This NFL season is going to be packed full of action, excitement, and intensity. In the NFC North, the loss of Davante Adams has given way for new blood in Green Bay, while Minnesota added a talented edge player … named Za’Darius Smith … from the Packers, which makes them stronger than last year on D and adds a couple of dashes of drama to the division. 

Meanwhile, on the other side of Lake Michigan, there’s another battle taking place between Chicago and well … Chicago—who are looking like serious long-term rebuild contenders after acquiring GM Ryan Poles— for the worst team in the division.

The Packers are at +475 to win the NFC and the heavy favorite at -180 to win the NFC North. And I can almost guarantee that with all the madness we’ve already seen this offseason, more surprises will come. So, keep your eyes peeled because this ride isn’t over!

Ranking (Early) the NFC North in 2022

Da’ Bears

The Chicago Bears look like they will have another tough year. Yes, they have a ton of talent packed into one Justin Fields, but they lost Kahlil Mack and Allen Robinson, their two best players on each side of the ball. On top of this, they have a brand new head coach and a shiny, new rookie General Manager.

It must be hard being a Bears fan. So far, they blew it in the draft, and their trades haven’t been better. Chicago is the new Cleveland, where talented young QBs go to die.

I doubt the Chicago Bears will win more than three games this season. Their odds at BetOnline.ag Sportsbook to win the Division are a whopping +1100. To put that into perspective, that’s really close to where the Packers’ odds currently sit to win the Super Bowl.

Silver Crush


I do have to give the Lions credit where credit is due. They killed it in the NFL Draft this year. That said, they don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning the NFC North yet.

However, they may give the Vikings a run for their money. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Motor City Lions win 8 or 9 games this year and then build on that momentum over the next couple of seasons. They snagged Aiden Hutchinson, and they finagled their way up to twenty spots in the draft to snatch up Jameson Williams from Alabama, who had an overall draft rating of 91.0 and a draft grade of 1st.

On top of this, the Lions did well outside of the draft, snatching up Garret Griffin for the Saints and DeShon Elliott to plug some holes in the secondary. But despite all of this, they are still a long shot at +1100 to win the NFC North. That said, I love where this team is heading. The culture shift with Dan Cambell should make this a winning team that breathes more excitement into the division.

Purple People Eaters

I’m not sure if the Minnesota Vikings nickname of old is very fitting at the moment. That said, they are still a tough team with odds of +240 at BetOnline to win the NFC North.

Za’Darius Smith has jumped ship but remained in the division. He’ll definitely shore up the Vike’s EDGE rushing game. That said, their defense overall is still pretty bruised and battered. I think we’ll see another season that’s a revolving door of injuries on the defensive side of the ball.

On the bright side, the Minnesota Vikings do have a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball, and if Captain Kirk doesn’t make something big happen this year, he’ll be in the hottest of hot seats—tons of talent and targets, you better perform!

Honestly, I think the +240 odds are too short. In my very humble opinion, I would put the Lions somewhere around +900, the Vikings around +500, and the Bears buried in the putrid dregs of a stale barrel much longer than the +1100 they currently sit at.

Cheeseheads


Aaron Rodgers lost his buddy and the surest hands on the field when Devonte Adams left for the Las Vegas Raiders. However, they did pick up Christian Watson, who has a bright future but has yet to prove himself at this level. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Packers go undefeated in the NFC North in 2022. Part of this is because they still have a bad-ass RB corps and Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon’s one-two punch to soften opposing defenses.

The bottom line is the Packers are worth the chalk at -180 to win the NFC North. Look for them to sweep the division and hoist the division championship trophy for the fourth consecutive year.