If you’re looking for the NFC North’s biggest edge entering the 2026 season, tight end might be the cleanest answer. This division is loaded at the position, and even with injuries factored in, every team’s top option would be a welcome sight for plenty of other clubs around the league. The Packers may have the strongest hand of all.
Here’s how the division’s top four tight ends stack up heading into training camp.
- TJ Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings
TJ Hockenson’s game has taken a noticeable step back over the last couple of seasons, which is not what anyone expected after the 2022 trade that sent him to Minnesota.
In three-and-a-half seasons with the Vikings, Hockenson has appeared in 50 games and put up 247 catches for 2,372 yards and 11 touchdowns. The production is still useful, but the explosive element has faded, and last season was especially rough in terms of yards per catch.
He averaged 8.6 yards per reception, which ranked 32nd out of 37 qualifying tight ends, according to PFF. At this point, he feels more like a recognized name than a true game-breaker. Even so, he remains a dependable all-around tight end, and at 29 years old, there should still be plenty of good football ahead if he stays on the field.
- Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions
Since arriving in the league in 2023, Sam LaPorta has been one of the most reliable receiving tight ends in football. He made an immediate splash as a rookie, earning second-team All-Pro honors after hauling in 86 passes for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns.
He’s only gotten steadier as a pass catcher since then. Over the last two seasons, his catch rate has climbed from 71.7 percent to 81.6 percent, and he has just one drop on his last 132 targets.
The one concern is health. LaPorta missed the entire second half of the 2025 season after a back injury and was limited to nine games, which leaves a little uncertainty around him entering 2026. But when he’s right, there’s no doubt he belongs among the NFL’s top 10 tight ends.
He turned 25 in January and is nearing what should be a major contract from the Lions, assuming he’s medically cleared.
- Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears
This is where the list starts to lean a little more on projection than resume. Colston Loveland doesn’t have the same track record as LaPorta, but the talent is obvious enough to make him one of the most intriguing tight ends in the league.
After his rookie season, there isn’t a defensive coordinator in the NFC North eager to see him twice a year. Loveland caught 58 passes for 713 yards and six touchdowns in the regular season for Chicago, then added 12 more grabs for 193 yards in the playoffs, averaging 16.1 yards per reception. He’s already become arguably Caleb Williams’ favorite target, and that’s the expectation again in 2026.
At 21, Loveland brings dynamic athleticism, elite ball skills, and strong ability after the catch. He also posted the third-best receiving grade among tight ends in the NFL last season.
There was plenty of surprise when the Bears drafted him with Cole Kmet already on the roster, but that move is looking smarter by the day. It may not be long before Chicago has the best tight end in the league, or at least very close to it.
- Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers
Tucker Kraft sits at the top of this group, and the case for him is pretty simple: right now, he looks like the best tight end in the NFL.
A knee injury cut his season short last year and limited him to 32 catches in eight games, but he was still producing at a ridiculous level. Even with the missed time, he finished with 489 receiving yards, which ranked him among the top 22 tight ends in the league.
Before the injury, he was on pace for 68 receptions, 1,040 yards and 13 touchdowns. That’s first-team All-Pro territory, and it’s fair to say the injury robbed everyone of seeing that season play out.
Kraft averaged 15.3 yards per catch last season, and that wasn’t a one-year fluke. He averaged 14.1 yards per reception the year before. More than anything, he is a force after the catch, with a career average of 9.1 yards after the catch per reception.
His 10.8 YAC per reception last season was the best mark among NFL tight ends by a wide margin. LaPorta was second at 6.9, and he also played in an injury-shortened season.
If Kraft gets through a full healthy season again, the expectation will be first-team All-Pro.
In Other News...
Packers Suddenly Have A Real Chance To Chase Maxx Crosby
The Packers are heading toward the 2026 season with a pass rush that still feels unfinished, even after the big swing for Micah Parsons. With Parsons expected to miss the first half of the year as Green Bay eases him back from injury, Lukas Van Ness is likely to be one of the main edge options when the season opens, which puts added pressure on the front office to keep looking for help.
That is why Maxx Crosby has suddenly become a name to watch again. The Raiders star was already the sort of player who would change the look of a defense, and now Green Bay has a real chance to enter the conversation if it decides the price is worth it. The question is whether the Packers would be willing to spend the draft capital needed after already making such a major investment in Parsons, or whether they will trust their current plan and let the market sort itself out. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Fans Know Exactly Who Truly Owned No. 5
The Packers No. 5 has a long, old-school history, with several early Green Bay standouts and Hall of Famers having passed through it before the modern era ever got started. But the numbers place in franchise lore really comes into focus when you look at the player who turned it into something bigger than a jersey, a versatile scoring force who helped define one of the NFLs great dynasties.
He was at his peak in the early 1960s, when he piled up points, earned league MVP honors in 1961 and helped Green Bay win four NFL titles. Vince Lombardi later treated No. 5 as if it were off-limits, even if the Packers never made that retirement official, and only a handful of players have worn it since. [Read more 🡒]
One Packers Bears Stop Still Fuels The Keisean Nixon Debate
The play that keeps coming up in Green Bays cornerback conversation came in the final seconds of a Week 14 rivalry game, when the Bears had already pushed quickly into Packers territory and were threatening to flip the night on its head. On fourth down with 27 seconds left, the Packers were clinging to a 28-21 lead, and Keisean Nixon came up with the interception that ended Chicagos comeback bid and turned a tense finish into a defensive exhale.
Nixons value has always been tied to his playmaking, but this one also reopened the broader debate about how much freedom he should have to freelance in key moments. The sequence was messy before it became memorable, with a breakdown in coverage creating the kind of split-second opening that can decide a rivalry game, and it left the Packers once again weighing whether Nixons instincts are exactly what they need or part of a larger gamble. [Read more 🡒]