The NFC North no longer has a boogeyman standing at the top of the mountain. Aaron Rodgers has joined the Jets after starting the past 15 seasons in Green Bay, which made the Packers yearly favorites to win the division. Even in seasons in which the Packers had a weak roster, pundits still penciled them in to win the division simply because they had Rodgers.
But now the Packers are being overlooked, despite having a defensive roster that could be one of the best in the league with cornerback Jaire Alexander leading the charge. Green Bay could also have the best pass-rushing trio in the division with Rashan Gary, Preston Smith and Lukas Van Ness, the No. 13 pick in this year’s draft. But for the Packers to be the surprise team this year, they’re going to need new starting quarterback Jordan Love to have a season similar to Rodgers’s in 2008, when he hit the ground running after three years of being Brett Favre’s backup. Love has watched his fellow quarterbacks from the ’20 draft have plenty of success over the past three seasons, including Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa. Love could have a star in the making with second-year wide receiver Christian Watson, but it will be a young supporting cast overall with rookie tight ends Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft, and rookie wideout Jayden Reed.
The Lions don’t have a generational great at quarterback, but they’re now the heavy favorites in the NFC North—a division they haven’t won since 1993, when it was known as the NFC Central. The Lions are new to the spotlight, but they gained trust by winning eight of their final 10 games last season. They also addressed their lack of talent in the secondary by signing cornerbacks Cameron Sutton and Emmanuel Moseley and versatile defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson. The Lions also revamped their running back position by drafting Jahmyr Gibbs with the No. 12 pick, a surprise to many, and signing David Montgomery. Quarterback Jared Goff is coming off his best season since leading the Rams to the Super Bowl in ’18, but wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams won’t be together for the start of the season after the latter was suspended the first six games for violating the league’s gambling policy.
