Don’t be surprised if the NFL’s toughest division this year turns out to be the NFC North. It’s a little weird saying that, given the way we gush about the AFC — and the North division in that conference is an annual bloodbath — but it’s impossible not to notice what’s happening in the NFC.
The Detroit Lions are legitimate Super Bowl contenders, the Green Bay Packers are quickly becoming one and the Chicago Bears have lofty expectations after adding rookie quarterback Caleb Williams to an impressive supporting cast. The Minnesota Vikings are clearly the worst team on paper, and even they have enough talent to make a run at a wild-card spot.
This is a far cry from where the NFC North was just a few years ago, when the division primarily belonged to Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. Three different teams have now claimed the division championship over the last three seasons (Detroit in 2023, Minnesota in 2022 and Green Bay in 2021), and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the title change hands again this year.
“It’s going to take everything we have to win this division again,” said Lions safety Kerby Joseph. “Every single time we’re on the field, we can’t take any opponent lightly. We have to dominate no matter who our [opponents] are. We have to come in with a 100 percent effort.”
This is why this current edition of The First Read is going to focus on some early takeaways from training camps in the NFC North. Every team has its own intriguing storylines emerging at this time of year, but there isn’t time or space to delve into everything today. Instead, we’ll look at one topic for each franchise that will play an integral role in how every squad’s respective season will unfold. Here’s what jumps out so far:
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1) Three new faces and one old one will be essential to Detroit’s Super Bowl hopes. The Lions have been the fastest rising team in the league over the last three seasons, growing from a perennial loser into a squad that won the NFC North and reached the NFC championship game last year. The next obvious goal in their evolution is winning a Super Bowl, and there are two key dynamics that can help their chances: the improvement of a revamped secondary and the maturation of third-year wide receiver Jameson Williams. The Lions made their defensive intentions clear this offseason. Their most notable moves involved the acquisition of veteran cornerback Carlton Davis III in a trade with Tampa Bay and the selection of cornerbacks Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. in the first two rounds of this year’s draft. Detroit’s biggest flaw last season was a defensive backfield that couldn’t hold up because of injuries and inconsistent play at the cornerback position. Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn now has more depth and talent to play his aggressive man coverage schemes, and he expects his rookies to deliver early. “I expect them to be bad-asses and go cover people up,” Glenn said when asked what he wants to see from Arnold and Rakestraw. “That’s why we drafted them. That’s what I expect out of corners. Don’t be afraid of nobody, and those guys feel that way.” Williams came in with a similar mindset when the Lions traded up to make him the 12th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. The problem is that he missed most of his first season while recovering from a torn ACL he sustained in college and then lost the first four games of Year 2 due to a gambling suspension. Williams said he’s learned plenty after catching only 25 passes in his first two seasons. He’s bulked up (going from 175 pounds to 185), refined his route-running and applied some of the lessons about being a professional he’s learned from veterans like former backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. The Lions already have Pro Bowlers in wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and tight end Sam LaPorta. It’s time for Williams to deliver on his promise. “I’ve been anxious to play, and it’s made me hungrier to show what I’m capable of,” Williams said. “People know what I can do. They just want to see it.”
2) Xavier McKinney‘s impact on the Green Bay defense will be seismic. The Packers entered the offseason looking to improve an inconsistent defense. The first big decision was hiring defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley to replace Joe Barry. The second was signing McKinney, the best safety on the free-agent market, to a four-year, $67 million deal in March. You can’t spend any amount of time around Green Bay without hearing gushing remarks about what McKinney brings to this team. His versatility was a coveted component in Hafley’s defense — McKinney can play deep, in the box or in the slot — and he’s also shown invaluable leadership by mentoring younger players at the position. “I bring explosiveness, playmaking and leadership,” said McKinney, who spent the first four years of his career with the New York Giants. “I plan on bringing that same mentality here. I’m obviously learning more about leadership as we go but we have a young (position) room. And I’m the leader of that room.” McKinney’s presence on the back end will be vital in Hafley’s defense. The Packers shifted from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defense, and the emphasis is on everybody playing faster. The front will be asked to create more pressure, and the secondary should be able to thrive if everyone is on the same page. That’s where McKinney’s intelligence and communication come into play. As much as people are hyping the Packers offense and the emergence of quarterback Jordan Love, this defense could be the deciding factor in how far Green Bay goes this season, especially in a division where every team is blessed with a talented receiving corps. Cornerback Jaire Alexander said the defensive mindset “is much more urgent than last year” and added that McKinney plays a huge role in that. “I’ve seen Xavier make plays from hashmark to sideline effortlessly,” Alexander said. “He communicates well. He has veteran leadership. He’s still young (24 years old), and he’s already come in and been able to lead the room. I respect that about him.”
3) The Bears’ run game should not be slept on. Yes, Caleb Williams is the biggest story in Chicago these days. He’s also not the only reason the Bears should be excited about this coming season. The key to a fast start for the rookie quarterback is the play of the supporting cast around him, which includes a running game that will be led by free-agent signee D’Andre Swift. Swift enjoyed a career year in 2023, when he ran for 1,049 yards and scored six total touchdowns after being traded from Detroit to Philadelphia, and there’s even more to like about his arrival in Chicago. New offensive coordinator Shane Waldron spent the previous three seasons in that role in Seattle, where he utilized gifted wide receivers like DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett as effectively as he handled running backs Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet. It’s difficult to see him going all pass-crazy now. Balance is what earned Waldron his current job, and it’s exactly what the Bears need in their first year with Williams under center. That means Swift should have ample opportunities to showcase his all-around skills again, both as a runner and receiver. After all, there’s a reason why head coach Matt Eberflus referred to him as a “weapon back” earlier this offseason. “I think I’ll be able to do anything and everything,” said Swift, who started his career with the Lions as a second-round pick in 2020. “Whatever the situation is, I feel like I can get the job done. There are a lot of opportunities in this offense, but not just for me. They are there for all the skill players we have, and I’m excited to be a part of it.” Swift will share carries with backup Khalil Herbert, who ran for 611 yards last season, and their production should make life easier for Williams. Most quarterbacks who enjoyed early success in their careers benefitted from the presence of effective ball-carriers, including younger stars like Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes (Kareem Hunt) and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow (Joe Mixon) and older veterans like Pittsburgh’s Russell Wilson (who began his career with Marshawn Lynch in Seattle). The Bears believe they have a potential superstar in Williams. He’ll be even better if Chicago’s running game can deliver like it should.
4) J.J. McCarthy may develop faster than expected. There’s little question the Vikings want to take their time with McCarthy, the quarterback they drafted out of Michigan with the 10th overall selection. They’ve been working on his fundamentals — most notably refining his footwork — and veteran journeyman Sam Darnold is taking the bulk of the first-team reps. What’s also apparent is that McCarthy has made a strong impression on a lot of people inside that facility. He may be the team’s quarterback of the future, but his current approach already has the Vikings thrilled about what he could become. “I’m just excited how he’s growing as a player,” said wide receiver Justin Jefferson. “He’s always asking me different questions on how to become that top-tier quarterback, or not just a quarterback, just a player in general. ‘How do I learn? How do I become better in this offense?’ … So he’s definitely a student of the game at this very moment.” It likely isn’t a coincidence that Jefferson’s locker at the team facility is located right next to McCarthy’s. The free-agent departure of quarterback Kirk Cousins means the Vikings are entering a new era, one they hope to manage as adeptly as possible. Darnold, who was signed in March, can buy time for McCarthy’s growth, and the seventh-year pro was given a talented supporting cast on offense. Along with Jefferson, the Vikings have second-year wide receiver Jordan Addison and running back Aaron Jones, and at some point, tight end T.J. Hockenson should return from a torn ACL.
There’s basically enough talent on this offense that Minnesota should be competitive if Darnold can be productive. That’s the ideal scenario in Minnesota. What could alter that is the pace of McCarthy’s growth and the overall success of this team. The Vikings knew he had potential. They’ve been even more impressed by his arm talent, his ebullient personality and the way teammates have quickly gravitated to him. There were some questions about McCarthy that couldn’t be answered coming out of college because he played in a run-heavy offense. Vikings decision-makers feel like he’s answering those questions with his preseason work, and it’s fair to wonder if he’ll put some serious pressure on them to play him this season. “I’m always going to do whatever I think is best for the team, to give us the best chance to win, while also understanding that the journey for a young quarterback in this league, and I’m really talking about both Sam and J.J. McCarthy, is really defined in a lot of ways by things outside of their control,” said Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell. “It did feel like Sam, through his work in the spring and where he’s at in his career, earned the right to have the bulk of the first-team reps early on, but we’ve got a plan to get J.J. some reps as well. Listen, I’m so excited about J.J. McCarthy. He’s confirmed in every possible way what we had hoped and really proven in a lot of ways early on to be even more than we hoped from a standpoint of the type of person and player we brought in.”
