NFC North Round-Up: Ranking the RB Rooms for Each Team in 2023
The offseason is heading into its slowest time of the year as mandatory minicamps have officially wrapped 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. After ranking the QBs last week, it’s time to rank the RB rooms across the division.
1. Green Bay Packers
The Packers are the one unit in the division that remained completely intact at the running back spot. Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon combined for nearly 2500 yards of production last year as rushers and receivers out of the backfield in 2022.
With Dillon entering a contract year in 2023, he should be extra motivated to put together a strong campaign before convincing either the Packers or another team to hand him a lucrative contract next offseason.
2. Detroit Lions
The 12th overall pick may have been a very high pick to use on Jahmyr Gibbs, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that he is an extremely talented player. The Alabama product has explosive speed, and while he is on the smaller side, he can be a very shifty runner, making it difficult to bring him down. He also caught 35+ passes in each of the past two CFB seasons, so that will certainly be an element that Detroit explores.
This makes him the perfect complement to David Montgomery, who Detroit added via free agency this offseason. The veteran has been forced to be a pass-catcher at times in Chicago, but he never truly thrived in that role, so now, he can focus on bowling over defenders with his 225-pound frame. Minnesota fans will know that Mo Ibrahim cannot be slept on, either.
3. Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings RB room would be at the top of the division if we did this list about two weeks ago, but now that Dalvin Cook is no longer around, that leaves the team without a proven starter on the roster. Perhaps even more importantly, it means that their RB2 will be a player that has never surpassed 17 touches in a single NFL season.
That being said, this isn’t a bad group of rushers by any means. Alexander Mattison is still a quality player with an underrated receiving skill, and Ty Chandler was a prolific running back during his collegiate career, averaging six yards per carry during his only year at North Carolina in 2022. Expect those two to be the main names answering the call in 2023 for Minnesota.
4. Chicago Bears
I know, fans of any other team in the NFC North are probably thinking, “but isn’t Justin Fields a running back?” The Bears QB certainly has proven to be a better runner than passer during his first two NFL seasons, rushing for 1143 yards and 8 TDs in 2022, and he may have to continue doing so in 2023 because Chicago’s RB room doesn’t exactly look outstanding for this season.
The team obviously lost David Montgomery, taking away their main bell cow from the group, but they are likely hoping that the combination of D’Onta Foreman and third-round pick Roschon Johnson can take over the reins this year.
Foreman has hit his stride over the past two seasons, but it may be tough to replicate the success he had in Carolina behind this Bears offensive line. Meanwhile, Johnson has virtually the same build as Montgomery, but again, he’s been playing behind Bijan Robinson and hasn’t surpassed 100 carries in a season since 2019. There is a route towards success for Chicago, but these two players will need to step up in a big way to make it happen.
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.