NFC North Preview: Key Strength and Question For Vikings, Packers, Lions, Bears

Breaking down the biggest strength and question mark for all four teams in the NFC North.

Football season is upon us. The first Sunday of action is coming up. Before Week 1 of the 2022 NFL regular season gets underway, let's set the stage for what should be a fun year in the NFC North.

The Packers are the three-time defending champions of the division, but their two-time defending MVP no longer has his top wide receiver. The Vikings are expected to be Green Bay's top challenger, pairing a talented roster with a brand new coaching staff led by Kevin O'Connell. The Lions head into year two of the Dan Campbell era hoping to prove themselves as a legitimate threat, while the ostensibly rebuilding Bears will look to surprise under new coach Matt Eberflus.

SI and Fan Nation's four NFC North publishers — myself, Bill Huber of Packer Central, John Maakaron of All Lions, and Gene Chamberlain of Bear Digest — got together to make our predictions for how the division will finish, along with identifying the big strength and question for the team we cover.

Predicted NFC North standings

1. Green Bay Packers 
2. Minnesota Vikings
3. Detroit Lions
4. Chicago Bears

All four publishers picked the exact same order of finish. The Packers are projected to win 11-13 games, the Vikings to win 8-10, the Lions to win 6-8, and the Bears to win 5 or 6.

Green Bay Packers

Biggest strength

For years, we could start and end with Aaron Rodgers. The four-time MVP, including each of the last two seasons, is one of the great quarterbacks in NFL history. But the defense is where there’s true power. It is a unit without a weakness in the starting lineup. The defensive line is so good that first-round pick Devonte Wyatt might not see the field. Rashan Gary is a star at outside linebacker. All-Pro De'Vondre Campbell and first-round pick Quay Walker will provide elite play at inside linebacker. There’s no better cornerback corps than Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes and Rasul Douglas. The safety tandem of Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage is strong, too. If they can stop the run, good luck moving the chains on third-and-long.

Biggest question

Three letters: ACL. Five-time All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari suffered a torn ACL at practice on Dec. 31, 2020. He missed almost all of 2021 and has practiced only a few times in 2022. If he can return to anywhere close to his vintage form following three surgeries, the Packers will be thrilled. Elgton Jenkins, a Pro Bowl guard in 2020, capably replaced Bakhtiari last year until suffering his own ACL. He’s penciled in at right tackle. With Bakhtiari and Jenkins, the offensive line will give Aaron Rodgers the time to survey a suspect receiver corps led by veterans Allen Lazard, Sammy Watkins and Randall Cobb. If they’re not healthy? The makeshift line, which included Yosh Nijman at left tackle and Royce Newman at right tackle, struggled in preseason action.

Minnesota Vikings

Biggest strength

The Vikings' skill position talent can go toe to toe with that of any team in the league. Justin Jefferson enters his third season hoping to stake his claim as the best wide receiver in the NFL, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him approach 2021 Cooper Kupp numbers in O'Connell's offense. Dalvin Cook is still a Tier 1 running back whenever he's healthy. Adam Thielen is dynamite in the red zone, K.J. Osborn is emerging as a very valuable No. 3, and Irv Smith Jr. is a breakout candidate at tight end after missing all of last year. Then there are depth players like Alexander Mattison, Ty Chandler, and Jalen Reagor to round out the attack. O'Connell has all kinds of weapons at his disposal.

Biggest question

Will the secondary be good enough? The NFL is a passing-dominated league. Much of the Vikings' success will come down to how well Kirk Cousins plays, but Cousins is established as an above-average quarterback, and he should thrive in this offense with O'Connell and Jefferson and so many other dangerous targets. Minnesota's season may actually hinge on its ability to stop the pass on the other side of the ball. Patrick Peterson, Cameron Dantzler, and Chandon Sullivan is a largely uninspiring cornerback group, which could be an issue. Safety should be a solid group with Harrison Smith, Cam Bynum, and Lewis Cine, but the corners have plenty to prove. If that unit doesn't step up, the talent on the Vikings' front seven will only mean so much.

Detroit Lions

Biggest strength

The Detroit Lions should be able to run the football better in 2022 thanks to their offensive line. The unit has the potential to propel Detroit's offense into the top-10 in several offensive statistical categories. Detroit's front office has contributed significant financial resources to the offensive side of the football, so they must all deliver in 2022. Expect running backs D'Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams to be used plenty in the passing game. Quarterback Jared Goff should be able to keep defenses off-balance with the play-action pass, as the run game will keep opposing defenses honest.

Biggest question

Defensively, this team is very young and will be counting on second-year players to shoulder the load on defense. Alim McNeill should become more of a force along the interior of the defensive line. Linebacker Derrick Barnes has all the tools physically to play the position well. He is still elevating his game on the mental side, specifically reading plays and recognizing his coverage and gap responsibilities. The biggest question mark will be if cornerback Jeff Okudah can stay healthy and contribute at a high level. He is returning from an Achilles tear and had a decent preseason. The third-year defensive back has faced a strong amount of criticism early in his career, as the Lions invested the No. 3 overall pick on him back in 2020. 

Chicago Bears

Biggest strength

The Bears can still rush the passer and present a formidable defensive front. They went 6-11 with 49 sacks last year and completely gutted the defensive line because of their new system, yet they still came away with the DL being the team's greatest asset. Robert Quinn and Trevis Gipson combined for 25.5 sacks and former Colts end Al-Quadin Muhammad is coming off a six-sack season. Justin Jones showed enough burst as a three-technique in preseason action to indicate he can be the inside attacker this scheme requires, and signing former Vikings tackle Armon Watts on waivers after a five-sack season fortified their interior depth. One of the big worries was that they had gone too small to find one-gap attackers, but they retained Angelo Blackson, signed Mike Pennel and added Watts to address possible run-stopping issues.

Biggest question

While everyone will point at the Bears' receivers and the current rash of injuries running through that sketchy group, the offensive line is easily their greater concern. They brought in Lucas Patrick at center and he hasn't been at a single practice since July due to a broken thumb. Teven Jenkins has never been a guard after some would suggest he was barely a tackle. The left tackle is Braxton Jones, a Day 3 rookie from Southern Utah. Even right tackle Larry Borom can't be called a solid performer after only eight NFL starts. They hope their running game and play-action passing keep opponents from gearing up to rush at Justin Fields, yet they may not even be able to run block with that line — let alone pass block. Fields' biggest asset will be his mobility, even if he has improved as a passer.

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