During the month of August, the Last Word On Sports NFL department will be breaking down every division in the league by position. This article contains a position-by-position breakdown of the NFC North offenses. The breakdown will list “the best” at each unit followed by “the rest” in descending order.
NFC North Breakdown by Position: The Offense
2021 NFC North Offense Breakdown by Position
Quarterback
The Best: Green Bay Packers
The Rest: Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions
The Green Bay Packers take the cake for the best quarterback position in the NFC North offense breakdown. But it is all top-heavy and almost wasn’t the case. Aaron Rodgers was in the news all offseason for being staunch in his refusal to play for the Packers this coming season. They reconciled but reportedly only for this season. Should sentiments remain unchained at the end of the year, a breakup is on the table. For now, they look down upon the North.
Kirk Cousins takes a lot of arrows, fair or unfair. But he’s thrown for 4000-plus yards in five of the last six seasons. That is including two of three with the Minnesota Vikings. He’s still the second-best quarterback in the division…for now. Not only could Cousins come under pressure from second-round rookie backup Kellen Mond, but the Chicago Bears traded up to take Justin Fields 11th overall. Both are currently backups though (and Andy Dalton isn’t it) so Cousins is safe for now.
Jared Goff heads to the Detroit Lions after not living up to expectations as a first-overall pick back in 2016. The concern is he’s not only leaving a better roster with a defense led by the most dominant defender in today’s game, but also a far better offensive system. He has a lot to overcome change perceptions.
Running Back
The Best: Vikings
The Rest: Packers, Bears, Lions
Minnesota’s best player is Dalvin Cook. Full stop. He came very close to leading the league in rushing yards last season, finishing second in attempts and yards. Cook has rushed for over 2600 yards over the last two years. Only defending back-to-back Derrick Henry has had more over that time. The one knock on Cook has been his ability to stay on the field. Well, he’s missed two games in each of the last two seasons.
The “other Aaron” in Green Bay, Aaron Jones is not your typical “the rest” candidate. He led the NFL in rushing touchdowns in 2019 with 16 but saw his total fall to “just” nine last season as his quarterback won MVP. It happens. But Jones ran for more yards on fewer carries last season (thanks in part to the aforementioned quarterback opening lanes) and should get even more of the receiving work out of the backfield this season.
If putting Jones among the rest felt like a slight then having Chicago’s David Montgomery right above the bottom feels like outright disrespect. The difference is the track record as Jones’ is just longer. But Montgomery is well on his way to establishing himself as one of the better backs in this league. Coming off of his first career 1000-yard rushing season, the bellcow also set career-highs in rushing touchdowns. He also showed off his receiving chops. He should be even better in his third season with an improved quarterback situation. De’Andre Swift ran for over 500 yards on just over 100 carries as a rookie last season.
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Wide Receiver
The Best: Vikings
The Rest: Packers, Bears, Lions
Adam Thielen had a bounceback season in 2020, catching 74 passes for 925 yards and a whopping 14 touchdowns. And yet, he still was the best receiver on his own team. That was 2020 first-rounder Justin Jefferson who burst onto the scene in place of Stefon Diggs. He led all rookies with 88 grabs for 1400 yards which; good for fourth in the league. His seven receiving touchdowns were second among rookies behind Chase Claypool but he didn’t have a teammate taking scoring opportunities like Thielen.
Davante Adams really is in a class all his own coming off of his first All-Pro selection, his second 100-yard season in three years (he missed by three yards in 2019), and his fourth straight Pro Bowl appearance. He’s also caught at least 10 receiving scores in four of the last five years after leading the league with 18 last year. Whether it’s because of all of the attention he gets pr their own deficiencies, his fellow wideouts in Green Bay have shown potential but not consistency.
The Bears Allen Robinson is probably one of the most underappreciated receivers, if not players, in the entire league. That includes his team. The former second-round pick just put up a second consecutive season with 1100-plus receiving yards and has 13 touchdowns the last two seasons despite playing with the Bears quarterbacks. He and last year’s fifth-round revelation Darnell Mooney should be salivating at what’s coming down the pipeline but the unit needs another to step up. Detroit’s revamped wide receiver corps is fast but Tyrell William isn’t reliable enough to be a top option and Breshad Perriman was cut. Rookie Amon-Ra St. Brown has impressed this summer though.
Tight End
The Best: Lions
The Rest: Packers, Bears, Vikings
Saying T.J. Hockenson might be the Lions best offensive player isn’t a stretch. It might be an understatement as the second-year tight end was second on the team in receiving yards last year. The guy who was in front of him, Marvin Jones, is now in Jacksonville and you’ve already seen how we feel about the rest of his offensive teammates. His 67 catches were fourth among tight ends and he finished third among the position in receiving yards. He also caught six touchdowns. He might be the only player to see an uptick going from the gunslinging Stafford to the most risk-averse Jared Goff. Backup Darren Fells is a big-bodied blocker and occasional target.
Jimmy Graham experienced a bit of a resurgence last season, his first with the Bears. His 50 grabs and 456 yards were his most in two years and his eight touchdowns were his most in three. Behind the 6-foot-7, 6-foot-6 second-year man Cole Kmet has been talked up by the coaching staff. His role is expected to expand this season. Chicago also has 6-foot-7 Jesse James in the fold.
Robert Tonyan is the best Packers tight end since Jermichael Finely last suited up in 2013. The undrafted free agent out of Indiana State has thoroughly outplayed former third-round picks Jace Sternberger and Josiah Deguara. Minnesota is banking on a step up from Irv Smith Jr. and Tyler Conklin. Though they don’t utilize thor tight ends as much as many other teams.
Offensive Line
The Best: Packers
The Rest: Vikings, Lions, Bears
The Packers offensive line isn’t just the best on our NFC North Offense breakdown. It’s also the most versatile with multiple players able to capably fill in as starters at several positions. Anchored by David Bakhtiari — who was placed on the PUP list on Tuesday — on the left side, injuries have led to Billy Turner and Elgton Jenkins being the Packers best lineman with no ill effects suffered by the rest of the unit. It’s a unit that allowed just 21 sacks all of last season, tied for second-fewest in the NFL.
Minnesota’s offense outgained Green Bay by 68 yards and finished fourth overall in total yards last season, trailing the Packers by just 97 yards and outgaining them on the ground by 165 yards. They’re getting what they’ve paid for as they’ve invested heavily in the trenches, spending two of their last three first-round picks on offensive lineman, including this year’s 23rd-overall pick, Christian Darrisaw, though he has been a no show in the preseason after having a second core surgery. They’ve also spent a couple of second-rounder since 2018 that have turned into starters. Their sack numbers are worse than they probably should be because they were blitzed often as teams tried to rattle Kirk Cousins who holds onto the ball.
Taylor Decker is the second-best left tackle in the NFC North and the Lions have some talent around him, spending two more first-rounders on center Frank Ragnow in 2018 and Penei Sewell seventh-overall in this year’s draft. Detroit also got solid play out of 2020 third-rounder Jonah Jackson and signed Halapoulivaati Vaitai in free agency. They need to improve in the ground game to improve their standing and for Jared Goff and the rest of the offense’s sake.
The Bears grade in the NFC North offense breakdown is incomplete, but it’s hard to say they would be over anyone here without seeing it first. Left tackle is manned by 39-year-old Jason Peters. Second-round rookie Teven Jenkins had to undergo back surgery and they have to hope Larry Borom can take Germain Ifedi’s spot. Their interior is solid though, so there’s that.
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