Training camp is less than two months away and we’re gearing up for the start of the preseason by ranking the top players at each position in the NFC North.
Our first grouping dissects the quarterbacks in the division and how they rank against one another.
1. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
We know the man can’t chug a beer, but he can certainly still throw a football.
There’s not much to debate here. Rodgers is one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. He regularly carves up defenses by using his pocket presence to buy more time and always seems to find his open receiver. He’s led countless comebacks, won two MVPs, and threw only two interceptions in 2018 when he played most of the year on a bum knee. With those two interceptions, he set the NFL record for interception percentage in a season (.33%).
You can pull nearly any stat and be wowed by his output. He’s also been money in the division throughout his career, posting a 41-18-1 record. His only downfall at this point is his durability, as he missed nine games in 2017 and wasn’t healthy all season in 2018. But like it or not, Rodgers still reigns supreme in the North, but he can’t lead the Packers to glory all by himself.
2. Mitchell Trubisky, Chicago Bears
I’ll admit, this ranking is difficult. Trubisky’s sample size is extremely small and you can make quite the case one of the other veterans deserves this spot more. But not much separates the final three players and Trubisky took a major step forward in 2018 in Matt Nagy and Mark Helfrich’s first year in Chicago.
He’s poised to break out in his third season in the NFL. Trubisky boasts a big arm, but showed the league how athletic he was, rushing for 421 yards (fifth among quarterbacks) and provided another threat defenses needed to account for.
Trubisky’s stats stretched over a full season would have put him at roughly 3,700 yards passing with 27 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. It will be extremely tough to unseat Aaron Rodgers as the best signal caller in the division, but No. 10 is ready to firmly entrench himself as the second-best QB in the division this season.
3. Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions
Stafford is good enough to take a bad team to average, but not good enough to make them a perennial playoff contender. While he’s led 33 game-winning drives and 26 comebacks in his career, he’s also thrown many back-breaking interceptions to cost his team victories.
Make no mistake, Stafford has had a very good career, posting seven consecutive seasons of 4,000 yards or more (including one season with 5,000), but 2018 saw his lowest output in a 16-game season. He threw for 3,777 yards and 21 touchdowns and led the Lions to their worst record since 2012.
A new offense may have contributed to his decline last season, but after eight full seasons at the helm, the league knows who Stafford is: one of the best average quarterbacks in the NFL. He’s still young at just 31 years old, but one has to wonder how long the Lions will stick with him before searching for a replacement.
4. Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings
Cousins is better than close to a dozen quarterbacks in the league and his 2018 season was still successful, despite the memes and criticism thrown his way. But he still comes in last in the NFC North for now as he failed on multiple occasions to win when it mattered most.
Cousins had impressive stats, throwing for over 4,000 yards for a fourth consecutive year with a 70.1% completion percentage. He benefits from an impressive supporting cast consisting of WRs Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen, yet suffered from ineffective offensive line play at the same time.
The Vikings addressed the latter in the offseason, but questions still remain: Did Minnesota pick the right guy? Cousins has the skills to help the Vikings return to the playoffs but he was paid to be the reason they succeeded. With the pressure mounting, it will be interesting to see how Cousins responds this fall.
