against a Packers team that was sitting the majority of their starters.

So when we’re discussing the North’s postseason power rankings, the word “power” is a relative term. That said, here’s how the division stacks up heading into free agency and the draft:

4) Chicago Bears

We’d like to sneak the Bears a tad higher on the list, but until we see how Ryan Poles deals with his offensive line, and his defensive line, and his wide receivers room, and his collection of tight ends, and his offensive backfield, we’re forced to take a David Byrne position: Same as it ever was.

3) Minnesota Vikings

Head coach Kevin O’Connell has a field general dilemma on his hands: Re-sign resurgent Sam Darnold or hand the reins over to the unproven J.J. McCarthy?

If he rolls with Darnold—from whom we can expect regression—we’re looking at anything from stagnation to a slight backslide.

If he rolls with McCarthy, we’re looking at…who knows?

2) Green Bay Packers

In his second seasons as a fulltime starter, quarterback Jordan Love plateaued, and for a guy the Packers gifted with a four-year, $220,000,000 contract, that ain’t great. As goes Love, so goes the Pack, something borne out by his three-interception performance in that aforementioned playoff loss.

What say we revisit after they get themselves a legit WR1?

1) Detroit Lions

Yes, both of their top coordinators took their talents elsewhere—Ben Johnson to Chicago and Aaron Glenn to the Jets—and yes, an overly-large percentage of their defense heads into the 2025 season recovering from significant injuries, but head coach Dan Campbell’s crew is still the class of the division, if not the entire conference.

They likely won’t win 15 games this coming year, but they’ll almost definitely win more than their Northern rivals.

This article first appeared on Chicago Bears on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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