NFC North 2023 Season Preview: Division Is Wide Open Without Aaron Rodgers

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.

The Vikings are the forgotten reigning NFC North champions after going through somewhat of a rebuild, parting with Dalvin Cook, Adam Thielen, Eric Kendricks and Za’Darius Smith. The Vikings might also have different plans at quarterback after deciding against extending Kirk Cousins’s contract, which they can get out of in the offseason. But the Vikings could have a standout wideout tandem with Justin Jefferson, the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year, and Jordan Addison, the No. 23 pick in the draft.

Justin Fields and the Bears could take steps forward in 2023 after a busy offseason, which was centered around trading the No. 1 pick to Carolina for wide receiver DJ Moore and a handful of draft picks. Chicago also improved Fields’s offensive line with the first-round selection of tackle Darnell Wright and free-agency signing of guard Nate Davis. 

Green Bay Packers

Best case: Love has a standout first season as the starter that compares to what Burrow and Herbert did in their 2020 rookie seasons. After three years of learning from Rodgers, Love flashes as a composed quarterback with a vast skill set, including mobility and a rocket arm.

Worst case: Love struggles around a shaky offensive line and an inexperienced group of pass catchers. Turns out, Matt LaFleur’s coaching success was mainly because he had Rodgers. This leads to a dreadful season for Green Bay, but it wins enough games to miss out on the top quarterbacks in the 2024 draft. 

Detroit Lions

Best case: The Lions’ offseason additions to their secondary pay off, making them one of the best defensive units in the NFC to complement the surging offense with Goff continuing to play at a high level. Sutton and Gardner-Johnson make the Steelers and Eagles regret letting them walk in free agency, respectively.

Worst case: Goff returns to being the mediocre quarterback who frustrated Sean McVay in L.A. Defenses prioritize St. Brown in coverage with Williams out the first six games, leading to costly turnovers from Goff. With a poor passing game, the duo of Gibbs and Montgomery fail to establish a rushing attack.

Minnesota Vikings

Best case: Addison hits the ground running to form a dominant receiving tandem with Jefferson. This leads to a career season for Cousins, who flirts with a 5,000-yard passing season. Addison’s fast start also benefits Alexander Mattison as the new lead back, seeing bigger running lanes because of a dynamic passing attack.

Worst case: The Vikings’ top-heavy roster collapses, regardless of how successful Jefferson is on the field. Without Cook in the backfield, Cousins has a nightmare season, reassuring the front office they made the right decision in not extending his contract this past offseason. This creates the path to a full rebuild in 2024. 

Chicago Bears

Best case: Fields takes a massive leap in Year 3, similar to what Hurts did in Philadelphia last year. He drastically improves his accuracy and relies less on his legs, developing instant chemistry with Moore. This creates endless clickbait columns of who’s the better quarterback from the 2021 draft, between Fields and Trevor Lawrence.

Worst case: Fields’s accuracy doesn’t improve and he ignores Moore downfield because he takes off running after one read. GM Ryan Poles regrets trading the No. 1 pick as Bryce Young is running away with the Offensive Rookie of the Year in Carolina. Poles then decides to move on from Fields, searching for a veteran who would take advantage of all the roster upgrades he made in the 2023 offseason.