In the fourth article of a five-part roundtable series, the WCG staff ranks the top 50 players in the NFC North heading into 2024.
The 2024 NFL season is a few months away, and the anticipation for the start of the season is at an extremely high level.
Specific to Windy City Gridiron’s own Bears niche, a new quarterback and several new contributors on offense give Chicago a massive boost to what already appeared to be an ascending roster. Within the NFL as a whole, the storyline will be to see who can prevent the Chiefs from being the first three-peat organization in the Super Bowl era.
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 9 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.
No. 20: Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs
Best: No. 8 (Doll)
Low: N/R (Duerrwaechter)
Last year: N/A
Gibbs had a strong rookie year, rushing for 945 yards and 10 touchdowns with 5.2 yards per carry as the 1B to David Montgomery’s 1A. He also proved to be a valuable receiving asset, catching 52 passes to put him ninth in receptions among running backs. An explosive weapon with home-run potential, one can assume the Lions will find even more ways to get him involved in 2024.
No. 19: Lions OT Taylor Decker
Best: No. 10 (Salo)
Low: No. 26 (Duerrwaechter)
Last year: No. 25
With 8 years of quality starting tape to his name, Decker has been a staple for Detroit since Day 1. He placed ninth among offensive tackles with an 81.1 PFF grade last year, and as he approaches 30 years old this August, he has shown no signs of slowing down.
No. 18: Vikings RB Aaron Jones
Best: No. 7 (Salo)
Low: No. 30 (Sunderbruch)
Last year: No. 15
Though the Packers dumped Jones in favor of Josh Jacobs, it’s Jones who ends up higher on this NFC North top 50. It helps that Jones got a top-10 vote from Salo, whereas Jacobs was off two contributors’ boards entirely. With a good offensive line in place in Minnesota, it will be interesting to see Jones in more of a bell-cow role than what he held in Green Bay.
No. 17: Packers QB Jordan Love
Best: No. 12 (Leming)
Low: N/R (Duerrwaechter)
Last year: N/A
Love entered the 2023 season an unknown commodity, and he exited it as one of the more promising young passers in the NFL. A slow start hurt him a bit, but he finished the year seventh with 4,159 passing yards and second in the league with 32 passing touchdowns. If he stacks up another year like 2023, it would be surprising if he wasn’t in our top 10 next year.
No. 16: Packers EDGE Rashan Gary
Best: No. 11 (Leming)
Low: N/R (Duerrwaechter, Salo)
Last year: No. 12
Although Gary played in 8 more games and had 3 more sacks in 2023 than he did in 2022, he ends up a little lower on the list this year. Granted, it’s not so much his fault as it is the talent around him in the NFC North. He has been a rock-solid edge rusher, with 24.5 sacks in 41 games over his last three seasons with the Packers.
No. 15: Packers DL Kenny Clark
Best: No. 13 (Sunderbruch)
Low: No. 20 (Droste)
Last year: No. 13
A three-time Pro Bowler after 2023, Clark has long been a quality run-stuffer and one of the better interior pass-rushers in the NFL. That makes it even more impressive, then, that he tallied a career-high 7.5 sacks in Year 8 with Green Bay. He finishes this list as the highest-ranked defensive tackle in the NFC North.
No. 14: Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson
Best: No. 11 (Infante, Droste, Sunderbruch)
Low: No. 24 (Salo)
Last year: No. 21
Hockenson has topped 900 receiving yards in each of the last two seasons, which is quite a rare feat for tight ends. He has scored 11 touchdowns in that span, and he has solidified himself as one of the top players at his position in the NFL. Minnesota’s quarterback situation might see his numbers drop a bit in 2024, but he’s still one of the best in the game.
No. 13: Vikings OT Christian Darrisaw
Best: No. 4 (Infante)
Low: No. 29 (Duerrwaechter)
Last year: No. 7
Darrisaw played in a career-high 15 games in 2023, manning the blindside for the Vikings as the anchor of their offensive line. He placed eighth among offensive tackles with an elite 82.4 grade, marking the second year in a row he’s graded above 80.0. He has firmly entrenched himself among the league’s best at left tackle.
No. 12: Lions QB Jared Goff
Best: No. 4 (Sunderbruch)
Low: No. 21 (Duerrwaechter)
Last year: No. 20
After everything Goff has been through, it must have been extremely rewarding for him to lead the Lions to their first NFC North crown since 1993, finish second in the NFL with 4,575 passing yards and finish top-10 in both completion percentage and passing touchdowns. He may be surrounded by great offensive infrastructure, but don’t get it twisted: Goff is legit.
No. 11: Lions TE Sam LaPorta
Best: No. 7 (Sunderbruch)
Low: No. 19 (Doll)
Last year: N/A
Few, if any, saw LaPorta making as big of a splash as a rookie as he ended up making. With 86 receptions, 889 yards and 10 touchdowns, he was top-5 in every receiving category for tight ends and led everyone in scoring at his position. It’s rare to see a rookie tight end be as steady as he was, so the expectations for him are even higher entering Year 2.
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