Windy City Gridiron
In part two of our yearly NFC North Positional Rankings, we take a deeper dive into the defensive side of the ball. Last year, two teams finished inside the Top 10 in Defensive DVOA, while the two who made the playoffs finished in the back half. While some could argue that defense wins championships, it sure didn’t win the division in 2025. A lot of that came down to injuries, especially with teams like Detroit.
That said, 2026 is a new season, and every team starts as healthy as they’ll be all season. With the bulk of the offseason behind us, let’s take a more in-depth look at each positional group on the defensive side of the ball.
1. Minnesota Vikings
Admittedly, I’m not overly confident in any of these teams’ depth, which means the evaluation of these groups comes first on the depth chart. The Vikings are the only team with a proven one-two punch in Andrew Van Ginkle and Dallas Turner. While some might classify Turner as unproven, the second half of Year 2 was quite impressive. Depth is a big question here, but the same argument applies to all four teams. Thus, Minnesota takes the top spot simply based on the overall quality of its two starters.
2. Detroit Lions
Outside of Micah Parsons, there isn’t a better overall edge rusher in the division than Aidan Hutchinson. Fans of the other teams in the division still haven’t forgiven the Jaguars for passing on him, and rightfully so. The bigger issue for the Lions is everyone behind him. Derrick Moore has some intriguing upside, but I’d argue he was taken a round too early in April’s draft. The depth behind those two is spotty at best, although DJ Wonnum was a nice value add later in free agency.
3. Green Bay Packers
With a healthy Parsons, the Packers were one of the better defensive units in the league last season. The issue is that once he went down, the defense fell off a cliff. That’s what happens when there’s little depth behind your star player and a cornerback group that was pieced together with tape and glue. Former first-round pick Rashaan Gary is off to Dallas, leaving the Packers with even less depth. The hope is that Parsons will be ready to go around Week 5, which means the pressure is on 2023 first-round pick Lukas Van Ness to live up to his draft status. With Parsons, this group has a safe ceiling; without him, there could be problems.
4. Chicago Bears
Following last year, many expected the Bears to continue to overhaul their defensive line. Contrary to popular belief, Chicago stood pat, especially at defensive end. While that seems like a risky gamble unlikely to work out, they’ll be counting on a Year 3 step from Austin Booker, combined with better health from Dayo Odeyingbo and Shemar Stewart. Only time will tell how their gamble pays off, but it appears it’ll be another year...
