Ranking 2024 NFC North Quarterbacks

Ranking the NFC North's quarterbacks headed into the 2024 season.

Jared Goff / Kelley L Cox, USA TODAY Sports

With rookie minicamp set to kick off and OTAs and training camp on the horizon, NFL teams are close to finalizing their initial 90-man rosters. 

With that said, the time has come to rank the NFC North's position groups. We'll start with the quarterbacks today, taking a look at how the Lions measure up at the position with their divisional foes. 

While the Vikings and the Bears will enter the 2024 campaign with new starters under center, the Packers and the Lions will both have familiar faces. 

Without further ado, here is All Lions’ ranking of the NFC North's projected starting quarterbacks. 

4.) Sam Darnold and J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota 

To me, the Vikings will enter the 2024 NFL season with the least enviable situation at quarterback in the NFC North.  

Minnesota is set to begin a season without Kirk Cousins under center for the first time since 2017. In his place, the organization will be relying on the tandem of former Jets first-round pick Sam Darnold and rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

I'm not too high on either passer going into the ‘24 campaign. 

Darnold has started a total of only seven games the past two seasons, and has gone just 21-35 in 56 career NFL starts. He's been far from a reliable signal-caller, and truly isn't anything more than a backup QB at this juncture in his career.

Meanwhile, McCarthy, the No. 10 overall pick in this past April's draft, will likely earn the starting job at some point this upcoming season. Yet, I don't believe he’s quite ready for “primetime,” after playing in Michigan's run-heavy offense the past three seasons.

I don't believe either quarterback will be ultra productive for the Vikes in 2024. 

3.) Caleb Williams, Chicago 

Goodbye, Justin Fields, and hello to No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams. 

Williams, the former Oklahoma and USC passer, might not take the league by storm as a rookie in 2024. However, I still expect him to showcase plenty of flashes of being a franchise-level quarterback during his debut NFL season. 

He has all the makings of being an impactful No. 1 signal-caller, and the city of Chicago is banking on him to return its franchise to relevance. I believe he definitely has the potential to do just that down the line. However, headed into ‘24, I don't believe he'll be quite as productive as either the Packers’ Jordan Love or the Lions’ Jared Goff.

2.) Jordan Love, Green Bay 

You can definitely make the argument for Love being the No. 1 quarterback in the NFC North after his ultra productive first year as a starter. 

He threw for 32 touchdowns and 4,159 yards, and led the Packers to a 9-8 record and a spot in the NFC playoffs, including a wild-card round victory over the Cowboys. He also recorded the ninth-best QBR in the league (62.1). 

He's quickly becoming one of the best signal-callers in the NFL, and one day – perhaps sooner than later – will sit atop these NFC North QB rankings. However, at the present moment, I think that Goff deserves top-dog status.

1.) Jared Goff, Detroit

Based on his overall track record, including his recent body of work, Goff deserves the status of the NFC North's top passer. 

Admittedly for me, it's by the narrowest of margins over Green Bay's up-and-coming passer. However, you can't deny the overall impact that Goff has had on resurrecting the Lions and turning them into a playoff team (and even a playoff-winning team). 

Nobody would have thought that Goff would've had the ability to help return Detroit to relevance when he joined the franchise as a throw-in in the Matthew Stafford trade. However, he's done just that in his short time in the Motor City, while putting up solid numbers (78 touchdowns and 12,258 yards through the air). 

He's been the very definition of a franchise passer for the Lions, and deserves to sit atop these NFC North QB rankings.