Quarterbacks Could Lead NFC North Takeover

The NFC North quarterback room ranks sixth out of the NFL’s eight divisions, according to NFL.com’s Eric Edholm. Perhaps not for long.

Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love reacts after a touchdown at the Dallas Cowboys in the 2023 NFL playoffs. / Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

 

For years, in any discussion of the NFL’s big guns at quarterback, former Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was an army of one in the NFC North.

While there would be an occasional big year from Detroit’s Matthew Stafford, Minnesota and Chicago rarely had stability at the position during Rodgers’ tenure.

The same is true now.

NFL.com’s Eric Edholm ranked the strength of the quarterback rooms in each division, and the NFC North was near the bottom of the list, coming in at sixth.

Perhaps not for long, though. With the Packers’ Jordan Love and the Lions’ Jared Goff joined by a pair of first-round picks, the Bears’ Caleb Williams and the Vikings J.J. McCarthy, the NFC North has turned into an arms race.

“This feels unfairly low, but so much of the North's promise lies in the hands of the kids,” Edholm wrote. “In a year or two, we could regard Love, Williams and McCarthy as the nucleus of the league's young QB talent. On the flip side, all three come with enough questions and projection that we must hedge slightly right now.”

Of Love, Edholm added a cautionary note:

“Last Nov. 1, following four straight losses, Packers GM Brian Gutekunst clearly didn't know yet if Love was The Guy. Now, a massive contract extension for Love feels all but imminent. During the final 10 regular-season games and the playoff win at Dallas, Love was special. But in the playoff defeat at San Francisco, he came unglued. The future remains very bright, but Love's inconsistencies remind us that nothing is certain.”

The point about hedging as it relates to the Packers, and the rest of the division, is fair.

Goff has played in a Super Bowl and nearly got to a second last year before the Lions collapsed in San Francisco. He is solid and occasionally capable of spectacular play.

Of the four quarterbacks in the division, however, he’s widely considered to have the lowest ceiling.

The others? There’s high ceilings but a series of unknowns, as well.

Focusing on the Packers, for as much fanfare as Love has received this offseason, his stretch of great play still only amounts to half a season.

For comparison’s sake, that is all then-general manager Ted Thompson needed to reward Rodgers with a lucrative contract extension in the fall of 2008. Current Packers GM Brian Gutekunst will more than likely see a similar track when it comes to Love.

The question from any skeptic regarding Love would be, “What if that was simply a hot stretch for half a season and he comes crashing back to Earth?”

Prior to Gutekunst’s comments in early November, Love and the offense as a whole were struggling. The skill-position players were historically young and often could not get out of their own way.

The Packers’ offense was noticeably dreadful early in games, and often late in them, as well.

Following another late loss to the hapless Denver Broncos, who had recently given up 70 points to the Miami Dolphins, it was fair to wonder if the Packers were asking the question as to whether Love was going to be the quarterback of the future.

Love fended off those questions with stellar play to finish the season.

He is now, with some projection, one of the favorites to win the 2024 MVP award.

That puts the Packers at the top of the quarterback pecking order in the NFC North. If it feels familiar, it’s probably because it is.

That’s where they’ve been since 1992, when Brett Favre stepped into the lineup and started an unprecedented run of excellent quarterback play.

Behind Love and the Packers, are the two Top-15 picks from the 2024 NFL Draft that can raise the ceiling of the division’s quarterback play.

Chicago’s Caleb Williams was regarded as a generational quarterback prospect coming out of USC. He was penciled in as the No. 1 overall pick of the draft before the college season started.

Williams is now tasked with ending a quarterback drought in Chicago that spans nearly the duration of the existence of the franchise.

Williams is surrounded by a talented trio of superb receivers and a defense that was playing its best ball when their season ended at Lambeau Field last January.

Perhaps Williams will finally be the one to break Chicago’s quarterback curse.

In Minnesota, the Vikings were spurned by Kirk Cousins in free agency, as he chose to sign in Atlanta. They selected their quarterback of the future, Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, at No. 12 overall.

McCarthy was a polarizing prospect but is still very young at 21 years old with plenty of room to grow.

McCarthy, like Williams, is surrounded by a good supporting cast including all-world receiver Justin Jefferson.

It’s unclear if McCarthy will start for Minnesota to begin the season, but it’s only a matter of time before he gets on the field.

With McCarthy and Williams joining the division, their ceilings, combined with Love and Goff, could catapult the NFC North to the top of these rankings at this time in 2025 and potentially make the division the best in the NFL.

More Green Bay Packers News

Yesterday, #Packers RB Josh Jacobs was in Milwaukee discussing fire safety and the proper use of a fire extinguisher.

Afterward, we talked about fires, football and the Super Bowl. ⬇️https://t.co/HowmaOTYi4

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) July 3, 2024

Hot Reads: Q&A with Josh Jacobs | Fresh faces will decide NFC North | Add a veteran quarterback? | PFF’s offensive line rankings | NFL awards odds | Gutekunst’s masterful rebuild | Best QB in NFC North? | Two Packers on All-Breakout Teams

Most Important Packers: 45-49 | 50-54 | 55-59 | 60-64 | 65-69 | 70-79 | 80-90