The NFC North is one of the most intriguing divisions in the NFL for the 2025 season. The division is made up of a Super Bowl favorite in the Detroit Lions, a Super Bowl dark horse in the Green Bay Packers, and two massive question marks in the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings. While all teams share different Super Bowl odds at the start of the season, they all have certain make or break players that will increase or decrease their odds of making a postseason run.
A make or break player is someone who is integral to a team’s success, but isn’t necessarily the superstar of the team. Instead, these players play major roles in helping their entire squad perform well. However, if these players don’t perform at the highest level, then they bring the team down with them.
Today, we’ll be identifying every NFC North team’s make or break player in Madden 26. This is an ongoing series we’ve been doing, and we have already covered the AFC East, NFC East, AFC South, NFC South, and AFC North. Now, it’s time to go over the NFC North. You can see our picks for the make or break players on every NFC North team below.
CB Terrion Arnold, Detroit Lions
Let’s start things off with the reigning division champs. The Detroit Lions head into the 2025 season as the clear favorites to repeat as division champions, but they certainly have some added competition from the rest of the NFC North. It also doesn’t help that Detroit lost several key pieces on every side of the ball in the 2025 offseason. This includes both coordinators, center Frank Ragnow, and defensive backs Carlton Davis III and CJ Gardner-Johnson.
While the team’s make or break player could be whoever replaces Ragnow or someone else on offense, we’re looking at the defense. Specifically, cornerback Terrion Arnold is now tasked with leading the secondary after the departure of Davis III and Gardner-Johnson. Arnold is a second-year player who didn’t turn in a terrific rookie season in 2024, but also didn’t actively drag the secondary down.
Now, Arnold needs to turn into a CB1 for the Lions if the defense wants to keep up with the stacked group of receivers in the NFC North. If Arnold can manage to record a few interceptions and play some lockdown defense on an opposing team’s top receiver, then Detroit should have a fairly strong defensive group. However, being a team’s top cornerback isn’t an easy job, and Arnold could just as easily become a liability on defense with the added responsibility, which would be disastrous for the Lions.
TE Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers had a decent offense in 2024 after quarterback Jordan Love turned in another above-average season. To help out the group in 2025, the Packers finally selected a first-round wide receiver in Matthew Golden, which should boost the offense’s potential. What could really push the entire unit over the top, though, is a breakout season from tight end Tucker Kraft.
Kraft did have a mini-breakout season in 2024, going for over 700 yards, seven touchdowns, and really performing well down the stretch for Green Bay. He’s proven to be a reliable target for Jordan Love, but becoming one of the top tight ends in Madden 26 would do wonders for the entire Packers’ offense. We’ve seen how far a top five tight end can get a team in today’s NFL, and Kraft’s emergence would only benefit the entire Green Bay receiving corps.
Of course, part of having a breakout season is added recognition from an opposing defense. In 2025, teams are going to make sure they have a game plan for Kraft now that they have more tape on him from 2024. If Kraft can’t figure out how to beat added coverage from better defenders, then he’ll likely regress from his 2024 numbers. That would thrust a very young Packers receiving group into the spotlight, and how they respond to that pressure could make or break the entire team’s season.
WR Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears
One of the most intriguing teams to watch in 2025 will be the Chicago Bears. The Bears have second-year quarterback Caleb Williams, a slew of offensive talent, and a shiny new head coach in Ben Johnson. Johnson is revered as an offensive mastermind in the NFL, and he should be able to get the most out of a Bears offense that often looked inept in 2024.
While Williams and other offensive stars, such as De’Andre Swift and D.J. Moore, will play a major factor in how the offense looks in 2025, the key to unlocking the whole offense could be receiver Rome Odunze. A second-year player out of Washington, Odunze turned in a decent rookie campaign, going for over 700 yards and a few touchdowns. With Ben Johnson now at the helm, though, Odunze has everything he needs to form a truly lethal receiving duo with D.J. Moore.
If those two can become one of the best duos in Madden 26, the Bears might actually have a shot at competing in the NFC North. Odunze and Moore going for over 1,000 yards each, Swift leading the rushing attack, and Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland at tight end is a recipe for success for Chicago and Caleb Williams. The offense could just be an average unit if Odunze can’t perform in Johnson’s offense, though, and that would keep the Bears as just a Wild Card team or worse.
QB J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings
When the Minnesota Vikings decided to ship off revamped quarterback Sam Darnold to the Seattle Seahawks, they truly placed all of their eggs in the J.J. McCarthy basket. McCarthy was the team’s first-round quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft, but the rookie got injured during the preseason and missed all of last season. While Darnold put up MVP-like numbers and got the Vikings to the postseason, Minnesota is choosing to roll with their young QB.
That decision will, naturally, have massive ramifications for the Vikings’ 2025 campaign. If the team is proven right, then McCarthy will keep the offense rolling, getting the most out of receivers Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison while running back Aaron Jones handles the ground game. In a perfect world, McCarthy matches or exceeds Darnold’s production from 2024, is a candidate for Comeback Player of the Year, and leads Minnesota to the playoffs yet again.
Disaster would strike if McCarthy doesn’t play well, though. Not only would the Vikings likely be looking at a lost season, but there would be questions thrown left and right about why Minnesota chose McCarthy over Darnold. McCarthy’s performance in 2025 not only has ramifications for this season but for the next few seasons to come.
That wraps up our picks for every NFC North team’s make or break players. Who would you add or remove from the list? Let us know down in the comments below.
