Top 10 NFL Offseasons Shows Best Division Got Even Better

The NFC North rose to juggernaut status last season – at least until the playoffs started. What goes up, must go down, the saying goes, though that might not happen this season.

At CBS Sports, Josh Edwards ranked the top 10 NFL offseasons. The Chicago Bears were No. 1. Again. The Minnesota Vikings were No. 3. The Green Bay Packers were in the running for No. 10, though that spot ultimately went to the Cleveland Browns.

“Green Bay did not make many moves beyond the addition of first-round wide receiver Matthew Golden,” Edwards wrote.

Last season, the Detroit Lions won the NFC North with a 15-2 record. Even with most of the starting lineup on defense sidelined by injuries, they won the division and earned the No. 1 seed.

The Lions’ improvement will come from within because Aidan Hutchinson and the defense should be better simply by being healthy. However, offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is the new coach of the Bears and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn is the new coach of the Jets. Plus, there are significant questions on their offensive line after center Frank Ragnow retired, meaning they’ll be breaking in two new starters up front.

If the Lions are sort of spinning their wheels after back-to-back NFC North titles, the Vikings and Bears stepped on the gas.

The Vikings were 14-2 headed into Week 18 at Detroit. However, after an MVP-caliber sort of season, quarterback Sam Darnold went 18-for-41 in a blowout loss to the Lions, then was 25-of-40 but sacked nine times in a blowout loss to the Rams in the playoffs.

Minnesota let Darnold sign with the Seahawks in free agency and handed the baton to last year’s first-round pick, J.J. McCarthy.

After the playoff debacle, the Vikings signed center Ryan Kelly and guard Will Fries in free agency and used their first-round pick on Donovan Jackson.  

However: “Potentially the biggest boon of the entire operation was the retention of defensive coordinator Brian Flores, whose unit exceeded expectations a year ago,” Edwards wrote. “He is now graced with proven veterans Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen, which allows last year's starters to serve in more suitable roles.”