NFC North Round-Up: Ranking the QB Rooms for All 4 Teams
Josh Frey
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The offseason is heading into its slowest time of the year once mandatory minicamps officially wrap up, so with that, it feels like a good time to bring on the position rankings heading into the 2023 season. Throughout the next few weeks, we’ll be breaking down how each position group shakes out in the NFC North division. To start things off, we’ll be going over the most important spot on the roster: the QB rooms.
1. Minnesota Vikings
Maybe by the end of the year growth from Justin Fields or Jordan Love can make this more of a competition, but for now, Kirk Cousins is the best starter in the division. He’s passed for 25+ touchdown passes in each of his eight years as a starter, and while he may not be a truly elite passer, he’s still a consistent player that we know what we will get out of on a week-to-week basis.
Additionally, Nick Mullens is a quality backup whose 17 starts are easily the most of any backup in the division. The team success hasn’t always been there when Mullens gets on the field, but he certainly has shown flashes of his potential as a passer. Jaren Hall, while a project, could turn out to be a steal out of the fifth-round as well.
2. Detroit Lions
Similarly to Cousins, if we want to value consistency as a passer, the Detroit Lions with Jared Goff have to come in at No. 2 here. Despite a tough stretch in 2020 and 2021, Goff has otherwise been rather successful as a QB.
Goff may not quite be living up to that No. 1 overall draft pick status, but in four of his six seasons as a full-time starter, he’s passed for 4000+ yards and 20+ TDs. With the wide receiver group around him in Detroit, this season should result in a similar stat line.
That being said, the backup situation heading into 2023 is less than ideal. Nate Sudfeld has yet to start a game over his six-year career while both Hendon Hooker and Adrian Martinez are rookies. It would be very surprising to see Martinez stick around past training camp, and with Hooker’s ACL tear late in the 2022 college season, it’s hard to see a scenario where he is ready to go right away this year. If Goff were to miss any time, things could get ugly quickly at the QB position.
3. Chicago Bears
Say what you will about Justin Fields and his passing ability, but his capabilities as a runner open things up for the Chicago Bears offense. 2023 also looks like the first season where he will have a legit group of pass catchers around him following a trade for D.J. Moore this offseason as well as the selection of Tyler Scott in the draft.
Chicago also has a couple backups that could offer some emergency services if Fields were to miss any time. P.J. Walker is a gunslinger in the pocket, and while he isn’t always the most accurate player in the world, he has some familiarity with D.J. Moore from their time together in Carolina. Nathan Peterman doesn’t evoke much confidence as a passer, but again, at least he has some semblance of playing experience at the NFL level.
4. Green Bay Packers
2023 might be the first time that we can actually say this is the case in the entire history of the NFC North: the Green Bay Packers have the worst QB room in the division. Jordan Love certainly has some talent as a passer, as displayed in his limited playing time, but he still has only started one game over the course of his first three NFL seasons.
Additionally, Green Bay’s backup situation is less than ideal. Danny Etling has never appeared in a game throughout his five years in the NFL, and Sean Clifford is probably more of a Taysom Hill “gadget” player rather than a true QB. Again, there are already questions about whether or not Love can help the Packers win games, but if he were to miss any time at all, Green Bay’s season is over.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.