NFC North shaping up to be brutal division

Every year, the NFL has a division or two that blows the rest of the league away.

In the past, it was the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North. Then, it always felt like one great team would end up as a wild card. Hell, the Cincinnati Bengals belonged in that conversation for a while. There was also the NFC West in recent years. Remember the Seattle Seahawks, Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers taking turns fighting it out deep into January.

This year, the NFC North deserves that moniker. The Minnesota Vikings went to the NFC Championship Game last year despite losing star running back Dalvin Cook in October to a torn ACL, and starting quarterback Sam Bradford after a single game to a knee injury.

Now, Minnesota is back and better than ever. General manager Rick Spielman was aggressive in free agency and landed to of the biggest fish out there in defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson and quarterback Kirk Cousins, the latter of which got a fully-guaranteed three-year, $84 million deal.

The Vikings appear set to reach a Super Bowl for the first time since 1976 and perhaps win it for the first time in franchise history, if only they can hold off the challengers around them.

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The Green Bay Packers are always in the mix with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, and it appears that will be the case again in 2018. Rodgers I recovered from his broken collarbone, and he has premier weapons in Randall Cobb, Davante Adams and the newly-acquired Jimmy Graham. Defensively, general manager Brian Gutekunst signed Muhammad Wilkerson to a one-year pact, bolstering an already strong front seven. If the secondary can do anything at all, look out.

Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears don’t have the look of an after-ran. Detroit was in contention for a playoff berth throughout 2018 and should be improved with another draft class and the retention of defensive en Ezekiel Ansah. The Lions also have a new head coach in Matt Patricia, perhaps what this outfit needs to get its first win in the playoffs since 1991.

As for Chicago, general manager Ryan Pace has been exceedingly busy. The Bears went out and signed some real talent to put around second-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, bringing receivers Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel into the mix alongside young tight end Trey Burton. Chicago might not have the look of a contender at this juncture, but it should be able to compete in the NFC North at a higher level.