I cannot wait for football to return. It's just a magical time of year. I know I'm definitely not the only one. As we get closer to the start of training camp, I decided to call some beat writer friends, who are also missing football, and have a talk about the Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings. Welcome to the NFC North round table. 

Joining us today will be Matthew Coller of Purple Insider, Lester Wiltfong of Windy City Gridiron and Matt Matonich of ACME Packing Company.

We're going to answer questions about who the best quarterback in the division is, under the radar players and who's going to win the division. Let's jump into it. 

What's  your teams biggest weakness? 

Lions: For the Lions, it's all about the run defense. It was one of the worst units in the league in 2022 and I'm not sure the Lions did all that they could to fix it this offseason. Actually, I don't think they did nearly enough at all and they could pay for it. Especially when they have to keep Justin Fields from using his feet. Something they definitely couldn't do last season.

Vikings: "The secondary is clearly the Vikings' biggest weakness — though if the Vikings move on from Danielle Hunter, I'll change that to the pass rush. Right now they have Harrison Smith, Byron Murphy Jr. and tons of question marks. The Vikings have spent a ton of draft capital on the secondary over Kwesi Adofo-Mensah's first two drafts so they have the potential to emerge as a quality group if a few of those players hit. If they don't, woof."

Bears: "The Bears are coming off a three-win season, so there are still weaknesses all over until proven otherwise, but the biggest is the pass rush. They did a lot to bolster the defensive line in both free agency and the draft, but the unit is lacking a consistent threat off the edge. There's buzz swirling about them adding a veteran defensive end for training camp, but that's just a rumor for now."

Packers: "Joe Barry. The Packers have invested heavily in their defense while under the control of GM Brian Gutekunst. They have several Pro Bowlers and All-pros on a defense that consistently underperforms. This all falls on the shoulders of the coaching staff and namely the defensive coordinator. Last year it took until mid-season to put our best corner on a team's #1 receiver. While the pass defense would have its ups and downs, the run defense was near the bottom of the league. Morale became an issue by the end of the season with players just freelancing for stats instead of staying true to their assignment. The fact that Barry was retained at the end of the season was downright shocking to a large section of the fanbase. And yes, QB is an unknown at this point but Barry still remains the bigger issue."

What is their biggest strength? 

Lions: It's their offense for sure. The Lions finished third in total offensive yards in 2022 and fifth in points. They arguably got better this offseason with the additions of Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery and Sam LaPorta. Their biggest move was a retention though. The Lions were able to hold on to offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and prevent him form taking the Panthers head coaching job. 

Vikings: "Justin Jefferson. Does there need to be any further explanation?"

Bears: "Their running game led the league a year ago, and it should be top five in 2023. They may scale back some of the designed runs for Justin Fields, but he's still capable of popping off a 50-yard TD run on a scramble. They may have lost David Montgomery to the Lions, but they added veteran D'Onta Foreman, rookie Roschon Johnson, and Khalil Herbert, who led all running backs a season ago with 5.7 yards per carry, is still around."

Packers: "The Packers' biggest strength right now is likely their pass blocking, now that the whole line is healthy. Most on the line graded out as average to below average in run blocking but each excelled in pass protection. With what head coach Matt LaFleur calls "the best five" protecting the QB, there will be more time in the pocket for Love to let Matt's intricate route combinations develop downfield."

Name one under the radar player you expect to break out in 2023.

Lions: Ok, this one is mostly for me. Tight end James Mitchell was one of my draft crushes going into the 2022 NFL Draft. Mitchell was used just abotu everywhere at Virginia Tech and I think that the Lions may be able to use him in a similar fashion. They brought him along slow in his rookie year after he suffered a torn ACL in his final year of college. He should break out in 2023.

Vikings: "I'll go with Mekhi Blackmon or Kene Nwangwu as two under-the-radar players who could break out. Blackmon is a rookie but he was taking some first-team reps during minicamp. That doesn't mean he's winning the job but it is notable in a wide open competition. The Vikings loved him in the draft and he's very experienced so he could step in right away. Nwangwu is a track star and top-notch kick returner who will finally have a chance to fight his way onto the field in the post-Dalvin Cook era."

Bears: "Teven Jenkins moved inside to right guard last year late in training camp and was playing decent football until the injury bug hit him. He's being moved again this offseason, over to left guard, but he's fully bought into the interior after not wanting to kick inside a year ago. He has the demeanor and physicality to be an outstanding guard, and with a full offseason at his new position to prepare, I expect him to be pushing for a pro bowl spot."

Packers: "The rumble among those that cover the team is to expect a breakout year by Romeo Doubs. He's shown he can run crisp routes and has plus athleticism. He never quite meshed with Aaron Rodgers and missed several weeks with an ankle injury. With many of last year's veterans now gone in free agency, Doubs is the defacto number two and should see a large increase in target volume."

Lions: It might seem like a homer pick, but I'm going with Jared Goff. Kirk Cousins can make a solid argument, but at the end of the day, if I had to pick a quarterback to lead a team to a win, it just can't be the guy that checked down on the final throw of playoff game. I'll go with Goff. 

Vikings: "Kirk Cousins vs. Jared Goff might be the quarterback version of the Spiderman meme but I've always felt like we do quarterback rankings wrong. It's usually based on which guy has more raw talent and whatever they did most recently. We should probably try to project which QB is going to lead the better offense. You could argue that Cousins is a little better in some areas than Goff but Goff now has three top-five scoring offenses to his name — and last year proved that he wasn't just a McVay bot. I'll lean toward the offense that I think will be better and say Goff."

Bears: "Right now, it has to be Kirk Cousins. Sure there are questions about him winning the big one, but he's a four-time Pro Bowler that has gone over 4,000 yards passing in 7 of the last 8 years. He's an efficient quarterback, but it certainly helps that he has the best receiver in the game today."

Packers: "At this exact moment, I think it's gotta be…Kirk Cousins? That feels awful typing out. Justin Fields likely has the highest potential, but we've yet to see it materialize. Goff had a phenomenal bounce back year after a below average performance in 2021. Honestly, without his 21 campaign muddying the waters he'd be my pick. I also have to mention Jordan Love who is just a big question mark. He's got less than 3 games worth of snaps under his belt. We saw flashes of both good and bad so the jury is still out."

Who will win the NFC North? 

Lions: Sorry fellas. I'm going with the Lions this year. I can see a world where the Bears could be ahead of schedule and compete for this title, but I can also easily see a world where they win five games. Both the Vikings and Packers seem like teams that are about to go into rebuilds. The Lions are a team on the rise and they made a lot of additions that make them a better team in 2023. 

Vikings: "I expect the Lions to win the North, though I think overall it's pretty wide open. I could see the VIkings still having a good enough offense and new DC Brian Flores pushing them on defense enough to get to double-digit wins. I could also see a stunning jump from Justin Fields and the Bears being a year ahead of what we expected. The best overall roster and vibes at the moment, however, belong in the Motor City."

Bears: "While the division is wide open, and nothing would surprise me, I think the Lions will build off their strong finish to the 2022 season and become division champs for the first time since Michael Jordan's first retirement."

Packers: I truly believe the NFCN is the Lions' to lose. They seem like the most complete team right now and are riding a very big momentum train coming off of last year.

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