Last season saw the Lions, Vikings and Packers combine for 40 wins during the regular season (even if they combined for zero wins in the playoffs). In the wake of that, the Lions lost two coordinators, the Vikings are changing quarterbacks for a second straight season, and the Packers are hoping to coax an MVP-caliber season out of theirs.
Our other division previews: AFC East | AFC North (coming Friday) | AFC South | AFC West | NFC East | NFC South | NFC West (coming Friday)
Based on the average of predicted win totals submitted by each of The Athletic’s beat writers for every team in the division, here’s how the NFC North stacks up for 2025…
1. Detroit Lions
Projected record: 12-5
Who’s new: OC John Morton, DC Kelvin Sheppard, CB D.J. Reed, DT Tyleik Williams, G Tate Ratledge, WR Isaac TeSlaa, DB Rock Ya-Sin, DB Avonte Maddox, DT Roy Lopez, LB Zach Cunningham, LB Grant Stuard
Who’s gone: OC Ben Johnson, DC Aaron Glenn, C Frank Ragnow, CB Carlton Davis III, G Kevin Zeitler, edge Za’Darius Smith, WR Tim Patrick
Season preview
The Lions are reloading, not retooling. Gone are coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn — now running the show with the Bears and Jets, respectively. All-Pro center Frank Ragnow retired due to lingering health issues. It’s a bit more turnover for a team that has boasted continuity in recent years.
That said, franchise pillars Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell are still here; Holmes’ eye for talent and Campbell’s leadership will be relied upon to keep things afloat amid this transition. New coordinators Kelvin Sheppard and John Morton are Campbell guys through and through.
Sheppard has been on staff since Campbell arrived in 2021, working his way up from linebackers coach to DC. Morton and Campbell go back to their days in New Orleans with Sean Payton, and he was Campbell’s senior offensive assistant in 2022, helping Johnson install Detroit’s offense that year.
The Lions also return one of the league’s most talented rosters, and will get key players like Aidan Hutchinson, Alim McNeill, Marcus Davenport, Derrick Barnes and others back from injury. A 15-2 season might prove difficult to replicate, but there’s plenty to like about this team again in 2025. It is a Super Bowl contender if health permits. — Colton Pouncy
From “The Athletic Football Show” podcast: What are the swing points for Detroit?
I think the main thing is, how good exactly does Aidan Hutchinson look? I guess I always just want to see it when a guy is coming off of injury. I mean, if anybody needs a refresher, he was going to win Defensive Player of the Year last year. I don’t have a problem saying that. He had eight sacks and 45 pressures. He got hurt right around halftime of Game 5 — he didn’t even make it five full games. There’s no doubt in my mind he wins Defensive Player of the Year if he has a healthy season.
An unscientific list of guys I came up with who, last year, finished with as many or fewer sacks than Aidan Hutchinson did in 4 1/2 games: George Karlaftis, Josh Sweat, Rashan Gary, Maxx Crosby, Chop Robinson, Nolan Smith, Khalil Mack, Jared Verse, Montez Sweat. Hutchinson was incredible. He’s an incredible player. I think he’ll be fine, and if he is, this could be one of the best defenses in the NFL. — Dave Helman, “The Athletic Football Show”
You can listen to full episodes of “The Athletic Football Show” for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch on YouTube.
2. Green Bay Packers
Projected record: 10-7
Who’s new: LG Aaron Banks, WR Matthew Golden, CB Nate Hobbs, OT Anthony Belton, WR Savion Williams
Who’s gone: CB Jaire Alexander, C Josh Myers, DT T.J. Slaton, CB Eric Stokes
Season preview
With Ed Policy taking over as team president this summer, there might be added pressure for general manager Brian Gutekunst (entering his eighth season) and head coach Matt LaFleur (seventh) to finally get over the hump and at least reach a Super Bowl. Both have only two years remaining on their contracts, and Policy doesn’t want them in a contract year in 2026.
With a team that’s largely similar to the one that went 11-6 last season but lost all six games it played against the three superior teams in the NFC (Eagles, Lions and Vikings), the Packers must prove they’ve closed the gap between themselves and the conference’s elite. To accomplish that, they must first keep franchise quarterback Jordan Love healthy.
They’ll also rely heavily on the likes of 2024 Pro Bowlers safety Xavier McKinney, running back Josh Jacobs and defensive end Rashan Gary, along with a reconfigured offensive line and secondary featuring newcomers left guard Aaron Banks and cornerback Nate Hobbs.
Green Bay’s schedule is challenging, particularly its home slate, with the Lions, Vikings, Eagles, Bengals and Ravens visiting Lambeau Field. Can Love ascend into the upper echelon of quarterbacks? Can defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley follow up his impressive debut season? And can LaFleur and Gutekunst confirm they’re the right tandem to lead the Packers into a new era? It’s time to find out. — Matt Schneidman
From “The Athletic Football Show” podcast: What are you excited about with the Packers?
What I am not excited to watch is a much shorter list. They’re a top-five offense and they’re going to be again. Why wouldn’t they be? Their quarterback is awesome. They have one of the best play callers in the league. We’ll talk about the offensive line later, but I still think they’ll be fine.
And then all they’ve done is add to their skill player group. And again, we can talk about the questions of what the ceiling is for that. But if we take a skill group that last year was able to produce a top-five offense and we add a first-round receiver — I don’t know, man. I’m just incredibly excited about where this thing’s going to go. And hopefully, we get Jordan Love fully healthy for 17 games in a way that we did not get last year. — Derrik Klassen, “The Athletic Football Show”
You can listen to full episodes of “The Athletic Football Show” for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch on YouTube.
3. Minnesota Vikings
Projected record: 10-7
Who’s new: WR Adam Thielen, RB Jordan Mason, C Ryan Kelly, G Will Fries, G Donovan Jackson, DT Javon Hargrave, DT Jonathan Allen, CB Isaiah Rodgers, CB Jeff Okudah, QB Sam Howell, WR Tai Felton
Who’s gone: QB Sam Darnold, LT Cam Robinson, C Garrett Bradbury, RG Dalton Risner, DL Harrison Phillips, CB Stephon Gilmore, CB Shaquill Griffin, S Cam Bynum, DL Jerry Tillery, G Ed Ingram, TE Johnny Mundt, CB Mekhi Blackmon
Season preview
Three factors will play major roles in the Vikings’ success this season: J.J. McCarthy’s play, the durability of the roster and the difficulty of the schedule. If those three go in the Vikings’ favor, this team has the talent and capability to push deep into the winter. If they go the opposite way, it could be a long year.
McCarthy is the ultimate mystery box. He operated a run-first offense at Michigan. He tore his meniscus last fall. He has had an up-and-down training camp with some inaccuracy. But he has a few things working for him.
First and foremost, his play caller is head coach Kevin O’Connell, who has overseen three 4,000-yard passing seasons in his three years with the Vikings. McCarthy will be throwing to superstar receiver Justin Jefferson and third-year pro Jordan Addison, who may have been the most impressive offensive player throughout camp (though Addison will serve a three-game suspension in connection to a DUI arrest in July 2024). Minnesota also revamped the interior of its offensive line. Ryan Kelly is a veteran center. Will Fries has produced solid seasons at guard. Donovan Jackson was a first-round pick, but even as a rookie, he should hold his own at left guard.
The durability question matters for all NFL teams, but the Vikings are banking on it even more than others. Kelly and Fries missed games due to injury last year. So did starting interior defenders Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. Add in a midseason stretch featuring games against the Eagles, Chargers, Lions and Ravens, and the importance of a fast start can’t be overstated. It helps to have continuity with defensive coordinator Brian Flores. His coaching, combined with O’Connell’s team-building, makes this one of the more fascinating teams in the NFC. — Alec Lewis
From “The Athletic Football Show” podcast: What’s keeping you up at night?
It’s J.J. McCarthy. This is the place where we have to start this conversation. I think you could make a solid argument that collectively, this is a top-five team when it comes to play calling and infrastructure on both sides of the ball, independent of the players that we’re talking about.
What’s going to happen with J.J. McCarthy is going to be a constant conversation over the course of the entire season. I was in Minnesota, it was the last training-camp stop that I made, and when you just think about the way that they’ve approached this and how intentional they’ve been about making sure they’re putting everything they can in place to guarantee that the only way this guy fails is if he’s just not good enough. That is the only thing we are leaving up to chance.
And that extends to how J.J. McCarthy is wired, by the way. They left in the spring after OTAs, and he came back and just had a much better handle on a lot of the mental parts of the offense. They were like, “He just spent the entire break studying details about the offense.” And so his quality as a quarterback, him as a player, is what is going to hold this back and nothing else. — Robert Mays, “The Athletic Football Show”
You can listen to full episodes of “The Athletic Football Show” for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch on YouTube.
4. Chicago Bears
Projected record: 8-9
Who’s new: HC Ben Johnson, DC Dennis Allen, OC Declan Doyle, LG Joe Thuney, DT Grady Jarrett, TE Colston Loveland, C Drew Dalman, RG Jonah Jackson, DE Dayo Odeyingbo, WR Luther Burden III, WR Olamide Zaccheaus, DT Shemar Turner, OT Ozzy Trapilo, CB Nahshon Wright, RB Kyle Monangai, QB Case Keenum
Who’s gone: HC Matt Eberflus, OC Shane Waldron, DC Eric Washington, interim HC and OC Thomas Brown, G Teven Jenkins, WR Keenan Allen, C Coleman Shelton, DE DeMarcus Walker, G Matt Pryor, LB Jack Sanborn, DE Darrell Taylor
Season preview
For the third time in seven years, the Bears enter a season with a first-time head coach and a first-round quarterback entering his second season. They hope they got it right this time with head coach Ben Johnson, the highly coveted architect of the Lions’ offense, and Caleb Williams, the No. 1 pick of the 2024 draft. Everything hinges on that relationship, and whether Johnson can get Williams to be the franchise quarterback that has eluded the Bears for, oh, 80 years.
Johnson has been a no-nonsense, detail-obsessed coach. He’s tasked with getting the most out of Williams, who has an improved offensive line in front of him (the Bears traded for All-Pro guard Joe Thuney) and three early draft picks in his pass-catching corps (wide receivers Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III, plus tight end Colston Loveland) to go along with DJ Moore, the highest-paid player on offense.
Former Saints coach Dennis Allen takes over a veteran defense that includes three Pro Bowlers and could help this team reach its ceiling, which would be to match 2018, when first-year head coach Matt Nagy and second-year quarterback Mitch Trubisky won the division. — Kevin Fishbain
NFC North fantasy breakout player: Rome Odunze
Odunze was widely seen as a top-3 receiving talent in last year’s draft thanks to his high-level skills in numerous areas: separation, hands, release, speed, etc. I compared him to a bigger Garrett Wilson. If Ben Johnson is igniting the offense and turning Caleb Williams into the star we hoped to see last year, the entire receiving corps will benefit, especially a talent like Odunze. He led the Bears in air yards per game despite being third in routes and target share, plus he was behind Keenan Allen, who is now back with the Chargers. — Jake Ciely
From “The Athletic Football Show” podcast: What would be a successful season for the Bears?
It’s very simple: Finish as a top-half-of-the-league offense, and by the end of the year, you feel very good about your play caller and quarterback pairing for the first time this century. If that’s 8-9, fine. If that’s 11-6, fine. That stuff is less important to me. I think those are the benchmarks for me in terms of what the success would mean for the Bears this year. — Robert Mays, “The Athletic Football Show”
You can listen to full episodes of “The Athletic Football Show” for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch on YouTube.
Editor’s note: Projected records are based on individual predictions of the four beat writers in each division, independent of the projected records in the other seven division previews. Therefore, totaling the projected records found in all eight division previews will not necessarily balance out evenly.
(Top photo: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)