All-NFC North Offense: Vikings Lead Packers, Lions, Bears With Four Selections
New Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell inherited a substantial amount of offensive talent when he was hired this offseason. Whereas many new coaches come into situations where the roster has a long ways to go and the playoffs are unlikely, O'Connell takes over a strong roster in a relatively weakened division.
This summer, Fan Nation's four NFC North publishers — myself, Packer Central's Bill Huber, All Lions' John Maakaron, and Bear Digest's Gene Chamberlain — are running a 12-part roundtable series breaking down the state of the NFC North heading into the 2022 season. In the final two installments, we're introducing our All-NFC North team. Each of us submitted a ballot with our choices for the best players in the division at every position: 11 offensive players, 11 defensive players, and 2 specialists. Situations where two players each received two votes were left as ties.
First up: the offense. Illustrating my point about the Vikings' offensive talent, they lead the way here with four selections, three of which were unanimous. The Lions also have four players, but one was a tie, so it's more like 3.5. The Packers have three selections, while the Bears barely crashed the party on offense.
Without further ado, here is our All-NFC North offense, with a quarterback, a running back, three receivers, a tight end, five linemen, and a kicker.
All-NFC North Offense
Quarterback: Aaron Rodgers, Packers (unanimous)
Rodgers, who has won back-to-back MVPs and four overall, is No. 1 in NFL history with a 4.83 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes (4.08), Russell Wilson (3.36) and Tom Brady (3.07) are the only quarterbacks at 3.00 or better. How dominant is Rodgers in this category? If he were to start this season with 16 interceptions and zero touchdowns, he’d still be ahead of Mahomes. — Bill Huber, Packer Central
Running back: Dalvin Cook, Vikings (unanimous)
After injuries plagued his first two seasons, Cook has stayed healthy for at least 13 games in each of the last three years and has established himself as one of the NFL’s elite running backs with 4,955 total yards. He shines with a combination of vision, burst, agility, and power. Cook should be in line for another big season in 2022, perhaps with a larger receiving role in Kevin O’Connell’s offense. — Will Ragatz, Inside the Vikings
Wide receiver: Justin Jefferson, Vikings (unanimous)
Mike Zimmer didn’t put Jefferson in the starting lineup until Week 3 of his rookie year in 2020. The then-21-year-old broke out with an incredible 175-yard game that day and hasn’t looked back. He leads all players in receiving yards over the last two seasons and is at or near the top in almost every advanced metric among receivers. Jefferson is a true young superstar who is already the face of the Vikings’ franchise. — Ragatz
Wide receiver: Adam Thielen, Vikings
It’s been a while since Thielen put up back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2017 and 2018. He hasn’t gotten back to the 1K mark since then, as injuries and age have limited his production. Where he has continued to dominate is in the red zone; Thielen is one of four receivers with 30 receiving TDs since 2019. — Ragatz
Also receiving a vote: Allen Lazard, Packers
Wide receiver (slot): Amon-Ra St. Brown, Lions (unanimous)
The second-year wideout really started to shine during the second half of his rookie season. His reception in the end zone against the Vikings gave Dan Campbell his first career head coaching victory, a moment many Lions fans will remember for a long time. He possesses all of the intangibles the team is looking for in the second year of the Campbell era. — John Maakaron, All Lions
Tight end: T.J. Hockenson, Lions
It is time for Hockenson to live up to the billing this season as a former top-ten pick. Quarterback Jared Goff will be relying upon the team's No. 1 tight end to stay healthy and be a go-to option in the passing game. New offensive coordinator Ben Johnson should have ample opportunity to unlock the talented Hockenson's potential, as he previously served as the team's tight ends coach. — Maakaron
Also receiving a vote: Robert Tonyan, Packers
Left tackle: David Bakhtiari, Packers (unanimous)
Bakhtiari, a five-time All-Pro, suffered a torn ACL on New Year’s Eve 2020. Would the Packers have reached the Super Bowl had he been on the field for the NFC title game against Tampa Bay? And would have last season ended differently had Bakhtiari made a successful comeback from the injury? When he last played in 2020, he gave up one sack. — Huber
Guard: Elgton Jenkins, Packers (unanimous)
Jenkins is another member of the Packers’ ACL Club. A Pro Bowl guard in 2020, he slid out to left tackle to replace Bakhtiari last season. In the process, Jenkins solidified his standing as one of the best linemen in the NFL. However, he suffered a torn ACL at Minnesota in November. When he’s healthy, he could return to guard or play right tackle. — Huber
Center: Frank Ragnow, Lions (unanimous)
The Lions' offensive line unit has received plenty of praise this offseason. It is expected that Ragnow and company will gel quickly in order to protect Jared Goff and open massive holes for the speedy D'Andre Swift. Ragnow is a top player at his position, so his presence was missed during the 13 games he missed after foot surgery last year. A healthy Ragnow will be key for the offensive line to reach its potential. — Maakaron
Guard: Cody Whitehair, Bears; Jonah Jackson, Lions (tie)
Whitehair is the only Bears lineman who has been in the Pro Bowl, although it was at center in 2018 and not left guard where he is now. He allows an average of less than three sacks a year and Pro Football Focus has graded him as high as an 87.5 but no lower than a 64.9 as a blocker throughout his career. — Gene Chamberlain, Bear Digest
I was surprised the other insiders placed votes for Jackson. He made strides in Year 2, but still allowed 35 pressures. With that said, the young offensive lineman only allowed two sacks and improved his overall technique as a pass protector. His skills should greatly benefit the run game, which Dan Campbell wants to keep improving. If Jackson is able to continue his development as a pass protector, he could earn another Pro Bowl nod in 2022. — Maakaron
Right tackle: Brian O’Neill, Vikings (unanimous)
The Vikings haven’t had a homegrown offensive lineman like O’Neill in quite some time. He’s the definition of a steady and reliable at right tackle. Last season, he allowed one sack and constantly using his athleticism and technique to create holes in the running game. O’Neill made the Pro Bowl last year, making him the first Vikings OL to receive that honor in nearly a decade. — Ragatz
Kicker: Cairo Santos, Bears
Santos set the Bears record for field goal accuracy in 2020 at 93.8% (30 of 32) and in his Bears career is at 89.1%, (57 of 64). He made a run at the NFL record for consecutive field goals of 44 held by Adam Vinatieri, hitting 40 straight before a 2021 miss. He's doing this outdoors, at one of the leagues' worst facilities for kickers. — Chamberlain
Also receiving a vote: Greg Joseph, Vikings
Previous NFC North roundtables:
- Part 1: Offensive and defensive MVPs for each team
- Part 2: Each team's biggest offseason addition and loss
- Part 3: The most overrated player on each team
- Part 4: The must underrated player on each team
- Part 5: The best-case scenario for each team in 2022
- Part 6: The worst-case scenario for each team in 2022
- Part 7: One player from each team who will surprise this season
- Part 8: One player from each team who will disappoint
- Part 9: The biggest remaining question for each team
- Part 10: The most important rookies on each team
Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis all offseason long. Also, follow me on Twitter and feel free to ask me any questions on there.
