Top NFL Scout Reveals Which NFC North Team Has Best Talent
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Which team has the best personnel in the NFC North? We took that question to a high-ranking scout whose focus is NFL rosters and not college prospects.
The scout ranked each team’s position groups in a nine-part series. (Click on the position for a deeper look.) We took his rankings to put together a larger, division-wide ranking. For instance, at quarterback, Green Bay got one point for having the best quarterbacks, Detroit got two points for having the second-best quarterbacks, and so on. It’s a bit unscientific but it neatly lays out which teams look like contenders and which look like pretenders.
Quarterbacks: While the shine might have dimmed on Aaron Rodgers’ star, he’s still the best quarterback in the NFC North. He is coming off the second season in NFL history of 4,000-plus passing yards, 25-plus touchdowns and five-or-fewer interceptions. The only other season? Rodgers in 2018.
Running backs: With Dalvin Cook and Aaron Jones, Minnesota and Green Bay have by far the best backfields in the division. The Vikings ranked sixth in rushing last season. The Packers figure to lean heavily in that direction, too, with Jones, Jamaal Williams and rookie AJ Dillon.
Tight ends: Green Bay’s tight end group is shrouded in mystery. Is Jace Sternberger a legit starter? Can Marcedes Lewis continue to defy Father Time? Can Robert Tonyan turn potential into production? Can rookie Josiah Deguara become a do-it-all factor after losing the entire offseason program? The team with the best tight end in the division finished atop the scout’s rankings.
Receivers: The scout called this group “pretty close from top to bottom.” Not surprisingly, though, the Packers are at the bottom of the heap. Their lone “big” addition was Devin Funchess, who opted out.
“They’re back to square one,” a longtime scout for an NFC team told ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky. “Same guys [as last season]. If I was them, I’d go sign Antonio Brown. You just use him for one year. Let’s say Aaron Rodgers has got two great years left? I’ve got to go for it. If I was [general manager Brian Gutekunst], I would’ve signed Robby Anderson, and I might have made a trade for another linebacker.”
Offensive line: With left tackle David Bakhtiari, left guard Elgton Jenkins and center Corey Linsley, Green Bay has a trio that’s as good as any in the league. Green Bay isn’t nearly as strong on the right side. Still, this group is the best in the division and one of the better ones in the league.
Defensive line: For more an apples-to-apples comparison, the scout considered the 4-3 defensive ends and 3-4 outside linebackers as edge rushers and lumped them in with the defensive tackles. Thus, Green Bay’s Smith Bros. and Chicago’s Khalil Mack are considered defensive linemen. The Bears and Packers lead the way up front. Great players win games, and Green Bay’s trio of defensive tackle Kenny Clark and outside linebackers Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith can change games. (Note, the scout submitted his rankings before Chicago’s Eddie Goldman and Minnesota’s Michael Pierce opted out.)
Linebackers: As is the case at tight end, Green Bay’s linebacker group is filled with questions. Can Christian Kirksey stay healthy and return to his 2016 and 2017 form? Can Oren Burks stay healthy and fulfill his third-round promise? Can Ty Summers, Kamal Martin or Curtis Bolton mount a challenge? Led by Eric Kendricks, the Vikings are clearly No. 1.
Cornerbacks: Jaire Alexander and Kevin King give the Packers a potentially dominant duo. However, can King stay at least relatively healthy again? And who will man the slot with Tramon Williams un-signed? For those reasons, the Packers were not No. 1 on the scout’s list.
Safeties: Minnesota was the clear winner here with the elite tandem of Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris. They combined for nine interceptions, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and 22 passes defensed last season. That’s more interceptions than three teams. Green Bay’s quality tandem of Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage combined for four interceptions, two forced fumbles, no fumble recoveries and 13 passes defensed.
The winner: With 16 points, Minnesota was the runaway winner in the scout’s positional rankings. In fact, broken down further, the scout said the Vikings have the best group at three of five positions on offense and three of four positions on defense. Moreover, the Vikings have the worst group at just one position.
Green Bay and Chicago tied for second with 22 points. If there’s a tiebreaker, it would be quarterback, with the Packers having a big edge with Rodgers over Nick Foles/Mitch Trubisky. Detroit, which is a chic pick among the pundits with Matthew Stafford’s return from injury, finished well back in fourth place with 30 points. Of the nine position groups, the scout deemed the Lions at the bottom in four.
