Off-season Vibe Check — NFC North

The Bears are the only NFC North team that missed the playoffs in 2024. That shame caused them to hire a coach from the team that topped the division to guide them to the promised land.

The Lions’ success in trying circumstances led to both of their coordinators being hired as head coaches. And, coincidentally, all four teams drafted wide receivers, and a couple of them are poised for greatness.

Technically, the Vikings will have a new quarterback, the Lions could need a bedding-in period, and the Packers are coming to Ireland. But the Bears still have a mountain to climb.

The Lions suffered a ridiculous number of injuries in 2024, while the Vikings lost important players at different times. Even though both teams overcame their misfortunes to make the playoffs, the prospect of a healthy NFC North in 2025 is tantalising.

Only one quarterback in this division has ever been to a Super Bowl, but the other three are younger and more exciting than Jared Goff!

Vikings Rampage

J.J. McCarthy was drafted in 2024, but a torn meniscus put paid to his regular season before it began. Consequently, there may be a little rust when he returns. But a full season working with Kevin O’Connell, Josh McCown and Sam Darnold on the sidelines is beneficial in the long term.

Last year, the Vikings had the eighth-highest scoring offence in the league. Kevin O’Connell’s unit ranked fifth in the league for passing touchdowns! Alongside Brian Flores’ impressive defense, that was enough to secure a first 14-win season since the Randy Moss era. Moss and Randall Cunningham led the Vikings to a 15–1 record in 1998!

Back to last season and Flores’ defense led the league in interceptions, and their 33 turnovers were the most in the league, alongside the Steelers.

Trading for Jordan Mason and drafting both Donovan Jackson and Tai Felton will not only balance the Vikings’ offense, but it will also make it even more potent. They didn’t really struggle to run the ball in 2024, but they only ranked 19th for rushing yards and 29th for touchdowns.

Mason averages 5.3 yards per attempt during the 45 games he has played for the 49ers. Adding Mason to a Vikings backfield with Aaron Jones (who racked up 1,546 yards from scrimmage in 2024) and exciting rookie Tre Stewart (who scored 23 touchdowns in 14 games as a senior) is a sign of intent.

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But McCarthy could be the key to the Vikings' 2025 run game. He only averaged 3.9 yards per carry at Michigan, but ran 161 times in three years, scoring 10 touchdowns. The 22-year-old clocked a 4.48-second 40-yard dash time before his knee injury, which is the same time Giants running back Tyrone Tracy recorded.

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Balancing the need to run the ball and protect his knee will be vital, but playing behind a newly acquired interior offensive line should provide opportunities to sneak for a few touchdowns.

That new offensive line includes first-round pick Donovan Jackson, who allowed five sacks on 1,293 snaps at Ohio State. The rookie is joined by former Colts Will Fries, who played 41 games in the last four seasons and centre Ryan Kelly.

Former Buccaneers left tackle Justin Skule arrived in free agency, too, but he has only started 17 games in five seasons.

Justin Jefferson, T.J. Hockenson and Jordan Addison remain mainstays of the passing game. But they have added former Cardinal Rondale Moore, who spent the 2024 season on IR in Atlanta.

Vikings’ third-round draft pick Tai Felton is going to be an interesting part of the offense. He clocked a 4.37-second 40-yard time and is very difficult to tackle. But he might not see much game time this season, the rookie could be a special-teams player in 2025.

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As if Brian Flores’s defense wasn’t dominant enough last year, he has some new parts to fit into his 2025 unit. One, linebacker Eric Wilson returns to Minnesota after five years away.

New Vikings defensive linemen Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave combined for 11 QB pressures in the 11 games they played last year. Former Lion Jeff Okudah returns to the NFC North after a single season in Atlanta.

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Flores’ 2024 turnover-heavy defense did a lot of the heavy lifting in Minnesota. Now with more pass rush and some tweaks to the backfield, they could be even stronger.

There’s a very good chance J.J. McCarthy is an upgrade from Sam Darnold, and a Vikings team that runs the ball better than they did last year is going to be hard to stop.

Lion Cubs

It’s difficult to envisage any team struggling under Dan Campbell. But with two new coordinators, there’s a real possibility the 2025 Lions get off to a slow start.

There’s no reason for new coordinators to make any alterations to a team that racked up 15 wins in the 2024 regular season, but they probably still will.

Those coordinators are working with 26 new players this season. 10 of those players signed as free agents, seven arrived in the draft, and the final 10 are undrafted free agents.

New offensive coordinator John Morton was the Lions’ senior offensive assistant in 2022 but spent the last two seasons in Denver as the Broncos’ passing game coordinator. In 202,4, the Broncos’ offense passed 54% of the time compared to the Lions’ 49.3%. The addition of six new receivers suggests the 2025 Lions might air the ball out a little more.

The most exciting of the new receivers is Isaac TeSlaa, who figures to be important since Brad Holmes traded up in the draft to pick. The Arkansas product scored a 9.97 Relative Athletic Score out of 10! That’s the 11th-highest score out of 3,441 receivers who have been tested since 1987!

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6-foot-4 Michigan native TeSlaa only spent two years at an FBS college, but averaged 14.5 yards per catch on 62 passes he caught as a Razorback. TeSlaa will add some extra physicality to an offense that already has plenty of physicality.

The other new receivers are Malik Taylor, who missed 2024 injured, and Ronnie Bell, who only caught eight passes in two years as a 49er, but three of them were touchdowns. The six are rounded out by undrafted free agents Jackson Meeks and Jakobie Keeney-James.

Meeks is another interesting prospect, he only caught 10 passes in three years at Georgia. The Alabama native then transferred to Syracuse for his senior year and caught 78 passes for 1,021 yards!

Keeney-James is a smaller receiver with blazing speed who can really high-point a football. He could fill in for Jameson Williams if the fourth-year receiver suffers more injuries in the future.

Second-round pick Tate Ratledge is the most Dan Campbell recruit to land in Detroit during the offseason, though. The 24-year-old offensive lineman is very athletic and loves to block defenders out of their cleats! The Tennessee native is “country strong” and currently appears at right guard on the depth chart, but his speed means he could fill in at tackle in an emergency.

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Detroit’s defense suffered a ridiculous number of injuries last year. While they have recruited some newbies on the defensive side of the ball the returning players will be like new signings as Kelvin Sheppard takes over from Aaron Glenn as defensive coordinator.

Shepperd has been coaching in Detroit since 2021, so there shouldn’t be any massive schematic changes and only four veterans left in free agency. Three of those are cornerbacks so there’s plenty of continuity in the Northern Savages.

D.J. Reed, Rock Ya-Sin and Avonte Maddox have arrived to replace Carlton Davis, Kindle Vildor and Ifeatu Melifonwu. The Lions have added extra speed to replace the physicality they specialised in last season.

Rookie Gavin Holmes is a prime example, the Longhorn brings 4.38 speed and plenty of physicality to the cornerback position. He’s buried on the depth chart heading into preseason though, so he may just return punts.

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With two new coordinators needing to find their feet, there may be something of a feeling-out process in 2025. But 23 different players hit IR in 2024 and they still won the division! It will be nip and tuck between them and the Vikings all season for the 2025 title.

Go Pack Go

The Packers drafted the most exciting receivers in the division, and that illustrates why it’s impossible to know what to expect from Matt LaFleur’s team in 2025. His Packers were 12th for passing yards in 2024 and 10th for passing touchdowns. But ended the season fifth for rushing attempts, yards and rushing touchdowns.

Adam Stenavich obviously wants to run the ball and the Packers are very good at it. Did they really need to spend valuable draft capital on Matthew Golden and Savion Williams?

It’s an even stranger Packers draft class when you remember most experts expected Green Bay to add a cornerback and someone who can rush the passer in the first two rounds. They used those picks on a receiver and a backup offensive lineman instead.

Matthew Golden will be the best rookie receiver in the league if Jordan Love can stay healthy (and the Stenavich decides not to lean on the run).

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The Texas Longhorn averaged 14.7 yards per touch in college, scoring 24 touchdowns in three seasons. He is very similar to Jayden Reed though so it’ll be interesting to see how they combine on the field.

“Swiss Army Knife player” has become a favourite NFL cliche, but it truly applies to Savion Williams who is a versatile attacking threat. He lined up as a receiver, running back and wildcat quarterback at TCU. The Packers don’t traditionally use trick plays though, so Williams may find himself just being used on special teams.

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Like Williams, a lot of the Packers’ new recruits on offense figure to be depth pieces. Aaron Banks however could be their new left guard. PFF ranked Banks as the 50th best guard in 2024 though, so he may be battling rookie John Williams for the start.

While there are 16 new faces on the defensive side of the ball only nickelback Nate Hobbs is assured to start.

Barryn Sorrell, Warren Brinson, Nesta Jade Silvera, Keith Randolph, Collin Oliver and Nazir Stackhouse all join an already strong defensive front.

There are five new linebackers in Green Bay, but only Isaiah Simmons could force his way into the starting line-up.

Seventh-round Micah Robinson could see significant starting time at cornerback if he performs well in preseason though.

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LaFleur’s charges won 11 games in 2024 so they didn’t need to go big in the draft or free agency. With that said, they could live to regret taking the best players available rather than players who best filled their needs.

Bear With Us

Judging by the clamour to recruit Ben Johnson to Chicago you could be forgiven for thinking they only needed a new coach to fire them into the stratosphere. Realistically, whoever became their new coach faced an uphill battle.

Caleb Williams might not have thrown an interception in the last 11 games of his rookie year, but he also only threw 11 touchdowns in those games. There’s a lot to fix in the Windy City.

Johnson began fixing those problems by signing new offensive linemen. Joe Thuney (who never wants to play left tackle again after the Super Bowl), Drew Dalman (who only played nine games last season) and Jonah Jackson (who only played four games in 2024) form the basis of a brand-spanking new interior line.

If Andy Reid has taught us anything it’s that you can have dodgy offensive tackles if you have a strong interior and a mobile quarterback.

There are also seven new receivers in Chicago. Rookie Luther Burden III is the most interesting. His ability to make defenders miss and win collisions makes him a yard after the catch machine, he could be Johnson’s new Amon-Ra St. Brown.

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Chicago secured themselves a destructive tight end too. Colston Loveland joins Cole Kmet in the tight end room (along with free agents signing Durham Smythe). The Michigan tight end averaged 12.5 yards per reception as a Wolverine.

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Drafting Loveland means Johnson’s offense can line up in 21 personnel (or 3 tight end sets with Smythe). That will allow Williams to identify if a defense is lined up to defend a run and audible to a pass play.

The Bears’ run game is still firmly in the grip of D’Andre Swift who had a 2024 season of two halves. 660 of his 959 yards on the ground came in just seven games, if Johnson can find some consistency in the running game the Bears’ offense will be tough to defend in 2025.

On defense, Chicago’s inability to stop the run sealed their fate in 2024. They ranked 24th after allowing 20 rushing touchdowns, 28th when it came to rushing yards allowed and 29th for rushing yards per attempt! So adding eight new defensive backs and just five defensive linemen seems odd.

The Bears’ passing defense ranked 16th for passing yards allowed last year and no team conceded fewer passing touchdowns (but everyone could score rushing touchdowns on them).

Ryan Pace traded up to draft Shemar Turner in the second round, the Texas A&M defensive tackle wasn’t projected to go until the third though, so this might be considered a reach by some.

The 290-pounder will certainly bolster the run defense. Turner recorded 24 tackles for a loss and forced three fumbles in his 43 games at Texas A&M. Bears’ Director of Player Personnel Trey Koziol described Turner as “violent”!

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Grady Jarrett also joins Ben Johnson’s revolution after a decade in Atlanta. He’ll line up next to former Colt Dayo Odeyingbo. Those two together mean the right side of the Bears’ defensive line will weigh a whopping 41 stone!

Xavier Carlton and Jereme Robinson both join as undrafted free agents, but are well down the depth chart and may well end up signing with the practice squad.

The Bears also drafted two other defensive players, one, Ruben Hyppolite II was considered a seventh-round pick at best before the draft. But he clocked a 4.42 40-yard time pre-draft and the Bears coaching staff apparently fell in love with him after he made an official visit.

The fifth-round pick is cornerback Zah Frazier out of the University of Texas San Antonio. The Roadrunner clocked a 4.36 40-yard time and is 6-foot-3. Ryan Pace has certainly added some speed to the Bears’ defense.

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Ben Johnson has the unenviable task of almost completely rebuilding a team with nine undrafted free agents and eight draft picks. Even those who believe he is the best young coach in the NFL will recognise that his job is going to take some time.

It’s Tough At The Top

J.J. McCarthy might be the best quarterback in the division and the Vikings additions should make them the best team in the NFC North, if not the NFC.

Nobody will be surprised if Dan Campbell’s unique blend of enthusiasm and unbridled passion can keep the Lions at the top of the division for the foreseeable future. But Detroit should have to go through a few growing pains early on.

A healthy Jordan Love is a playoff quarterback, but some strange draft decisions may hamper the Packers’ chances this year. But if Jeff Hafley can tighten up that defense the Packers will be in the mix for an 18th NFC North title.

The Bears shouldn’t be as much of a mess as they were in 2024, but it would be difficult for any team to be that much of a mess. In Caleb Williams, they have a promising young quarterback who could make the step to elite quarterback under Ben Johnson. But an elite quarterback isn’t much good with an inconsistent run game and a leaky defense.