The 2025 NFL season is a few months away, and the anticipation for the start of the season 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 so far
31. Vikings RB Aaron Jones
32. Packers CB Jaire Alexander
33. Lions DT Alim McNeill
34. Bears EDGE Montez Sweat
35. Packers C Elgton Jenkins
36. Lions CB DJ Reed
37. Vikings OG Will Fries
38. Packers LB Edgerrin Cooper
39. Bears CB Caleb Williams
40. Packers WR Jayden Reed
41. Lions RB David Montgomery
42. Packers DT Kenny Clark
43. Vikings DT Jonathan Allen
44. Lions WR/PR Kalif Raymond
45. Bears WR Rome Odunze
46. Vikings LS Andrew DePaola
47. Lions LB Jack Campbell
48. Packers TE Tucker Kraft
49. Vikings DT Javon Hargrave
50. Bears OT Braxton Jones
No. 30: Lions WR Jameson Williams
Best: No. 21 (Wiltfong)
Low: N/A (Salo, Orenchuk)
Last year: NR
Williams put together a career year in 2024, tallying 1,001 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on 58 receptions. He’s one of the top deep threats in the NFL and a tremendous athlete who seems to have finally gotten it all figured out.
No. 29: Bears CB Kyler Gordon
Best: No. 24 (Mongo)
Low: N/A (Salo)
Last year: No. 40
Arguably the unsung hero of the Bears’ defense, Gordon has been a reliable starting nickel cornerback for the last three seasons. He most recently earned a massive contract extension and has proven himself as one of the best slot defenders in the game.
#Bears CB Kyler Gordon among nickel corners:
• 73.0 PFF grade (7th)
• 84.3 run defense grade (5th)
• 8 blitzing pressures (1st)
• 5 deflections (T-4th)
• 60.6 tackling grade (12th)
One of the top slot DBs in the game ️ @kyler_gordon pic.twitter.com/jKn4Qhhluo
— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) December 10, 2024
No. 28: Vikings OT Brian O’Neill
Best: No. 16 (Leming)
Low: N/A (Infante, Mongo, Wiltfong, Orenchuk)
Last year: No. 28
O’Neill has been a reliable starting right tackle for the Vikings each of the last seven seasons, and he’s coming off his second career Pro Bowl season in 2024. He’s an underrated anchor for that Minnesota offense.
No. 27: Vikings CB Byron Murphy
Best: No. 20 (Salo)
Low: No. 32 (Mongo)
Last year: NR
Murphy has been a slam-dunk addition for the Vikings since joining the team in 2023. He has tallied nine interceptions in the last two seasons and made the Pro Bowl last year. A versatile defender who can cover in the slot and out wide, he’s the first player in these rankings to crack the top 32 on all seven ballots.
No. 26: Packers EDGE Rashan Gary
Best: No. 16 (Salo)
Low: N/A (Infante, Zimmerman)
Last year: No. 16
A slow start plagued Gary’s 2024 season, but he really ramped it up in the second half and earned his way to a Pro Bowl nod. He has tallied 32 sacks in his four seasons as a full-time starter in Green Bay.
No. 25: Bears C Drew Dalman
Best: No. 18 (Mongo)
Low: N/A (Salo, Leming, Zimmerman)
Last year: NR
A top-five center on PFF’s grading scale in each of the last two seasons, Dalman is a tremendous wide-zone run blocker who should prove to be a major upgrade for the Bears at a position they’ve struggled at significantly in recent years.
Since PFF started grading players in 2006, the #Bears have had one top-five center in the league: Cody Whitehair in 2016.
Drew Dalman has finished top-five in each of the last two seasons. pic.twitter.com/UcXd9IdbSg
— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) March 10, 2025
No. 24: Vikings WR Jordan Addison
Best: No. 22 (Mongo)
Low: No. 28 (Wiltfong, Salo)
Last year: No. 32
One half of one of the league’s best wide receiver duos, Addison is still chasing that elusive 1,000-yard mark heading into Year 3. He’s come close both seasons he’s played in the league, though, and he’s scored a total of 20 touchdowns from scrimmage in that time.
No. 23: Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson
Best: No. 20 (Leming)
Low: N/A (Wiltfong)
Last year: No. 14
Hockenson missed the start of the 2024 season due to injury, but he still contributed 41 receptions for 455 yards in ten games. If he can bounce back to his 900-yard range he met in 2022 and 2023, he’ll probably make his way back into the top 15 of these rankings next year.
No. 22: Packers QB Jordan Love
Best: No. 19 (Infante, Wiltfong)
Low: N/A (Orenchuk)
Last year: No. 17
Turnovers remain an issue for Love, but he’s still a strong-armed quarterback with 7,548 passing yards and two playoff appearances in each of the last two years. All told, he’s an above-average starting quarterback in the league and ends up as the second-highest rated quarterback in the NFC North here.
No. 21: Lions OT Taylor Decker
Best: No. 19 (Leming)
Low: N/A (Mongo)
Last year: No. 19
After being a stalwart of the Lions’ offensive line for eight seasons, Decker finally got Pro Bowl recognition in Year 9 of his tenure with the team. He finished with a 77.0 PFF grade and has been a consistent force at left tackle through three separate coaching regimes and is finally getting the praise he’s deserved all along.