Post-Draft NFC North Power Rankings: First-Round Steal Keeps Bears in Control of Division

With the 2026 NFL draft concluded, every NFL roster is just about set. There'll be some minor changes over the summer, additions and subtractions made at the fringes of the depth chart, but I think now we have a pretty good idea of what each team is going to look like in September.

That makes this the perfect time for a way-too-early stab at some NFC North power rankings. In my final 2025 NFL power rankings, I had the Chicago Bears at No. 8, the highest-ranked team in the NFC North and the division champs. But as head coach Ben Johnson said, the 2025 season is over, and 2026 will be a whole new year. The Bears had themselves a pretty good draft class, and I expect at least three rookies will make an impact in 2026, but will it be enough to retain the NFC North crown? Let's take a look, starting with the team that's still in the basement.

4. Detroit Lions

The Lions made seven selections in the 2026 NFL draft, and I thought their first two picks were excellent value. Blake Miller should be a plug-and-play left tackle who can shore up that side of the line after they released Taylor Decker. Likewise, defensive end Derrick Moore should see the field early and often alongside Aiden Hutchinson. Selecting cornerback Keith Abney II in Round 5 was also a good pick, and he may help Detroit's secondary in the long run, but I'm not sure he'll make much of an impact in 2026.

That said, it's getting harder and harder to trust head coach Dan Campbell to be able to right the ship. Yes, he has two division titles under his belt, but his team went from an NFC championship appearance to a one-and-done in the playoffs to missing the playoffs entirely. His record without Ben Johnson as offensive coordinator is abysmal, and that's unlikely to improve in 2026.

3. Green Bay Packers

Dani Dennis-Sutto — Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Without a first-round pick, it's hard to feel good about Green Bay's draft class. They addressed the biggest need on their roster with their first pick, selecting cornerback Brandon Cisse in Round 2, but I'm not sure he's ready to see the field much in 2026. Green Bay's secondary remains a concern. My favorite pick for the Packers was Penn State's Dani Dennis-Sutton in Round 4. That is unbelievable value, and I think he's going to be a really good defensive end for them.

The rest of the Packers' draft class, however, fails to excite me. Center Jager Burton was a major reach in Round 5, and spending a pick on a kicker feels like a bad process. They could have waited for the 2026 UFL season to wrap up and signed someone like Tanner Brown of the Louisville Kings. He's connected on 14 of 15 field goal attempts, including a 59-yard attempt in an outdoor stadium.

2. Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings took a risky swing on defensive tackle Caleb Banks with their first-round pick, and it makes an already murky projection for them even more unclear. If he can stay healthy, Banks should be a major problem for NFC North offensive lines in 2026. The problem is that Banks has suffered not one, not two, but three major foot injuries over the last year and a half, including right before the NFL Combine. That kind of injury history could make their Round 1 selection look brutal a year from now, especially since the player they had been most commonly projected to draft fell into the lap of a division rival (more on that in a moment).

That said, I loved the rest of their draft class. Linebacker Jake Golday and defensive tackle Domonique Orange are two players I had frequently mocked to the Bears over the last couple of months, and they should both be impact players in 2026. Offensive tackle Caleb Tiernan is great O-line depth, and cornerback Charles Demmings is a low-risk, high-reward attempt at finally fixing their secondary.

The Vikings need a lot of projections to go their way in 2026, and the floor is frighteningly low, but I could see the Vikings being a dark horse contender for not just the NFC North crown, but the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

1. Chicago Bears

The Bears kicked off their draft by pulling off the biggest Round 1 heist with their selection of safety Dillon Thieneman. That's a huge win for Chicago, but the rest of their draft was a bit controversial, most notably because the biggest need on the roster (defensive line) was not addressed until Round 6. To be fair, I thought picking defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg earned an 'A' grade, but he's not likely to make an impact in 2026. The Bears are betting on their 2025 class of rookies and free agents along the defensive line to take a step forward, but that's a risky bet, and I don't know how that will play out for them.

However, the Bears found some really good value in Days 2 and 3 of the draft, even if they didn't address the defensive line. Landing linebacker Keyshaun Elliott at No. 166 was a steal, as was the selection of cornerback Malik Muhammad at No. 124. Both defenders should be impact players in 2026, as will center Logan Jones, whom I projected to be the starting center by mid-August in my four bold predictions for the Bears' rookies.

Even if they didn't hammer the defensive line with picks, I still like what the Bears did, and I think they've positioned themselves well in the coming fight for the NFC North crown. Besides, their fate rests entirely on the shoulders of Caleb Williams, anyway. If he takes that next step in his development, the Bears will be unstoppable in 2026. If he doesn't, no amount of defensive line help will save them in the elite NFC North division.

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