The 2026 NFL season is a few months away, and the anticipation for week one is at an extremely high level.
As the NFL Network has done their player consensus Top 100 ranking each year, Windy City Gridiron’s staff has put together a roundtable over the last few seasons of the best players in the NFC North. With six contributors pitching in for this year’s roundtable, there was a strong diversity of opinions that provided for some entertaining rankings.
Before we get started, let’s set up the ground
rules. Each WCG participant was asked to send their top 32 players in the NFC North. A player’s ranking determined how many points they would receive (32 points for first, 31 points for second, etc.), and the total points were added up to create the rankings.
Note: Tiebreakers will be broken by whichever player appeared on more ballots. If that total is the same, then the tiebreaker will go to whichever player received the highest ranking on an individual ballot. If that scenario also does not result in a clear winner, ballot organizer Jacob Infante will break the tie.
The rankings thus far
11. Bears CB Jaylon Johnson
12. Bears TE Colston Loveland
13. Lions S Brian Branch
14. Packers S Xavier McKinney
15. Packers OT Zach Tom
16. Vikings OT Christian Darrisaw
17. Packers TE Tucker Kraft
18. Vikings EDGE Andrew Van Ginkel
19. Lions LB Jack Campbell
20. Lions S Kerby Joseph
21. Lions TE Sam LaPorta
22. Packers QB Jordan Love
23. Lions WR Jameson Williams
24. Packers RB Josh Jacobs
25. Bears EDGE Montez Sweat
26. Packers LB Edgerrin Cooper
27. Bears S Coby Bryant
28. Bears LB Devin Bush
29. Bears CB Kyler Gordon
30. Vikings OT Brian O’Neill
31. Vikings WR Jordan Addison
32. Bears G Jonah Jackson
33. Bears WR Luther Burden III
34. Bears WR Rome Odunze
35. Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson
36. Bears S Dillon Thieneman
37. Packers WR Jayden Reed
38. Vikings LB Blake Cashman
39. Lions DT Alim McNeill
40. Lions OT Blake Miller
41. Vikings WR Jauan Jennings
42. Bears RB D’Andre Swift
43. Packers WR Christian Watson
44. Packers DT Javon Hargrave
45. Vikings G Will Fries
46. Lions CB D.J. Reed Jr.
47. Packers DT Devonte Wyatt
48. Lions G Tate Ratledge
49. Packers LB Zaire Franklin
50. Vikings CB James Pierre
10. Lions QB Jared Goff
Highest Ranking: 10 (Wiltfong)
Last Year’s Ranking: No. 16
A Pro Bowler in three of his last four seasons, Jared Goff’s 18,206 passing yards since 2022 are the most of any quarterback in the NFL. He’s been consistently accurate for the Lions, surpassing at least a 65.0% completion percentage every season since his arrival in Detroit in 2021. He’s also graded in the top eight in PFSN QB Impact Scoring each of his last four seasons, with 2022 being the year that Ben Johnson became his offensive coordinator. Though the Lions took a step back with the departure of Johnson, Aaron Glenn, and numerous other coaches, Goff was as reliable as they came last year.
9. Bears QB Caleb Williams
Highest Ranking: 1 (Gooch)
Last Year’s Ranking: No. 39
The first-place finish from Donald Gooch is enough to propel Caleb Williams into the top 10 of this list, but Williams would still finish high in these rankings with the love he got from other WCG voters. He finished in the top 10 in the NFL with 3,942 passing yards and 27 passing touchdowns, leading the league with six fourth-quarter comebacks and tying for the second-most game-winning drives at six. As he continues to develop, an even higher ranking could be in the cards for Williams next year.
8. Bears OT Darnell Wright
Highest Ranking: 7 (Orenchuk, Baugher, Mongo)
Last Year’s Ranking: No. 20
Darnell Wright receives a much-deserved jump from 2024 to 2025, as he earned the first All-Pro recognition of his career last season. He allowed a career-low three sacks and 19 pressures on 638 pass-blocking snaps in 2025, solidifying himself as one of the best right tackles in the NFL. If he can cut down on penalties — he’s had 31 in his three seasons with the Bears — there’s no reason to think he can’t remain among the league’s elite for a long time.
7. Lions EDGE Aidan Hutchinson
Highest Ranking: 6 (Baugher)
Last Year’s Ranking: No. 4
Coming off an injury-shortened 2024, there were some questions around whether Aidan Hutchinson would bounce back to full speed quickly. He answered those questions right away, tallying six sacks in his first six games. He ended 2025 with career-high marks including 14.5 sacks, 35 quarterback hits and 14.0 tackles for a loss, also tallying a whopping 100 pressures. Hutchinson was a second-team All-Pro last year, and it’s somewhat surprising it took him four years to earn that recognition. More All-Pro nods are surely in his future.
6. Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown
Highest Ranking: 2 (Gooch)
Last Year’s Ranking: No. 3
If you want reliability at the wide receiver position, look no further than Amon-Ra St. Brown. He’s surpassed 1,100 receiving yards in each of his last four seasons, most recently finishing 2025 with a career-high 1,401 receiving yards. He’s missed only two games in five years, he’s dropped just 2.8% of his career targets since joining the NFL, and Goff has a strong 116.9 passer rating throwing the ball his way. Amidst Detroit’s collapse last season, St. Brown was his usual, steady self.
5. Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs
Highest Ranking: 3 (Orenchuk)
Last Year’s Ranking: No. 5
Jahmyr Gibbs has been a Pro Bowler in each of his three seasons in the NFL thus far, tallying a combined 3,580 rushing yards, 1,449 receiving yards, and 49 scrimmage touchdowns. He’s also averaged at least 5.0 yards per carry each season, and he’s dropped just 5.2% of his career targets in the passing game, including postseason appearance. With David Montgomery no longer on the Lions, Gibbs could be in for his best-performing season to date.
4. Bears G Joe Thuney
Highest Ranking: 2 (Orenchuk)
Last Year’s Ranking: No. 7
The inaugural Protector of the Year award winner, Joe Thuney was an All-Pro in each of his last three seasons with the Chiefs heading into 2025 with the Bears. He kept that streak alive, earning Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors in his first year in Chicago. He didn’t allow a single sack in 686 pass-blocking snaps, marking two full seasons in a row that he hasn’t allowed a sack. At 33 years old, Thuney is showing no signs of slowing down and has made a strong last-minute Hall of Fame push with how well he’s performed in recent seasons.
3. Lions OT Penei Sewell
Highest Ranking: 1 (Wiltfong, Orenchuk)
Last Year’s Ranking: No. 2
Penei Sewell has been an elite tackle practically since his arrival into the NFL in 2021. He led all offensive tackles with a 93.0 PFSN OL Impact Score, having ranked as a top-two tackle in each of the last two seasons and a top-10 tackle every single year. He’s a high-end pass blocker but might be the best run-blocking tackle in the league today. We’ll see how he fares moving from right tackle to left tackle with Taylor Decker’s departure, but considering how well Sewell played at left tackle for Oregon, there’s little reason to think he won’t continue to be a perennial All-Pro.
2. Packers EDGE Micah Parsons
Highest Ranking: 1 (Baugher)
Last Year’s Ranking: N/A (hadn’t been traded to Green Bay yet at release date)
The addition of Micah Parsons to the Packers’ defense was a game-changer that elevated their roster before he got hurt. In 14 games, he had 12.5 sacks, 12.0 tackles for a loss, 27 quarterback hits, and 79 pressures. He also ranked No. 4 in the NFL in PFSN EDGE Impact Scoring with an 89.5 score. Once he went down late in the regular season, Green Bay’s defense was nowhere near the same. Parsons is the glue that holds that group together, and with 65.0 sacks in five seasons in the NFL, he’s undoubtedly an elite defensive player.
1. Vikings WR Justin Jefferson
Highest Ranking: 1 (Infante, Mongo)
Last Year’s Ranking: No. 1
For the fourth year in a row, Justin Jefferson has solidified himself as the top player in the NFC North in our consensus ballot. It wasn’t in decisive fashion, as has been the case in years past. Since we began these rankings in 2020, two first-place votes is the fewest by a No. 1-ranked player. That said, the fact that he still surpassed 1,000 receiving yards with how brutal the Vikings’ passing attack was last year says a lot about his caliber of talent. A four-time All-Pro with 8,480 receiving yards in six seasons, Jefferson is well on pace for a Hall of Fame career.
The full rankings
1. Vikings WR Justin Jefferson
2. Packers EDGE Micah Parsons
3. Lions OT Penei Sewell
4. Bears G Joe Thuney
5. Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs
6. Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown
7. Lions EDGE Aidan Hutchinson
8. Bears OT Darnell Wright
9. Bears QB Caleb Williams
10. Lions QB Jared Goff
11. Bears CB Jaylon Johnson
12. Bears TE Colston Loveland
13. Lions S Brian Branch
14. Packers S Xavier McKinney
15. Packers OT Zach Tom
16. Vikings OT Christian Darrisaw
17. Packers TE Tucker Kraft
18. Vikings EDGE Andrew Van Ginkel
19. Lions LB Jack Campbell
20. Lions S Kerby Joseph
21. Lions TE Sam LaPorta
22. Packers QB Jordan Love
23. Lions WR Jameson Williams
24. Packers RB Josh Jacobs
25. Bears EDGE Montez Sweat
26. Packers LB Edgerrin Cooper
27. Bears S Coby Bryant
28. Bears LB Devin Bush
29. Bears CB Kyler Gordon
30. Vikings OT Brian O’Neill
31. Vikings WR Jordan Addison
32. Bears G Jonah Jackson
33. Bears WR Luther Burden III
34. Bears WR Rome Odunze
35. Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson
36. Bears S Dillon Thieneman
37. Packers WR Jayden Reed
38. Vikings LB Blake Cashman
39. Lions DT Alim McNeill
40. Lions OT Blake Miller
41. Vikings WR Jauan Jennings
42. Bears RB D’Andre Swift
43. Packers WR Christian Watson
44. Packers DT Javon Hargrave
45. Vikings G Will Fries
46. Lions CB D.J. Reed Jr.
47. Packers DT Devonte Wyatt
48. Lions G Tate Ratledge
49. Packers LB Zaire Franklin
50. Vikings CB James Pierre
Every No. 1 player in the NFC North top 50’s history
- 2020: Aaron Rodgers
- 2021: Aaron Rodgers
- 2022: Aaron Rodgers
- 2023: Justin Jefferson
- 2024: Justin Jefferson
- 2025: Justin Jefferson
- 2026: Justin Jefferson
