Football is beginning to make its way back into our lives and things are much different in the NFC North than they were a year ago.
With Aaron Rodgers’s departure to the New York Jets the division race is wide open and the Minnesota Vikings have a chance to win their first back-to-back division titles since the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
While some favor the Vikings to win the division, they might also lead in star power. The NFL doesn’t have an All-NFC North team, but if they did, it’s fun to wonder how many Vikings would make the team and if it would cement their status as contenders heading into the upcoming season.
To answer that question, we came up with our own NFC North team to see who makes the cut and which players could emerge in 2023.
Quarterback – Kirk Cousins (Vikings)
Much like the division, the title of the best quarterback in the division is up for grabs. While Jordan Love and Justin Fields have some upside, the battle ultimately comes down to Cousins and Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff.
Cousins is the consistent option, throwing for over 30 touchdowns three times and over 4,000 yards four times during his five seasons in Minnesota. Meanwhile, Goff has a Super Bowl appearance with the Rams in 2018 and 12 touchdowns and three interceptions in six career games against the Vikings.
The tiebreaker is while Cousins has churned out consistent success, we’re waiting to see if the end of last season was a fluke for Goff and the Lions. That gives Cousins the advantage coming into the season.
Running Back – Aaron Jones (Packers)
While Rodgers is the biggest departure from the division, Dalvin Cook might be the second biggest after signing a one-year contract with the New York Jets. The result has been a lot of new blood but Jones could be the best of the group.
Jones ran for 1,121 yards and two touchdowns last season but also added value in the passing game, catching 59 passes for 395 yards and five touchdowns. With the likelihood of Matt LeFleur leaning on the ground game to help Love, Jones and teammate A.J. Dillion could be on their way to pacing the Packers’ offense this season.
The rest of the group includes several breakout candidates including Alexander Mattison (Vikings) and Lions first-round rookie Jahmyr Gibbs but Jones appears to be the front-runner for now.
Wide Receiver – Justin Jefferson (Vikings) and Amon-Ra St. Brown (Lions)
We probably don’t need to tell you why Jefferson belongs on this team but after racking up the most receiving yards of anyone in the first three seasons and joining the Madden 99 Club for the first time, Jefferson was one of the easiest decisions on the list.
The rest of the group is a little difficult as Christian Watson has plenty of upside, D.J. Moore could hit another level in Chicago and Jordan Addison and Jameson Williams could break out this season. But St. Brown is the best of the group after catching 106 passes for 1,161 yards and six touchdowns in his second season.
Tight End – T.J. Hockenson (Vikings)
There’s a lot of youth in the NFC North at tight end, leaving Hockenson as the cream of the crop.
Hockenson caught 60 passes for 519 yards and three touchdowns in 10 games after being traded from Detroit to Minnesota midway through last season. If we project those numbers over a 17-game season, Hockenson would have caught 102 passes for 882 yards and five touchdowns, cementing himself as one of the top receivers in the league.
This is a stark difference from the rest of the division as Bears tight end Cole Kmet caught 50 passes for 544 yards and 7 TD (but still got paid before Hockenson) and rookies Luke Musgrave (Packers), Tucker Kraft (Packers) and Sam LaPorta (Lions) round out the group.
Fullback – C.J. Ham (Vikings)
There aren’t many true fullbacks left in the league but Ham is one of the best. Chicago’s Khari Blasingame might be the closest thing to competition, but the Vikings have their eyes set on using Ham more in 2023 as they look to create a more efficient running game.
Offensive tackles – Christian Darrisaw (Vikings) and David Bakhtiari (Packers)
Darrisaw enjoyed a breakout season despite a midseason concussion, grading behind San Francisco’s Trent Williams as PFF’s second-best offensive tackle. Bakhtiari battled his own injuries but allowed just 10 quarterback pressures in 11 games last season.
Outside of Darrisaw and Bakhtiari, the tackle position is loaded in the NFC North with Brian O’Neill (Vikings), Penei Sewell (Lions) and Taylor Decker (Lions) having an outside case to make this list.
Offensive guards – Teven Jenkins (Bears) and Elgton Jenkins (Packers)
Both Jenkins are coming off strong seasons a year ago as Teven was the No. 3 graded guard by PFF last season and Elgton allowed just 17 pressures in 15 games.
The guard position is weak throughout the division and although Ezra Cleveland was the No. 2 guard in the North according to PFF, his 53 pressures allowed ranked only behind teammate Ed Ingram, who led the NFL with 58 pressures.
Center – Frank Ragnow (Lions)
The Victoria, Minn. native has become a mainstay on the Lions’ offensive line, grading as No. 5 center according to PFF and allowing 13 pressures in 16 games last season.
A surprising name on the list is Garrett Bradbury, who ranked 10th in PFF’s overall grades among qualifying centers but still allowed 24 pressures in 12 regular season games last season.
Edge Rushers – Danielle Hunter (Vikings) and Aidan Hutchinson (Lions)
The Vikings were wise to sign Hunter to a one-year, $20 million deal this offseason as he ranked sixth in the NFL with 70 quarterback pressures despite becoming a stand-up rusher in Ed Donatell’s defense.
Hutchinson also broke out in his rookie year, collecting 53 quarterback pressures and 9.5 sacks after being selected with the second overall pick in last year’s draft.
Rashawn Gary could be a player that finds his way back onto the list as he recovers from a torn ACL.
Interior Defensive Line – Harrison Phillips (Vikings) and Kenny Clark (Packers)
The Vikings don’t have an elite pass rusher on the interior, but they do have one of the top run-stuffers in the division. Phillips graded first among qualifying interior defenders in the NFC North with a 72.1 overall grade and his 73.6 run defender grade ranked 12th among all qualifiers last season.
Kenny Clark’s overall rating took a hit last year but still managed 32 pressures, which ranked seventh among all interior defenders last season.
Linebacker – De’Vondre Campbell (Packers) and Jordan Hicks (Vikings)
There’s not a lot to choose from as the NFC North is experiencing a youth movement at linebacker.
Campbell is the easy choice as the former Gopher owned the top overall grade among qualifiers in the division last season. Hicks is an interesting choice as he struggled in coverage but made up for it as a run-stopper and a blitzer last season.
Players who could emerge this season are Minnesota’s Ivan Pace Jr. or Brian Asamoah, along with Detroit rookie Jack Campbell.
Cornerbacks Jaire Alexander and Rasul Douglas (Packers)
Cornerbacks might be the weakness of the NFC North as teams tried to fill their voids in free agency. Byron Murphy (Vikings) and Cameron Sutton (Lions) were the big names to enter the division but the Packers seem to have the best by default.
Alexander has turned into the best coverage corners in the NFL during his time with the Packers and Douglas has become a serviceable member of the secondary in what is the division’s weakest unit.
Safeties – Eddie Jackson (Bears) and Harrison Smith (Vikings)
Smith might not get the love he deserves nationally, but he could have one last great season in the tank at age 34. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores will likely send Smith at the quarterback more than Ed Donatell did and even if he drops back into coverage, he can still make an impact with five interceptions last season.
Meanwhile, Jackson was 15th among qualifying safeties in PFF grade but there’s a chance another former Viking could take a top spot.
Josh Metellus was graded second among qualifying safeties last season and with the potential for a bigger role, he could become a household name by the end of this year.
Kicker – Greg Joseph (Vikings)
Another departing Packer (Mason Crosby) leaves a big hole in the division and although Joseph is like Russian Roulette on a football field, he is the best the division has to offer.
Joseph has converted 83.1 percent of his field goals and 88.4 percent of his extra points in two seasons with the Vikings but those numbers dropped to 78.8 percent on field goals and 87.0 percent on extra points last year.
That’s still better than the rest of the division who will be fielding Riley Patterson, Cairo Santos and Anders Carlson (brother of an infamous name in Vikings history) this season.
Punter – Ryan Wright (Vikings)
Wright surprised many by winning the job in camp last year but proved his worth, grading as the top punter in the division and 14th among qualifiers last season.
The other names in the division include Trenton Gill, Jack Fox and Pat O’Donnell.
