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 defenses. The breakdown will contain “the best” at each unit followed by “the rest” in descending order.
2023 NFC North Defense Breakdown by Position
Defensive Line
The Best: Packers
The Rest: Bears, Vikings, Lions
Green Bay has spent the vast majority of their draft capital on the defensive front the past handful of seasons. As one would expect, there is raw talent abound on the defensive line. Kenny Clark is a bit up and down but still provides a strong inside rush. Second-year end Devonte Wyatt is a candidate to breakout at the other defensive end spot. If there is a weakness to be found on the defensive line, it’s nose tackle T.J. Slaton. The lack of an elite space eater shouldn’t hurt the Packers defense too much given the talent around him.
Through free agency and the draft, the Bears tried to shore up what was a porous run defense in 2022. Andrew Billings, signed from Cincinnati, has been a solid player throughout his career and should help anchor the line. Chicago also added defensive tackles Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens in the draft. Dexter is a high floor prospect who should be a solid starter from day one, but he’s lacking for upside. Pickens profiles more as a rotational piece but could give the unit a semblance of an interior rush at times.
Harrison Phillips’ play is the only thing keeping Minnesota ahead of Detroit in these rankings. Phillips has proven to be above average in all facets of the game and an excellent signing by Minnesota a season ago. Nose Tackle Khyiris Tonga is unproven but has shown flashes of being a rare pass-rushing force from the position. Projected starting end James Lynch’s season-ending injury did this group no favors.
Detroit’s interior defensive line has been problematic for years. It was still too easy to run on the Lions in 2022 and the pocket held up way too often. Alim McNeill has reportedly lost a ton of weight this offseason, so maybe he can make good on some of his promise. Aside from McNeill, there isn’t much hope for an improved interior this coming season. The Lions are likely to again struggle creating any interior pressure on quarterbacks.
Edge Rushers
The Best: Lions
The Rest: Packers, Vikings, Bears
Detroit has gone from perennially never having pressure off the edge, to having the best unit in the NFC North. Drafting Aiden Hutchinson in 2022 appears to have been the home run it was projected to be at the time. Hutchinson instantly became the consistent pressure off the edge that’s been missing in Detroit for over a decade. Couple that with the surprise emergence of James Houston and his eight sacks a year ago, and this has the makings of a potentially exceptional duo in 2023.
Choosing between the Lions and Packers was splitting hairs a bit given the Packers’ superior depth on the edge. On one side, Preston Smith remains one of the most underrated and consistently productive edge rushers in the game. The Packers also have two breakout candidates in Rashan Gary and rookie first-rounder Lukas Van Ness. There aren’t many teams that could draft a polished pass rusher like Van Ness and not need him to start. Look for this unit to top these rankings in a year if Gary or Van Ness takes a leap.
The Vikings are in an interesting spot in these rankings. They have the best edge player in the division in Danielle Hunter but not much else behind him. Marcus Davenport was signed on a one-year prove-it deal, but thus far hasn’t proven anything in the league. Rotational pieces such as Patrick Jones and Luiji Vilain have flashed in spurts but also have yet to provide consistent production. The Vikings would top these rankings had they not traded Za’Darius Smith to Cleveland. Now they’re left with Hunter and a lot of questions.
The biggest issue for Chicago’s defense a year ago was their pass rush, and some of those questions remain. DeMarcus Walker is their top returning pass rusher with 7 sacks, which just wasn’t going to be good enough. In response, the Bears went out and signed Yannick Ngakoue late in the offseason to help provide the missing spark. Ngakoue has proven he can get after the quarterback at each of his numerous stops, however, run defense and consistency tend to always be issues with him. The Bears will have to hope his sack total makes up for the flaws that frustrated his prior teams.
Linebackers
The Best: Bears
The Rest: Packers, Lions, Vikings
Chicago took a very roundabout way to reach the top of the NFC North linebacker rankings. The Bears spent a lot of money in the offseason on linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards. Those guys are both solid starters, but it’s a bit head-scratching why the Bears went that route. They had one of the league’s truly elite linebackers on the roster in Roquan Smith before shipping him to Baltimore last season. Chicago then turned around and paid Edmunds almost just as much in AAV and total guarantees. Regardless of how they arrived there, this unit should be a strength for Chicago in 2023.
The Packers again come in just behind the top spot in a position grouping but have the upside to get to the top in a year. De’Vondre Campbell has been a steady presence for years inside, but it’s Quay Walker that Packers fans are excited about. Walker had some growing pains as a rookie but also displayed the sideline-to-sideline athleticism that made him a first-round pick. Walker should make a substantial leap if he can play with more discipline in year two.
Jack Campbell’s play as a rookie and Malcolm Rodriguez’s potential growth will largely determine Detroit’s strength at linebacker. Rodriguez was a surprise Hard Knocks darling last preseason and played fairly well as a rookie. He should be able to improve in coverage with a better shot caller than Alex Anzalone playing in the middle. Anzalone is a solid tackler but was miscast as a true 4-3 middle linebacker. Anzalone could also see a spike in performance if Campbell proves himself ready to start week 1.
The Vikings bring up the rear at linebacker and it wasn’t particularly close. Lackluster veteran Jordan Hicks is going to take up one of the two starting spots. Hicks is a solid tackler and was partially a victim of Ed Donatell’s scheme last year. However, it’s doubtful that a resurgence is coming in his age-31 season. Brian Asamoah and undrafted rookie Ivan Pace are battling it out for the other spot. Both have some talent and are performing at camp, but they weren’t high draft picks for a reason.
Corners
The Best: Packers
The Rest: Bears, Lions, Vikings
Green Bay’s corner group is anchored by superstar Jaire Alexander, one of the rare players who can shut down elite receivers. Alexander and a bag of peanuts would put the Packers on top of this division’s corner rankings. However, Green Bay also has Rasul Douglas giving the Packers a more than competent duo on the outside. It remains to be seen if former first-rounder Eric Stokes will be healthy enough to contribute early in the season.
Bears second-year corner Kyler Gordon might not grade well on PFF, but a lot of his late-season struggles in 2022 can be attributed to a bad pass rush. He showed plenty of on-ball production as a rookie and should improve in year two. Jaylon Johnson is a rock solid corner and gives the Bears a potentially strong starting unit. Rookie Tyrique Stevenson will also look to earn some snaps as the nickel corner. Stevenson is a bit raw but has the upside to eventually turn into a starting NFL corner.
The Lions avoided disaster early in camp with versatile corner C.J. Gardner-Johnson returning quickly after being carted off the field. Along with the addition of Gardner-Johnson, this secondary is the most revamped in the NFC North with Cameron Sutton coming over from Pittsburgh and Emmanuel Moseley coming from San Francisco. Both are coming off solid seasons, but free agent corners are often very hit or miss on new teams.
A lot has been made of Minnesota’s shaky cornerback room going into camp this year. Byron Murphy Jr. is a versatile corner that was brought in from Arizona in the offseason; he’s going to hold down one of the starting spots. The other spots are very much in question. Rookie Mekhi Blackmon has had a solid camp and preseason but has also been hit with the injury bug. Fellow young corners Andrew Booth and Akayleb Evans have also failed to stay healthy. The Vikings can only hope that this won’t end up being the worst corner group in the NFL.
Safeties
The Best: Bears
The Rest: Vikings, Packers, Lions
Chicago has rebuilt the secondary around veteran stud Eddie Jackson the past few seasons. Jackson might not be the player he was a few years ago, but when healthy he’s still incredibly impactful. Exciting second-year safety Jaquan Brisker stepped in beside Jackson as one of the league’s most productive rookie defenders. He displayed a knack for making big plays in key situations. Look for Jackson and Brisker to form one of the NFL’s top safety combos this coming season.
Minnesota’s Harrison Smith remains the best safety in the division and one of the best in football. He was played out of position last year and still found a way to impact games on a bad defense. Going into his age-34 season, it will be interesting to see if he shows signs of slowing down. At the other safety spot, Camryn Bynum has shown flashes of solid safety play early in his career. The feeling is that he should be able to fend off disappointing first-rounder Lewis Cine in camp.
It came down to Green Bay and Detroit for the final spots. Ultimately, the Packers were the choice given the somewhat recent success of Darnell Savage. Savage is a rebound candidate at safety whose tape wasn’t quite as bad as the PFF grade suggests. At strong safety, the Packers brought in Jonathan Owens who had his most productive season in Houston last year. Green Bay hopes that he can at least play at a league-average level in 2023.
Safety play remains a question mark in Detroit given the uncertain health of Tracy Walker and the inexperience of rookie Brian Branch. Branch should be able to push Walker or Kerby Joseph for a starter spot, but it remains to be seen how quickly he adapts. Health concerns and new faces make this unit tough for Detroit to count on going into the season.
Main Image: Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK
