When you look at the NFC North, the odds are in favor of two teams: the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings.
It makes sense why those teams would be the favorites. Both rosters are loaded.
The Vikings brought in Kirk Cousins in the offseason and the Packers, well, they have Aaron Rodgers.
Below, we’ll examine each team. We’ll rank them in order in terms of where they’ll finish in the division with the odds associated with that team and explain why.
Is this the year the Chicago Bears or Detroit Lions supplant them as the NFC North elite?
Let’s find out.
All odds are courtesy of BetDSI Sportsbook.
1. Minnesota Vikings (12-4) Odds: +105
It’s going to be close atop the rankings, but the Vikings will just squeak it out. With Kirk Cousins now in the fold, the Vikings are one of the teams to beat in the entire league.
The offense was potent last year and that was with Case Keenum and without running back Dalvin Cook for most of the season.
Not many people would argue with you about saying Cousins is better than Keenum. That’s one positive. Add in a full season of Cook? Whoa.
The Vikings defense will be the same rock-solid unit as last year. However, they added cornerback Mike Hughes in the draft, too. He’ll add an extra layer to an already formidable secondary headlined by Xavier Rhodes.
They may have an incredibly difficult schedule, but they’ll overcome it as they are that well-built and put together as an organization.
This upcoming season could the Vikings year and it start by taking down the NFC North.
2. Green Bay Packers (11-5) Odds: +120
Taking a slight back seat to the Vikings, the Packers will still be right in the thick of it, too. Don’t think that because they’ve lost the division that they’re done for.
When you have Rodgers on your side, the possibilities are endless.
Although they parted ways with Jordy Nelson, the Packers added Jimmy Graham at the tight end position. Over the years, they haven’t really had a strong presence since Jermichael Finley.
But the offense isn’t what anyone should be concerned about—it’s the defense.
The defense was mightily improved in the draft adding Josh Jackson and Jaire Alexander. They also added Muhammad Wilkerson to improve the pass rush.
There are more question marks than answers for the Packers and that’s why they’re behind an already proven and elite Vikings defense.
We’ll see how all these new parts mesh together, but even still—the Packers will be a wild card team and have just as good a chance as any to make it to the promised land out of the NFC North.
3. Chicago Bears (9-7) Odds: +1170
Close, but not quite.
Look, it’s clear the Bears are trending upward.
From the coaching change to Matt Nagy, all the way to the draft picks, the Bears are getting better and better.
On offense, they added wide receiver Allen Robinson—one of the biggest acquisitions of the entire free agent period.
Not only that, but they also added tight end Trey Burton and another wide receiver in Taylor Gabriel.
And that’s just free agency.
They also added wide receiver Anthony Miller to the fold, too.
But the fun doesn’t stop there.
To improve the offensive line further they drafted James Daniels out of Iowa and drafted arguably the best linebacker in the draft in Roquan Smith.
There’s no denying that the Bears have mightily improve, but they’re still too young to compete with the monsters atop the NFC North.
Going 9-7 is a huge improvement for them from even a year ago. They’re going to be a wild card contender.
Bears fans have a lot to be excited about, just now isn’t the time. Maybe 2019?
4. Detroit Lions (7-9) Odds: +635
Where to begin with the Detroit Lions?
They have a fine enough team, but they’re in a tough division, especially with the projection involving the Bears.
The Lions did make some improvements taking in Frank Ragnow to improve the offensive line.
But perhaps the best thing they did was drafting a running back to be the guy, Kerryon Johnson. The Lions haven’t had a presence in the backfield since, like, Kevin Smith.
While the Lions did make improvements, they didn’t make nearly as many as the other teams in this division.
Matthew Stafford will still be Stafford and the offense, other than Johnson, hasn’t changed much.
They’ll be competitive, but they’ll take a beating from their fellow NFC North mates.
The Bears have dethroned the Lions. But give new head coach Matt Patricia a little bit of time—the Lions will be a team not to be trifled with soon in the NFC North.
