GREENEST PASTURES
Despite a key loss, the Packers are still the strong favorite in a division otherwise stocked with teams in transition
RIGHT AROUND the time Aaron Rodgers ended an offseason of uncertainty and arrived at Packers headquarters for training camp in July 2021—donning his favorite The Office T-shirt—and certainly after he signed a four-year contract extension after the season, it seemed the NFC North would belong to the Packers for the foreseeable future. The loss of All-pro receiver Davante Adams to the Raiders, great as he is, does nothing to change that.
Rodgers on his own is enough to make Green Bay the heavyweight of the division. He has won consecutive MVPS while mastering coach Matt Lafleur’s scheme. And during Rodgers’s three seasons under Lafleur, the Packers played seven games without Adams and won them all, averaging 31.6 points. Their system makes it easier to break in new receivers, which they will have to do with Marquez Valdes-scantling also gone (he signed with the Chiefs). The returning pass catchers include receivers Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb and tight end Robert Tonyan (due back from an ACL tear). Still, Green Bay will need its new wideouts, veteran Sammy Watkins and second-round pick Christian Watson of North Dakota State, to get up to speed quickly.
But it helps that Rodgers is now paired with a strong defense. The unit ranked ninth in the NFL despite injuries in the secondary last year, including a shoulder strain that limited star cornerback Jaire Alexander to four games. With the continued emergence of edge rusher Rashan Gary and lateblooming linebacker De’vondre Campbell, the Packers could have the best defense in football this year.
Green Bay also has margin for error in a retooling division. The Lions, despite coming off a three-win season, look relatively solid. Dan Campbell’s rebuilding squad fought hard and played its best football in late 2021. The draft’s No. 2 pick, Aidan Hutchinson out of Michigan, will galvanize the pass rush, and you shouldn’t sleep on the offense. The line is quietly effective, and QB Jared Goff should be more comfortable during his second season in Detroit. Last year rookie receiver Amon-ra St. Brown was a revelation, and the corps
added speedy Jameson Williams, a first-round pick out of Alabama, and 6' 4" veteran D. J. Chark, signed from the Jaguars.
The Vikings will, for the first time since 2013, be coached by someone besides Mike Zimmer. Kevin O’connell, most recently a Rams assistant, will build an attack around wide receiver Justin Jefferson and running back Dalvin Cook. The bigger question is whether new defensive coordinator Ed Donatell can fix a surprisingly leaky pass defense, one that hopes to get a pass-rush boost with the return of end Danielle Hunter from a torn pectoral muscle and the arrival of former Packers linebacker Za’darius Smith.
In Chicago, Matt Eberflus, known for his overachieving defenses in Indianapolis, will try to bring about a Monsters of the Midway revival as the Bears’ new coach. Though he’ll have to do it without Khalil Mack (traded to the Chargers) and with two second-round rookies—cornerback Kyler Gordon and safety Jaquan Brisker— likely to start in the secondary. Meanwhile, second-year quarterback Justin Fields will work with former Packers QBS coach Luke Getsy as his new offensive coordinator. But it won’t help that the O-line is full of question marks and the supporting cast is short on weapons beyond rising star wide receiver Darnell Mooney.