Where the rest of the NFC North got worse this offseason, and how the Lions can capitalize on that

The 2025 offseason is nearing it's close and we'll be wathcing the Detroit Lions and the rest of the NFC North take the field for the start of training camp before you know it. 

With that in mind, it's time to take a look back at the offseason and, in particular, look at the areas where the rest of the NFC North got worse and how the Lions can capitalize on that. Let's jump into it. 

The Green Bay Packers got smaller

I have to give credit to my former Pride of Detroit co-worker, Erik Schlitt, for pointing this one out to me. The Packers deliberately planned to get smaller and more athletic on their defensive line in an effort to have a stronger pass rush. 

That may work against a lot of teams, but it might be a problem against the Lions, who have a history of being successful against the smaller defensive linemen. Plus, this may help Green Bay's pass rush, but it's not going to help run-stopping effort, and running the ball is where the Lions do their dirty work. 

The Minnesota Vikings have a question mark at the biggest position

Vikings fans will tell you this guy is amazing, but they've never seen him play a game in the NFL. In one of the weirder moments I've seen covering the Lions, last year, Vikings fans were keeping track of McCarthy's camp stats and using that as their proof. 

McCarthy may be good someday, but that doesn't mean he's not a rookie quarterback going out to start for the first time in his career. Not every rookie quarterback is C.J. Stroud or Jayden Daniels. More often, they start out as Bryce Young or Caleb Williams. 

That's going to affect this team, whether Minnesota fans believe it or not. 

The Bears failed to improve their run game

Going into the offseason, everyone expected the Bears to go out and get better on the ground after finishing 25th in rushing yards in 2024. They did invest money and assets into improving their offensive line, and that will help, but they're still going to have to rely on D'Andre Swift to run the ball for them, and that's about it. 

The Bears missed on Ashton Jeanty and chose not to draft Omarion Hampton at 10. They did draft a running back in the seventh round when they picked Rutgers' Kyle Monangai, but he may need some time to cook in the NFL. 

Swift is a good running back and he could be a 1,000 yard guy in 2025, but in a league where teams are trying to be more of a committee with their run game, the Bears really don't have a backup.