After having explored the fantasy options in the West divisions, let’s move on to the North. We’ll start in the NFC. After years and years of bad football, the Detroit Lions are now king of this division. So who are the fantasy studs we want to look for among the Lions and the rest of this division?
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Detroit Lions
L-R TE Sam La Porta, RB Jahmyr Gibbs, QB Jared Goff.
In 2021, Detroit was in full rebuild mode, as it seemed they were every year, when they hired new head coach Dan Campbell, and traded for QB Jared Goff. I remember a lot of folks in the business of talking NFL football, were quite critical of the Lion’s approach. Goff had lost in the Super Bowl two seasons prior, with the Los Angeles Rams. Los Angeles gave up a lot in order to part ways with Goff, and it was said that the Rams felt like they were not going to be able to win a Super Bowl with Goff. And now the Lions were going to rely on Goff to lead a perennially bad football team to a competitive transformation. Needless to say, there were plenty of doubters.
The Lions finished the 2021 season at 3-13-1. The Campbell/Goff experiment wasn’t getting off to the start they hoped for. But Detroit’s front office and ownership gave Campbell some time to build. The Lions had just drafted their next star receiver in Amon-Ra St. Brown, and had also drafted RB D’Andre Swift the year prior, so they had some building blocks.
In 2022, Detroit improved to a 9-8 record, and the NFL world was starting to take notice of what the Lions were building.
In 2023, the Lions acquired RB David Montgomery, and drafted RB Jahmyr Gibbs, after they decided to move on from Swift. They also drafted superstar TE Sam La Porta.
Now the Lions had put together a real juggernaut of an offense and finished the 2023 with a 12-5 record and eventually lost to the 49ers in the NFC Championship game.
In 2024, QB Jared Goff is only a low end starter, to back up fantasy QB, even though he threw for over 4,500 yards and had 30 TDs in 2023. The strictly pocket passing QBs, such as Goff, have a hard time scoring as many fantasy points as a scrambling QB might score.
WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, TE Sam La Porta, RB Jahmyr Gibbs and RB David Montgomery are all among the top players in their respective positions.
Green Bay Packers
QB Jordan Love (10) celebrating with teammates.
In 2023, the Packers finally freed themselves of being handcuffed to wondering what the future holds with QB Aaron Rodgers. While Rodgers moved on to go play with the NY Jets, QB Jordan Love finally got his shot to start.
Despite the fact that Love lacked any real “A list” receivers, he still managed to throw for over 4,000 yards and 32 TDs, ranking him 5th overall in total fantasy points. Love surprised many, including myself, but after watching him play in 2023, I believe he is capable of at least repeating that production in 2024.
The packers are not loaded with fantasy stars, like the Lions, but they did just add one who is worth keeping an eye on, in my guy, RB Josh Jacobs. When healthy, Jacobs is a wrecking ball that can be a top 5 fantasy RB. I don’t believe RB AJ Dillon will get much of the work load with the addition of Jacobs, as long as Jacobs stays healthy.
WR Jayden Reed had a solid rookie season in 2023, finishing in the top 20 among WRs in total fantasy points. I can see him improving on those numbers with a year under his belt to build that chemistry with his QB, and experience the long grueling season of the NFL.
Chicago Bears
WR DJ Moore of the Chicago Bears catching a pass for a TD.
The Bears made some big waves this off season. If you are unfamiliar with what they were able to accomplish with trades, see if you can follow me here.
In 2023, the bears traded away the #1 overall pick of the NFL draft to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for WR DJ Moore (#6 in total fantasy points among WRs in 2023) and a 1st and 2nd round pick in that same draft.
Chicago also received Carolina’s 1st round pick in 2024, which turned out to be the #1 overall pick of the draft. The Bears drafted highly regarded QB out of USC, Caleb Williams. Every once in a while there’s a rookie QB worth drafting in fantasy, like C.J. Stroud in 2023, and Williams very well may be one as well.
The Bears also had their own pick in the 2024 NFL draft, #9 overall, and drafted WR Rome Odunze, who also might be a good later round fantasy pick.
Prior to the draft, the Bears were able to acquire WR Keenan Allen, who I think can be a top 5 fantasy WR in the right situation, and RB D’Andre Swift, who you can pencil in for at least a 10 point average in fantasy.
All in all, the Bears made a haul, and I’m excited to see how all these acquisitions turn out for Chicago in 2024.
Minnesota Vikings
WRs Jordan Addison and Justin Jefferson sharing a moment.
Time will tell if the Vikings will start veteran Sam Darnold, who they just aquired from the SF 49ers, or their rookie, J.J. McCarthy, under center. Either way, I think that hurts the fantasy value of the skill positions around them.
WR Justin Jefferson is as good of a receiver as there is in the NFL. I’m sure his fantasy value will still be high, but I would not draft him in the top 5. His talent will supersede all, but a receivers fantasy value can be hindered by his QB.
WR Jordan Addison will be entering his 2nd season in 2024, and I expect him to be a top 20 fantasy WR. Jefferson and Addison complement each other well, and should keep excessive double teams off of each other.
TE T.J. Hockenson is a top 5 TE in fantasy. Guys like Hockenson are the reason you do not need to draft Travis Kelce in the 1st round. While other inexperienced fantasy owners are drafting Kelce in the 1st round, while you’re drafting a RB who will double a TE’s fantasy point total, wait until the 5th round or so, to swoop up a guy like Hock, who will score fantasy points at right around the same rate as Kelce.
Thanks for checking out my article on the NFC North division fantasy potential stars. I’ll be moving on to the South divisions after the North. Hope you’ll get a chance to check those out as well. As always, I’d love to hear what you think of my analysis, for better or for worse. Feel free to leave comments below!
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I appreciate the analysis on Jordan Love’s unexpected success with the Packers and the cautious optimism around the Bears’ offseason moves, particularly their haul of high-profile picks and trades. The point about the Vikings’ QB uncertainty impacting the fantasy value of their skill players, and definitely something fantasy players should consider.
Overall, you have a good balance between data-driven analysis and personal insights, making this a helpful read for anyone prepping for their fantasy draft. Looking forward to the South division breakdown!
Hi Kavitha!
Do you feel like Love will have a highly productive season in 2024? I saw he got his contract, so that wont be a distraction, but he was good for only the second half to 2023. I’m very interested to see how it all turns out.
The Bears and possibly the Vikings will be relying on rookie quarterbacks. Regardless of how well they are regarded, there might be some learning curves going on there.
I appreciate as always your kind words regarding this and other articles. Thanks so much!