Around the NFC North: Holes
Where do the inferior North teams still need help?
By Mike Price
We're just about to get to the main doldrums of the off-season. We don't need to get into weird posts just yet. Today, we'll look at where the inferior teams still have holes and what positions they may be looking to fill with veteran free agents or trades as training camp starts.
Vikings
The main one for the Vikings is QB. They took JJ McCarthy with the 10th overall pick just two years ago and got a sweet deal on Kyler Murray this offseason, but how surprised would you really be if they used a pick in the supplemental draft on Brendan Sorsby or signed Jimmy G to be their starter?
The more useful answer on offense is interior o-line and running back, where they're still pretty meh. For the o-line spots, they could probably upgrade by waiting for a veteran to be cut. They could probably upgrade RB with a free agent right now. They're bad at RB.
On defense, they could use a guy at every spot except maybe outside corner. They've already invested in d-line and linebacker and they're probably holding out hope for Harrison Smith at safety so the spot they could target is edge depth. Maybe they'll bring back your boy Za'Darius?
Bears
The Bears have maybe the most obvious need in the division at left tackle. They're set at both guard spots and right tackle and have a couple guys who will compete for center. They don't have a left tackle right now. The rumor there has been Taylor Decker for a while, but now it sounds like he may end up on the Rams. They need to figure out that position quick.
On defense, the secondary is in pretty good shape, and they won't spend any more capital on the linebackers. They need guys on the d-line, though. That is a true yikes group right now.
Lions
The Lions are interesting. You could say that second edge is as glaring a need for them as left tackle is for the Bears, but they also may need another safety. Two years ago, they had the clear best safety duo in the league. Then Kerby Joseph was bad last year and developed some sort of weird chronic knee problem that could cause him to lose games this season, and Brian Branch popped his Achilles in December. Even in a best-case scenario, they wouldn't both be as good as expected.
On offense, they're pretty well set other than interior o-line where they were just alright last year. I would guess that they'll ride with their current guys and expect someone growth year over year.
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Mike Price is a lifelong Packers fan who recently moved from Utah to Stoughton (a Madison suberb). You can follow him on twitter at @themikeprice.
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Comments (7)
golfpacker61
June 16, 2026 at 10:54 am
I am glad they all have clear needs, almost everyone does at this time of the year. All 3 of those teams are good even with some holes. How much money they all have to spend would have been nice to know in this article.
More important is what we need and how to fix it.
Y TE might be solved with Lachey being signed. He is a solid blocker and so is Mesiah Swinson.
The Grand Canyon sized hole at Edge with Parsons missing 4/8 games is a very real problem. If our strategy is to just fly with what we have, then someone has their head buried in their own a$$. GB missed a golden opportunity in signing a great insurance policy in A J Epenesa for a million bucks. It's already mid-June, just buy Clowney and his 9 sacks for $5 million.
RB has a hole and it could get much bigger if Jacobs gets charged. I like Pierre Strong. Maybe a trade for Benson or Allen or?
CB could be a bigger need if Nixon can't be counted on. But he is still barely an average CB with a big mouth. I bet we pick up another FA CB this summer.
OL depth, is it ok or is it a weakness? We have no known commodities at backup OL, but we have some with real potential. Burton has an advantage because he isn't trying to learn a new position like the rest of them. Not much experience but I think they are better than advertised, especially the 3 UDFAs.
These are the 4 question marks we have, TE looks the closest to being solved.
WestCoastPackerBacker
June 16, 2026 at 04:30 pm
Bears still don’t have a pass rush. Maybe with an offensive guy at HC, he pushes for the third TE they drafted instead of a pass rusher.
WorseWisconsin
June 17, 2026 at 03:00 pm
"the third TE they drafted instead of a pass rusher."
For DE, the pickings were already pretty slim by pick 69.
I personally liked Denis-Sutton (who GB drafted r4) but even I think he would have been a big reach late 2nd or early 3rd. It's pretty clear the Bears think Booker will continue to improve. We'll see if they're right.
HarryHodag
June 17, 2026 at 02:19 pm
Here's an exercise. The NFC North teams are close in terms of getting to the playoffs. If you look at the recent history of the playoffs it is highly unlikely all 4 NFC North teams will make it into the playoffs. Not impossible, but highly unlikely.
Using some analytical skill, which team or teams will NOT make the playoffs from the NFC North and why.
WorseWisconsin
June 17, 2026 at 02:41 pm
I agree that LT is the weakest starting position on the Bears o-line, though I think Braxton Jones is serviceable. He's playing for a contract, and if he does well he's certain to get offers (and the Bears would get a comp pick in that scenario).
But the o-line depth seems pretty weak; there don't seem to be any future NFL+ starters in the OG pipeline, and LG and RG are 30+yo players. The Bears got lucky on injuries to the interior o-line in '26.
For the d-line, it's pretty clear the Bears are counting on Odeyingbo's health recovering and Booker taking a year-3 leap. It could happen. Still, it's hard to see the defense being any better than 17th-20th-best in the league.
Leatherhead
June 17, 2026 at 03:13 pm
The Vikings. Watching them crash into the ditch, season after season, is one of the pleasures of my life. They have crashed in some of the most imaginative, and rewarding ways possible. I think when Favre threw away their season at New Orleans was one of my favorites. So, I'm kind of wondering how they'll screw themselves this year.
The Lions. This is going to be a rough season in Detroit, not because they've gotten worse, but because Chicago and Green Bay have gotten better. They finished in last place in 2025. Once Upon A Time, they had a lead at halftime of the NFC Championship game. They choked it away. They have not won a single playoff game since then, and last year they missed the playoffs. Goff isn't getting any younger, the team isn't getting any better, and we could be looking at the end of the Campbell Era, and the long descent into their customary ineptitude.
DaBears. I think their HC is real, and I think their QB is real. Williams threw like 570 passes last year with only 7 interceptions and 27 TDs. This team could win 12 games this year and they're clearly our chief rival at this point.
jont
June 17, 2026 at 06:09 pm
"DaBears... could win 12 games this year and they're clearly our chief rival at this point."
But they won't. Last year they had 7 or 8 wins in the last two minutes and a terrific number of interceptions. Neither of these will repeat.
I can see them around .500.