Fantasy Sports

NFC North Fantasy Power Rankings—Justin Jefferson, Amon-Ra St. Brown Make This Division a WR Goldmine

Alan Goldsher|
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson headlines the NFC North's batch of elite wide receivers.
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson headlines the NFC North's batch of elite wide receivers. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Chicago BearsGreen Bay PackersMinnesota VikingsDetroit Lions

Listen, I can sit here and say, “In 2024, Jordan Love averaged 295.4 passing yards per game when the wind was blowing from the southwest between six and 12 MPH and he was playing against teams whose name started with B, F, or T.”

But what fun is that? I mean, anybody can research the weather and the alphabet. But not everybody is brave enough to drop NFL rankings using just their eyes and guts.

Except for This Guy.

Which is why, over the next week or so, I’m going to break down each and every NFL division in terms of their fantasy potential utilizing a simple, stat-free formula: Rank each squad's top position groups—best gets four points, worst gets one—then add up the numbers.

Simple. Elegant. Semi-informative.

And we begin with the most important position in sports.

Quarterback

  • 4) Caleb Williams: Chicago Bears
  • 3) Jared Goff: Detroit Lions
  • 2) Jordan Love: Green Bay Packers
  • 1) J.J. McCarthy: Minnesota Vikings

Before you throw things at me while yelling, “Goff is better than Williams, you dumb jackwagon,” remember this is about fantasy, not reality.

Of course 2025 Goff will be a better quarterback than 2025 Williams…but Goff’s wheels are all but nonexistent, and in fantasy-land—where, in today’s landscape, you practically can’t win a league without a running QB—that just won’t do.

We know that Goff will rack up 4,000-plus receiving yards, but that won’t make up for Williams’ 600-plus rushing yards and five (give or take) rushing tuddies.

As for Love, the Packers’ wide receivers room isn’t quite as sexy as Chicago’s, so while their fantasy digits will be close, Caleb gets the slight edge over Jordan.

Re: the Vikings, second year QB who didn’t have a first-year, McCarthy is a big ol’ question mark. Sure, he’ll be throwing to Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, so he’ll put up some numbers, but we won’t know for about a month into the season whether he’ll be a legit thing.

Running Back

  • 4) Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery: Detroit Lions
  • 3) Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers
  • 2) Aaron Jones Sr., Jordan Mason: Minnesota Vikings
  • 1) D’Andre Swift, Roschon Johnson: Chicago Bears

The Lions’ backfield duo rules the division, and it’s not even close; after all, Gibbs is round-one pick, and a case could be made to snatch up Montgomery no later than round three. No other team in the league can boast two rushers who can both be selected in the top-third of a fantasy draft.

Being that he’s the division’s lone bell-cow, Jacobs will be—and should be—a second-round wonder, while Jones and Mason constitute one of the top starter/handcuff groups in the NFC.

Avoid both Chicago backs until the 83th round. Or maybe even later.

Wide Receivers

  • 4) Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Jalen Nailor: Minnesota Vikings
  • 3) Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Tim Patrick: Detroit Lions
  • 2) D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III: Chicago Bears
  • 1) Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Matthew Golden: Green Bay Packers

The divide between the Vikes and the Lions is teeny-tiny, but I’m giving Minnesota the slight edge because Detroit will be running a new scheme, as their former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is now calling plays in Chicago. That said, if McCarthy is a stiff, boy, did I mess this one up.

In most divisions, the Bears’ threesome would fall into at least the number two slot, but when you have Jefferson and St. Brown in the house, you’re hosed.

The Packers’ pass-catching situation is so wobbly that nobody will be surprised if by December, rookie Matthew Golden is their WR1.

Tight End

  • 4) T.J. Hockenson: Minnesota Vikings
  • 3) Sam LaPorta: Detroit Lions
  • 2) Colston Loveland: Chicago Bears
  • 1) Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers

Here’s another position where a rookie can screw up my rankings.

Loveland was one of the 2025 NFL Draft’s biggest risers, and the expectations for Chicago’s first-round pick are off the charts. If he’s this season’s Brock Bowers—which isn’t out of the realm of possibility—he could be one of your fantasy draft’s biggest steals.

Hockenson and LaPorta are both top-shelf TEs, but Hockenson earns the nod here because LaPorta’s backup, Brock Wright, is a productive option who could steal both receptions and touchdowns. Hockenson’s backup is…some dude.

Kraft isn’t a bad player, but, at best, he’s a late-round pick in 12-man leagues. In ten-manners, he’s a waiver wire casualty.

Defense/Special Teams

  • 4) Minnesota Vikings
  • 3) Green Bay Packers
  • 2) Detroit Lions
  • 1) Chicago Bears

Much to Minnesota’s pleasure and relief, defensive coordinator Brian Flores didn’t land a head coaching gig this past offseason, so the Vikes’ defense should be as ferocious as it was in 2024.

Regardless of personnel, the Packers’ D is almost always solid, and is worth rostering. For their part, the Lions—who head into camp with their star Aiden Hutchinson coming off of major surgery—are a question mark, but they should be drafted in case sack machine Hutchinson is 100%.

The Bears made some cool little personnel tweaks—Grady Jarrett being the most notable—but not enough to keep them on your fantasy radar.

Kicker

  • 4) Cairo Santos, Chicago Bears
  • 3) Jake Bates, Detroit Lions
  • 2) Brandon McManus, Green Bay Packers
  • 1) Will Reichard, Minnesota Vikings

Bates is money from distance, but the eye test tells me that Santos doesn’t freakin’ miss. And it’s likely that the Lions will find the end zone a whole lot more than the Bears, thus Santos should have a handful more field goal attempts than Bates—and that handful could make or break your fantasy playoff chances.

After a brilliant start to his career, McManus has fallen off and isn’t super-reliable, while Reichard is a sophomore who needs to prove he’s worthy of a draft spot.

And the Winner Is…

  • Detroit Lions: 18
  • Minnesota Vikings: 16
  • Chicago Bears: 14
  • Green Bay Packers: 12

It’s no surprise that the two teams who boast elite WR/TE combo platters should end up as the division’s best repository for your fantasy squad. Nor is it a surprise that the NFC North's top reality team is the division’s top fantasy team.

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Alan Goldsher
ALAN GOLDSHER

Alan Goldsher has written about sports for Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Apple, Playboy, NFL.com, and NBA.com, and he’s the creator of the Chicago Sports Stuff Substack. He’s the bestselling author of 15 books, and the founder/CEO of Gold Note Records. Alan lives in Chicago, where he writes, makes music, and consumes and creates way too much Bears content. You can visit him at http://www.AlanGoldsher.com and http://x.com/AlanGoldsher.

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