Training camp is almost here, and the NFC North is heading into 2026 with no shortage of unresolved issues. Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay and Minnesota all finished above .500 last season, but none of them comes in looking like a clean favorite. Each roster has a major question hanging over it, and the team that handles its biggest uncertainty best could end up with the division - and maybe more.
For the Bears, the challenge is simple to say and hard to repeat: can the defense keep creating turnovers at the same rate? Chicago’s first year under Ben Johnson was a huge success, with Caleb Williams helping fuel seven total comeback wins and the team storming to the NFC North title.
But the defense was a huge part of that jump, forcing 33 turnovers to lead the league in 2025. Kevin Byard had seven interceptions before leaving for the New England Patriots, and Nahshon Wright added five picks and three fumble recoveries before signing with the New York Jets.
Together, those two accounted for nearly half of Chicago’s takeaways. The Bears won all but two of the games in which either player had a takeaway, with those exceptions coming in the first and final games of the regular season.
Chicago brought in Coby Bryant and Devin Bush, and those additions help - Bryant and Bush combined for seven takeaways in 2025 - but the bigger issue is whether that kind of production can hold up after losing so much ball production from the back end.
Green Bay’s issue is less about whether its stars will return and more about what they’ll look like when they do. The Packers were hit hard by injuries last season, with Tucker Kraft tearing his ACL in Week 9 and Micah Parsons suffering the same injury in Week 15.
Kraft was on a serious All-Pro track before going down, piling up 489 receiving yards and six touchdown catches in just eight games. Parsons, meanwhile, was the team’s headline addition last offseason and still earned First-Team All-Pro honors after producing 12.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.
Green Bay missed both badly in its playoff collapse against the Bears. Kraft is expected back around mid-October, while Parsons is expected to be ready for the start of the season.
The question isn’t just availability. It’s whether they can step right back into top form, or whether there will be a slower ramp-up like the one Lions defensive tackle Alim McNeill experienced after his October return from an ACL tear in 2024.
Minnesota’s situation is the most obvious of the bunch: does the answer at quarterback already sit on the roster? The Vikings were rough at the position in 2025, with their passers combining for 21 interceptions, 18 touchdowns, 2,834 yards, a 61.8 percent completion rate and a 75.3 passer rating.
That last number gets a small bump from Cam Akers’ 32-yard touchdown pass on his lone attempt, but the overall picture was still bleak. Somehow, Minnesota still went 9-8 with J.J.
McCarthy, Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer taking snaps, which says plenty about the rest of the roster. This year, the group also includes former No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray, who is trying to revive his career under Kevin O’Connell.
Murray looks like a clear upgrade, and McCarthy has another year of development behind him. Now the Vikings have to figure out whether either one can be the long-term answer.
Detroit’s question lives up front, where the offensive line was a mess in 2025. Frank Ragnow retired after the draft and free agency, Graham Glasgow had to move back to center, and rookies Tate Ratledge and Christian Mahogany were thrown into the guard spots without a regular-season NFL game between them.
Penei Sewell remained dominant, but Taylor Decker battled injuries, and the result was Jared Goff taking a career-high 38 sacks. Jahmyr Gibbs also faded at times late in the year.
The Lions tried to repair the damage by signing center Cade Mays and drafting Blake Miller in the first round. They also added Larry Borom, Juice Scruggs and Ben Bartch, with Scruggs and Bartch set to compete with Mahogany for the starting left guard job.
Decker is gone now, which pushes Sewell back to his original spot to protect Goff’s blindside. On paper, the group looks stronger.
The real issue is how quickly it comes together, because an offensive line needs time, and Detroit may need that unit to settle fast if it wants to get back on top of the division.
In Other News...
Kerby Joseph Just Became A Huge Lions Pressure Point
Kerby Joseph enters the 2026 season as one of the more important figures in the Lions defensive picture, and not just because of the four-year extension he signed. After a knee injury wiped out a big chunk of his 2025 season, Detroit has added safety depth around him, but the bigger question is whether Joseph can get back to the level that made him such a key piece in the first place. The Lions have every reason to be patient, especially with a player they still expect to anchor the back end when he is right.
The early approach has reflected that caution. Detroit is managing Josephs practice workload carefully, and safeties coach Jim ONeil has made clear the goal is quality reps, not simply piling up every available practice day. For a player trying to regain his elite form after a difficult year, that balance matters, and it leaves Joseph as a real pressure point entering camp, even with the safety room deeper than it was a year ago. [Read more 🡒]
This Overlooked Lions Signing Suddenly Feels Much Bigger Than Expected
Roger McCreary arrives in Detroit with a chance to matter far more than a typical one-year signing. After a season slowed by injuries and limited playing time, the defensive back gives the Lions a versatile option at a time when the secondary has plenty of questions, and his ability to line up both inside and outside could make him especially useful as the team sorts through its depth.
The immediate opening is at nickel cornerback, where McCreary is expected to compete for a starting role and help stabilize a position group that has already been stretched by injuries and departures. Even if he does not lock down one spot right away, the Lions have reason to keep him in the mix because his range gives them another way to patch together the back end while the rest of the competition plays out. [Read more 🡒]
This Lions Rookie Could Shake Up Detroits Edge Rush Plans
Among the rookies arriving for Lions training camp, Derrick Moore is the one with the clearest chance to force a conversation on the edge. The second-round defensive end comes in with a reputation built on his college pass rush work, and Detroits front is at least giving him a real lane to compete for snaps behind D.J. Wonnum and Payton Turner.
Moore is not being handed anything, and his immediate NFL impact still has to be earned. But if he carries that college production into the preseason and turns a solid exhibition workload into something more, the Lions could find themselves with a tougher decision about how quickly to expand his role in a rotation that already has a starter penciled in opposite Aidan Hutchinson. [Read more 🡒]