NFC North Team Rankings for 2025
The NFC North (or formerly NFC Central) division is traditionally a strong and competitive division. Nicknamed the black and blue division for the rough and tough rivalry games between the four teams. It is currently living up to its reputation.
VikingsTerritory Gives You NFC North Team Rankings for 2025
Three teams out of the division made it to the playoffs last season — Detroit, Minnesota, and Green Bay — while Chicago looked to be in contention during the early part of the season before eventually fading away. All four teams will harbor playoff aspirations again in 2025, but how ready are each team for another playoff run, and what damage can they inflict if they get there?
In previous articles, I have ranked the division by position groups, which can be found on the following links: QB, RB, WR, TE, OL, IDL, Edge, LB, CB, S, and HC. Using them as a guide, I have developed my rankings for the four teams in the division.
NFC North Rankings | 2025
Here are my NFC North teams’ rankings for the 2025 season.
1. Detroit Lions
There are very few weaknesses in the Lions’ roster, which has been wonderfully assembled. Detroit ranked either first or second in every one of my position rankings.
A long-term QB issue could arise with all the other teams having young QBs they can build around, while Jared Goff turns 31 in October and has probably peaked, and that peak hasn’t been enough on a very talented roster.
The biggest question facing the Lions this season is how much the loss of both coordinators, Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, will impact them, and how much of Dan Campbell’s success as a head coach was a result of relying on those two.
They still have the best roster in the division and are rightly favored to make it three division titles in a row, extending their most successful run of division wins in team history.
2. Minnesota Vikings
As with everything involving the 2025 Vikings, there is a JJ McCarthy asterisk. As long as McCarthy isn’t wholly terrible, Minnesota will be contenders this season. There is strength across the roster, with the secondary being the only area of concern.
Kevin O’Connell and Brian Flores have gotten more out of their team over the last couple of years than most people expected, and this is the strongest roster they’ve had going into a season to date.
With a superstar like Justin Jefferson leading the charge, there is always a chance. The big challenge for O’Connell and his team this season is not just making it to the playoffs, but winning a game once they get there – something they haven’t managed in two attempts.
The Vikings finished second last year, and a repeat seems about right until we know what we have with McCarthy.
3. Green Bay Packers
I give Green Bay the edge at three largely due to the big difference in experience at head coach. Matt LaFleur has led his Packers team to competitiveness in every season since taking charge in 2019, missing the playoffs only once. I’m not entirely convinced Jordan Love is the long-term answer at QB. He’s a good, but not great, QB; you could say the new Kirk Cousins.
Wasting his rookie contract by having him sit behind Aaron Rodgers for two years and then swiftly paying him the big bucks once he became the starter.
Green Bay will lean on their running game, headed by the excellent Josh Jacobs, but their lack of star power at WR and CB could be set to haunt them in a division packed with explosive offenses.
The Packers need first-round rookie Matthew Golden to be an instant success and Xavier McKinney to have another phenomenal season at safety, similar to the one that saw him named first-team All-Pro in 2024.
4. Chicago Bears
All eyes are on Ben Johnson. Can he translate the success he had as offensive coordinator in Detroit to Chicago as the head coach? Can he also help Caleb Williams look more like the generational talent he was touted as during last year’s draft process?
Williams had a decent rookie season, and he was never likely to live up to the massive hype, but there needs to be progression in Year 2.
The Bears have invested heavily in the offensive line to help Williams, and there are plenty of offensive weapons already in-house.
They might be ranked fourth, but Chicago isn’t a bad team, and if everything clicks on offense and their strong cornerback room can keep the defense competitive, the Bears have every chance of making the playoffs. That’s how strong this division is.
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