Windy City Gridiron
In the third article of a five-part roundtable series, the WCG staff ranks the top 50 players in the NFC North heading into 2025.
The 2025 NFL season is a few months away, and the anticipation for the start of the season is at an extremely high level.
As the NFL Network has done their player consensus Top 100 ranking each year, Windy City Gridiron’s staff has put together a roundtable over the last few seasons of the best players in the NFC North. With six contributors pitching in for this year’s roundtable, there was a strong diversity of opinions that provided for some entertaining rankings.
Before we get started, let’s set up the ground rules. Each WCG participant was asked to send their top 32 players in the NFC North. A player’s ranking determined how many points they would receive (32 points for first, 31 points for second, etc.), and the total points were added up to create the rankings.
Note: Tiebreakers will be broken by whichever player appeared on more ballots. If that total is the same, then the tiebreaker will go to whichever player received the highest ranking on an individual ballot. If that scenario also does not result in a clear winner, ballot organizer Jacob Infante will break the tie.
31. Vikings RB Aaron Jones
32. Packers CB Jaire Alexander
33. Lions DT Alim McNeill
34. Bears EDGE Montez Sweat
35. Packers C Elgton Jenkins
36. Lions CB DJ Reed
37. Vikings OG Will Fries
38. Packers LB Edgerrin Cooper
39. Bears CB Caleb Williams
40. Packers WR Jayden Reed
41. Lions RB David Montgomery
42. Packers DT Kenny Clark
43. Vikings DT Jonathan Allen
44. Lions WR/PR Kalif Raymond
45. Bears WR Rome Odunze
46. Vikings LS Andrew DePaola
47. Lions LB Jack Campbell
48. Packers TE Tucker Kraft
49. Vikings DT Javon Hargrave
50. Bears OT Braxton Jones
Best: No. 21 (Wiltfong)
Low: N/A (Salo, Orenchuk)
Last year: NR
Williams put together a career year in 2024, tallying 1,001 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on 58 receptions. He’s one of the top deep threats in the NFL and a tremendous athlete who seems to have finally gotten it all figured out.
Best: No. 24 (Mongo)
Low: N/A (Salo)
Last year: No. 40
Arguably the unsung hero of the Bears’ defense, Gordon has been a reliable starting nickel cornerback for the last three seasons. He most recently earned a massive contract extension and has proven himself as one of the best slot defenders in the game.
Best: No. 16 (Leming)
Low: N/A (Infante, Mongo, Wiltfong, Orenchuk)
Last year: No. 28
O’Neill has been a reliable starting right tackle for the Vikings each of the last seven seasons, and he’s coming off his second career Pro Bowl season in 2024. He’s an underrated anchor for that Minnesota offense.
