NFC North Divisional Podcast Recap for 2026 (Fantasy Football)
We are moving into the NFC North, arguably one of the most competitive divisions in the league, and therefore one of the most fun. I can easily make a case for any of these teams taking the division this year. It is entertaining and unpredictable, as evidenced by the fact that last year the division finished in the reverse order of 2024 – the Chicago Bears took first, the Green Bay Packers second, the Minnesota Vikings third, and the Detroit Lions fourth. Today, we will talk about last year’s performances and what we expect of these teams in 2026.
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Let’s Get Divisional – NFC North
Chicago Bears (11-6)
- Player Additions: WR Kalif Raymond
- Player Subtractions: WR DJ Moore, WR Olamide Zaccheaus, TE Durham Smythe
- Rookies: TE Sam Roush, WR Zavion Thomas
- 2026 Vegas Projected Win Total: 9.5
- 2025 Offensive Ranks:
Starting with the Chicago Bears, who went from worst to first under the direction of their fearless leader, Ben Johnson, and won their first playoff game since 2010. Can they prove that they are schedule-proof now that they are facing the sixth-toughest strength of schedule for 2026 according to Warren Sharp? Let’s see.
QB Caleb Williams has shaped up to be a boom-or-bust, and we are looking to see a more consistent performance from him in this upcoming season. One of his most startling stats from last year is his 58% completion rate. Only Shedeur Sanders and JJ McCarthy were worse, and that is not a club I am interested in being a part of. The good news is, his weapons are expected to get stronger.
As Jason mentioned, Caleb had a young group around him last year. Two rookies in TE Colston Loveland and WR Luther Burden III, and the second-year WR Rome Odunze. We expect these players to continue to grow and get better, especially as they get comfortable in the system. This leads to one of the biggest questions in this offense: are you Team Rome or Team Burden?
Last year, the two WRs had a bit of a flip-flop performance where Rome started off hot and then fell off the face of the earth after his foot injury, and Burden started as a typical rookie WR – slow assimilation and then a couple of flashes toward the end of the year. Mike and Jason lovingly likened their play styles to a lead pipe and a butterfly knife, respectively. But ultimately they think that Mr. Loveland is the big bad firearm that will take over targets. Did anyone else immediately picture the Anchorman news team battle here? Ok, glad it wasn’t just me. Anyways, Loveland had a 28% target share in the playoffs, which is unheard of for a rookie TE, so they have a point.
Colston Loveland ADP price check ✅ pic.twitter.com/46X9f0galF
— Fantasy Footballers (@TheFFBallers) April 28, 2026
To wrap up the question on Rome vs. Burden, Jason has historically been Team Rome while Mike has been Team Burden. However, they agree that Burden’s ADP is making him less favorable. He is currently being taken 10 spots higher than Rome. With Rome being drafted in the sixth round right now, he is seeming like the better value.
The RB room in Chicago is more straightforward. D’Andre Swift is expected to lead the team in carries with potential for more of a pass-catching role, while Kyle Monangai will have a more limited role with TD upside. Swift is by no means a sexy pick, but he could be the consistency you need depending on your team build. Monangai did prove to be a trusted player last year, especially later in the season when he handled 45% of backfield carries. Planning to pick him up as an insurance back in case Swift goes down certainly would not be a bad strategy.
Green Bay Packers (9-7-1)
- Player Additions: QB Tyrod Taylor
- Player Subtractions: QB Malik Willis, RB Emanuel Wilson, WR Romeo Doubs, WR Dontayvion Wicks
- Rookies: K Trey Smack
- 2026 Vegas Projected Win Total: 10.5
- 2025 Offensive Ranks:
Oh, the Green Bay Packers. The season that could have been! This team was on a roll in 2025, going 9-4-1 before QB Jordan Love had a concussion in Week 16. From there, combined with the injury to Micah Parsons, they lost their luster. In 2026, expect another impressive year on both sides of the ball, and we will cross our fingers for fewer injuries.
The questions around Jordan Love as an NFL QB are few. He is efficient, accurate, and he makes smart decisions. However, when talking about fantasy, his style of play equates to mostly low-end outcomes. He’s coming in at QB17 and is a solid streaming option.
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
The Josh Jacobs situation seemed to be equally clear in the RB room until his knee injury and the unfortunate legal situation that came up this spring. He is not only the clear primary RB on this team, but he is also the primary TD scorer. With the legal situation cooling off, now we need to wonder if his injury will require transferring some of his workload moving into the 2026 season. Jason is not convinced that anyone needs to be worried about RB MarShawn Lloyd impacting Jacobs’ performance. No one can deny that he is getting older, but the risk is baked into the ADP.
The calamity that was the 2025 Packers WR room was cleaned up a bit this offseason. Romeo Doubs left for the New England Patriots, and Dontayvion Wicks moved out to the Philadelphia Eagles. That leaves Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, and Matthew Golden as WR target options for Jordan Love, and the Ballers think that taking shots on any of these guys is a good bet in this high-performing offense. With Golden’s lackluster rookie season and the way this team uses Reed, Jason is taking bets on Watson first.
9's here for the long haul pic.twitter.com/NKNegT6CJf
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) June 11, 2026
So, where does TE Tucker Kraft fit in here? The rookie TE came out swinging in 2025 before suffering a season-ending ACL injury in Week 9. Mike is infatuated and is trusting that he will be ready to go in Game 1 of the 2026 season. Jason is equally bullish on Kraft as a player, noting that he projected over 1100 yards on the season, putting him in a tier with elite TEs. He is less certain about how he will acclimate in the first few games, but thinks it will be a small price to pay when you look at the season as a whole.
Minnesota Vikings (9-8)
- Player Additions: QB Kyler Murray, WR Jauan Jennings
- Player Subtractions: WR Jalen Nailor, RB Ty Chandler
- Rookies: FB Max Bredeson, RB Demond Claiborne
- 2026 Vegas Projected Win Total: 8.5
- 2025 Offensive Ranks:
The Minnesota Vikings have an absolute gem of a head coach in Kevin O’Connell. O’Connell’s coaching combined with their defensive play kept them even remotely close to competitive in 2025. Offensively, they were ranked 26th in points per game and 28th in yards per game. Let’s just say we are hoping for better QB play this year. Intending for just that, the Vikings signed Kyler Murray this offseason. There is, of course, talk of a competition for the starting role between him and J.J. McCarthy, but right now we are all seeing through it.
"The two years we had our starter play the whole season, we won 13 and 14 games. We want to try to get back to the standard of having the quarterback position be a driving force behind us winning."
– Kevin O'Connell (@KevOC7) on the #Vikings' QB competition. pic.twitter.com/XJKmlHvzHA
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) July 9, 2026
Assuming that Kyler is the starter, he is a late-round mobile QB to target for your team. Before last year, he had been a top-12 QB in 55% of his career starts. His success can be attributed to his talent in running the football, where he has the fourth-most rushing yards by QBs since 2019. A natural question here is, how will Kyler’s style of play impact WR Justin Jefferson? Over Kyler’s career, the most passing TDs he had in a season was just 26. He does not throw TDs at a high rate, and that will take away opportunities from Jefferson. The Ballers agree that if Kyler takes the leading QB role, they are confident that Jefferson will be back as a top-tier WR. However, they see him more as a back-end WR1.
In addition to better QB play, Kevin O’Connell has come out and said they need to clean up their running game. The Ballers agree that shots need to be taken on Aaron Jones Sr. and Jordan Mason. Mike is gunning for Jones Sr. due to his ability in the passing game, but Jason is staking his bets on Mason because the younger back seems like a more permanent solution that can move into the future.
Detroit Lions (9-8)
- Player Additions: RB Isiah Pacheco
- Player Subtractions: RB David Montgomery, WR Kalif Raymond
- Rookies: WR Kendrick Law
- 2026 Vegas Projected Win Total: 10.5
- 2025 Offensive Ranks:
The Detroit Lions were the second most injured team in the NFL in 2025, the first when you are talking about the defense. The beat-up team took fourth in the division, resulting in a sweet schedule in 2026. Per Warren Sharp, the Lions have the easiest strength of schedule for 2026, and they are favored in 14 of their first 15 games. For an elite offense that is coming back relatively unchanged, Lions picks are looking absolutely fire.
QB Jared Goff is an excellent NFL QB. He usually ends up finishing in the top 10 for fantasy QBs, but he does not deliver high-impact games on a regular basis. He’s a meh pick, and there are more exciting guys to take shots at in the draft.
The big news of the Lions offseason was in the RB room. RB David Montgomery was traded to the Houston Texans, and the Lions acquired Isiah Pacheco from the Kansas City Chiefs. Jahmyr Gibbs remains. End of discussion.
Jahmyr Gibbs' touches by year:
▪️ Year 1 ➜ 234
▪️ Year 2 ➜ 302
▪️ Year 3 ➜ 320For reference, in 2025:
▪️ Bijan Robinson ➜ 366
▪️ Christian McCaffrey ➜ 413Now imagine if Gibbs got another 50-100 touches 👀 pic.twitter.com/1RxcnrLi0K
— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) July 19, 2026
Jason has been vocal about his disdain toward taking middle-round TEs. The point differential between middle- to late-round guys is too tight. Last year, the difference between the TE2 and the TE12 was only 1.3 FPPG. His point is, if you do not take one of the four top-tier TEs, you are better off waiting for a late-round TE so that you do not miss opportunities on WRs and RBs that will deliver more impact. This brings us to TE Sam LaPorta. Historically, he had been one of those middle-round TEs that Jason was avoiding like the plague. But now that he has been slipping to rounds 9-10, he’s an excellent pick when taking opportunity/cost into consideration.
Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
What about the WRs? It seems like Jameson Williams is a point of conversation every year, and this year is no different. 2025 was kind of weird for him. He started off incredibly slow; we were not seeing the explosive plays that he is capable of. We weren’t really even seeing the targets. That all changed when two things happened: Guns Mahoney, Dan Campbell, took over offensive play-calling, and Sam LaPorta got hurt. I am in the camp that we will see more consistent usage of Jamo in 2026 regardless of LaPorta’s health, and I will be drafting him whenever possible.
How are TFFB predicting this variable division?
They feel like it’s clear, but we know how that goes. Jason and Mike: Lions, Packers, Bears, Vikings