Sportsbooks believe the NFC North will shake out in this order during the 2026 regular season: Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings, in fact, are quite the underdog to win the division, with +500 moneyline odds in June, which gives Minnesota a 17% chance and is equivalent to a 10-point underdog on a single-game scale.
But VikingsTerritory has a different take, and to the surprise of none, does not believe the Vikings will inhabit last place in 2026.
These are our formal predictions for the NFC North this season.
Vikings Have a Clearer Path Than the Odds Suggest
1. Detroit Lions | 12-5
While the Lions finishing last in the NFC North in 2025 was undoubtedly concerning — they played terribly down the stretch — their roster isn’t the problem. Dan Campbell’s team still has the juice to reach the postseason and do some damage in the tournament.
Detroit has three main perks at its disposal: a powerful, playmaking offense, a defense with enough talent to support that offense, and a Top-5 or Top-8 coach in Campbell. The Lions also have the benefit of a last-place schedule, which Vikings fans thought Minnesota might enjoy when the season looked rough at 4-8 last November. Instead, the Vikings won their final five games.
The Lions get the “tiebreaker” here in a tight division because of the schedule’s strength. It’s also worth noting that, when it’s all said and done with the current iteration of the Lions, their Super Bowl window might’ve closed the day they coughed away the NFC Championship in 2023 to the San Francisco 49ers in the largest collapse in NFC title game history.
Lions’ Main Veteran Offseason Additions:
- Larry Borom (OT)
- Teddy Bridgewater (QB)
- Chuck Clark (S)
- Tyler Conklin (TE)
- Greg Dortch (WR)
- Christian Izien (DB)
- Cade Mays (OL)
- Roger McCreary (CB)
- Isiah Pacheco (RB)
- Juice Scruggs (OL)
- D.J. Wonnum (DE)
Lions’ Main Veteran Offseason Departures:
- Kyle Allen (QB)
- Alex Anzalone (LB)
- Taylor Decker (OT)
- Graham Glasgow (IOL)
- Roy Lopez (DT)
- David Montgomery (RB)
- Al-Quadin Muhammad (EDGE)
- Josh Paschal (EDGE)
- Kalif Raymond (WR)
- Amik Robertson (CB)
- Grant Stuard (LB)
2. Minnesota Vikings | 11-6
If the Vikings could finish 2025 with a winning record while showcasing the NFL’s fifth-worst quarterback performance per Dropback EPA, they can get two more wins with Kyler Murray under center.
Murray’s current contract with the Vikings — one year and $1.3 million — is absurdly sweet value, so much so that it doesn’t feel like it should be allowed. Props to the Arizona Cardinals for paying Murray’s ticket to play in Minnesota.
With the Vikings. Murray will join a Top 3 or Top 5 defense for the first time in his career, tasked with distributing the ball to Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Jauan Jennings, T.J. Hockenson, Jordan Mason, and Aaron Jones.
The experiment will work to the tune of 11 wins, as Murray will likely stay on as Minnesota’s QB1 for multiple seasons.
Vikings’ Main Veteran Offseason Additions:
- Johnny Hekker (P)
- Jauan Jennings (WR)
- Kyler Murray (QB)
- James Pierre (CB)
- Ryan Van Demark (OL)
Vikings’ Main Veteran Offseason Departures:
- Jonathan Allen (DT)
- C.J. Ham (FB)
- Javon Hargrave (DT)
- Jonathan Greenard (EDGE)
- Ryan Kelly (C)
- Jalen Nailor (WR)
- Harrison Smith (S)
- Ryan Wright (P)
3. Green Bay Packers | 10-7
The Packers never stray too far from relevance, making it unwise to pick them as cellar dwellers in the NFC North — like ever.
Green Bay lost its defensive coordinator, Jeff Hafley, to the Miami Dolphins, and if Jordan Love misses time due to injury, it will call on Tyrod Taylor, a game manager, not Malik Willis, in 2026. The Packers also have some uncertainty at running back with Josh Jacobs’ bizarre legal ordeal, an alleged choking incident that still needs resolution.
Regardless, we trust Green Bay to win 9 or 10 games; that’s what the franchise does as a baseline.
Packers’ Main Veteran Offseason Arrivals:
- Zaire Franklin (LB)
- Javon Hargrave (DT)
- Skyy Moore (WR)
- Benjamin St-Juste (CB)
- Tyrod Taylor (QB)
Packers’ Main Veteran Offseason Departures:
- Zayne Anderson (S)
- Romeo Doubs (WR)
- Kingsley Enagbare (EDGE)
- Rashan Gary (EDGE)
- Nate Hobbs (CB)
- Elgton Jenkins (C)
- Malik Willis (QB)
- Quay Walker (LB)
- Rasheed Walker (OT)
- Emanuel Wilson (RB)
- Colby Wooden (DL)
4. Chicago Bears | 9-8
Bears fans will simply refuse to believe it, and that’s fine, but teams that find ways to win a litany of close games generally return to earth the following season. That happened to the Vikings in 2022, even if fans insisted close-game wins indicated a “team of destiny.” Bears fans experienced the same phenomenon in 2025, and Chicago even beat Green Bay in the postseason, a monkey-off-the-back moment.
Chicago, though, will face a first-place schedule in 2026 and has a target on its back, with quarterback Caleb Williams climbing the NFL’s radar as the next big thing.
The upcoming campaign feels ripe for a miniature Bears regression, putting them around 9 wins and fighting for playoff entry around the 7th seed.
Bears’ Main Veteran Offseason Arrivals:
- Garrett Bradbury (C)
- Coby Bryant (S)
- Devin Bush (LB)
- Neville Gallimore (DT)
- Cam Lewis (DB)
- Scott Miller (WR)
- Kalif Raymond (WR)
- Jack Sanborn (LB)
- Kentavius Street (EDGE)
- Jedrick Wills Jr. (OT)
Bears’ Main Veteran Offseason Departures:
- Kevin Byard (S)
- Tremaine Edmunds (LB)
- Dominique Robinson (EDGE)
- Durham Smythe (TE)
- Nahshon Wright (CB)
- Chris Williams (DT)
- Olamide Zacchaeus (WR)
The Los Angeles Rams, of course, are the overwhelming favorite to win the Super Bowl. Los Angeles’s roster is so stacked that it feels like NFC North standings may not even matter, at least from a June standpoint.
