Are the Vikings the kings of the NFC North for the foreseeable future?
Minnesota, winner of the division in two of the last three years, made a bold offseason move in signing quarterback Kirk Cousins to a three-year, $84 million deal. The Vikings will be a popular pick to reach Super Bowl 53 in Atlanta, but they still face a significant hurdle within their own division.
Aaron Rodgers is back healthy for the Packers, and he's still the best quarterback in the NFC. Does Green Bay have enough around its QB to reclaim the division it has won five times since Rodgers took over as starter in 2008? Detroit and Chicago welcome new coaches in Matt Patricia and Matt Nagy, respectively, which should amp up the competition in 2018 even more.
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NFC North: 2018 predictions
Minnesota Vikings
Mike Zimmer enters his fifth season as head coach, and John DeFilippo takes over as offensive coordinator. The return of running back Dalvin Cook should bolster the running game, too. Cousins was a good quarterback on a bad team in Washington. Now he's working with two outstanding receivers in Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs. Minnesota has the talent to win it all.
Green Bay Packers
Mike McCarthy is under more pressure now, and he shuffled coordinators by bringing back Joe Philbin and welcoming Mike Pettine in an effort to fix a defense that hasn't been able to stop the pass. Jimmy Graham gives Rodgers an outstanding red-zone target, too. For those who don't think Green Bay can keep up, remember the Packers were 4-1 before Rodgers went down with a broken collarbone in 2017. He's that good.
Detroit Lions
Patricia takes over a team that should be playoff-ready after winning nine games in each of the last two seasons. Quarterback Matthew Stafford continues to play at an elite level, and Detroit finally addressed its running game in the offseason by adding LeGarrette Blount in free agency and Kerryon Johnson through the draft. The Lions still ranked 27th in the league in total defense last season. Patricia will need to fix that immediately.
Chicago Bears
The early returns on Nagy are favorable for a franchise starving to get back to the top half of the division after four consecutive losing seasons. Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky shows signs of being the coveted franchise quarterback he was in last year's draft, and the Bears shelled out for Allen Robinson and Trey Burton in the offseason. They have added talent, but the Bears are still playing catch-up with the rest of the division.
NFC North: 2018 picks
1. Minnesota Vikings (12-4)
2. Green Bay Packers (11-5)
3. Detroit Lions (7-9)
4. Chicago Bears (7-9)
We'll know how serious the Packers are after the first two weeks and home games against the Bears and Vikings. The schedule sets up with exciting crossover matchups against the AFC East and NFC West, too.
Quarterback play in this division should be great. Green Bay has dominated this decade with Rodgers, but Cousins, Stafford and Trubisky are all capable of leading their teams to the playoffs, too. That means the division games will be entertaining, especially in the fourth quarter.
Minnesota will have more challenges with its first-place schedule, but the Vikings end the season with the Lions and Bears. The fact that they won't face Rodgers in a winner-take-all scenario late in the season should help. Minnesota is more complete than Green Bay is, but the division race will be tight between the traditional rivals.
