There's still a long way to go in the NFL offseason, but the Chicago Bears are one of the biggest early winners. The Bears landed the head coach at the top of their wishlist in Ben Johnson, traded for two proven guards to help fix the offensive line and made multiple free agent signings that should have an immediate impact.
People around the NFL have generally given Bears general manager Ryan Poles high marks for what he's been able to accomplish since the season ended, but the gap between his team and the rest of the NFC North was wide. For context, the Packers finished in third and were six games ahead of Chicago. Don't even ask about the Lions and Vikings.
Bears fans don't expect the team to take over the division overnight, but it's been nice to see such clear progress on multiple fronts. Nothing happens in a vacuum though, and the rest of the division is also hard at work to become the best version of themselves.
The draft is just under a month away, which makes it the perfect time to take stock of the offseason so far. Let's power rank the NFC North based on what they did and didn't do. This doesn't indicate what order these teams will finish in next year, but it should give some insight into where they stand relative to last season's hierarchy.
4. Green Bay Packers
This Packers offseason has been marked more for who they didn't get than who they did. All reports indicated that Green Bay was in the market for a true number one receiver, but at this point they still haven't found anyone. Deebo Samuel was traded to Washington. DK Metcalf went to the Steelers. Tee Higgins re-signed with the Bengals. Cooper Kupp is in Seattle.
Instead, the Packers got Mecole Hardman from the Chiefs, which is the equivalent of rushing downstairs on Christmas morning expecting a new bike and finding nothing but underwear and socks instead.
As for what else the Packers actually did, the answer is a whole lot of nothing. Former Raiders cornerback Nate Hobbs was given four years and $48 million to help a pass defense that was already ranked eighth in the NFL. He's coming off of his worst season and missed over a month with an ankle injury.
Aaron Banks received a whopping four years and $77 million to bolster the interior of the Packers offensive line, a huge bet on a guy that is still young but isn't thought to be anywhere near one of the top players at his position.
On the coaching front, the Packers have a new defensive line coach in DeMarcus Covington, who spent last year as the Patriots defensive coordinator. They also promoted Sean Mannion to quarterbacks coach after Tom Clements retired. Matt LaFleur and his coordinators remain intact, so these moves shouldn't move the needle very much.
3. Detroit Lions
It's been a tale of two offseasons for the Lions thus far. As far as coaching goes, they got hit the hardest of any team in the NFL, as offensive coordinator Ben Johnson left to be the Bears' new head coach, and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn left to take over the Jets.
John Morton is the new offensive coordinator after helping Bo Nix as the Broncos passing game coordinator last year. He previously spent time in Detroit as an offensive assistant. Linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard was promoted to fill Glenn's shoes.
It will be interesting to see how the Lions are able to cope with losing two top coordinators next year. It seems like a smart move to hire familiar faces to take over for Johnson and Glenn, but each of those guys got head coaching jobs for a reason. They'll be difficult to replace.
On the player personnel side, Lions general manager Brad Holmes did well to keep and import talent without breaking the bank. He brought back defensive end Levi Onwuzurike on a cheap, one-year deal. He added more defensive line depth by signing Roy Lopez away from Arizona. He also landed one of the top available cornerbacks in DJ Reed on a team-friendly three-year, $48 million deal. Reed should be an upgrade over Carlton Davis, who signed with the Patriots for even more money.
Tim Patrick re-signed with the team, and he proved last year that he could be a dependable option in Detroit's multifaceted passing game.
Losing Kevin Zeitler hurts, as he was an incredibly dependable lineman. The Lions will hope that Christan Mahogany is ready to rise up and take his place. Kindle Vildor left, but he was replaced by Rock Ya-Sin and Avonte Maddox.
2. Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings have had an outstanding offseason by any measure, but they do have one huge question mark that keeps them from being above the Bears. That's at quarterback, where they let Sam Darnold walk to Seattle, flirted briefly with Aaron Rodgers, and now seem set to give second-year JJ McCarthy the keys to the car.
McCarthy tore his meniscus in the first preseason game of his rookie year, then spent the entire year on the injured list. The fact that the Vikings are going with him must mean that they feel comfortable with what he can do, and given head coach Kevin O'Connell's track record with getting the most out of quarterbacks, I'd say McCarthy seems like a good bet to do well.
Defensive coordinator Bryan Flores was able to generate a ton of pressure last year, and he'll be in an even better position to do so with a rejuvenated defensive front now that Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen were both signed. The secondary was also fortified, with Harrison Smith coming back for a 14th year, Byron Murphy re-signing, and Isaiah Rodgers being brought in to play opposite him. The Vikes also added Jeff Okudah on a one-year deal.
Not content to only help the defense, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah also improved the offensive line by signing center Ryan Kelly and guard Will Fries, and he brought Aaron Jones back to run behind them. He'll be backed up by Jordan Mason, who was acquired from the Niners for a fifth- and sixth-round pick. Rondale Moore is an intriguing pickup as a fourth receiver behind Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and Jailen Nailor.
Regardless of what happens in the draft, the Vikings have already had a heck of an offseason. If McCarthy ends up being legit, they're going to be contenders for a long time.
1. Chicago Bears
We've already graded each of the Bears' offseason moves individually, but the sum total of them is so good that we need to go through them again.
It can't be overstated how huge it is that the Bears landed Ben Johnson to be their head coach. There has never been a single time in franchise history that the Halas and McCaskey family have gone after and landed the most sought-after coach on the market, until now. That's a big deal, and the clearest sign yet that this isn't going to be the same old Bears.
The two most important pieces any NFL team can have are the right head coach and the right quarterback. The Bears now have both for the first time since Mike Ditka and Jim McMahon.
That alone gives the Bears a leg up on the division, though in fairness to the other three teams, the Bears were so bad last season that they had much more room to improve. That improvement has also taken place on the roster, where First Team All-Pro and former Pro Bowler Jonah Jackson were acquired for mid-round draft picks to finally give the offensive line some respectability. Signing former Falcons center Drew Dalman was the cherry on top of the most dramatic makeover of any unit in the division.
Grady Jarrett is just the veteran presence the Bears need on the defensive line, while Dayo Odeyingbo's best days are still ahead of him. They'll be a great help to Montez Sweat and Gervon Dexter.
I also really like the signings of Olamide Zaccheaus and Devin Duvernay. Letting Keenan Allen go will allow Rome Odunze to assume a much larger role, and these two will still get plenty of looks as the 3 and 4 receivers. Duvernay's ability as a return man is also going to pay dividends.
If Ryan Poles is able to nail the draft the way he has the rest of the offseason, Bears fans could look back on this stretch as one of the most pivotal turning points in franchise history. The season can't get here soon enough.