Caleb Williams Is Going for 4,000 Yards: NFC North QB Tier List

The NFC North has become one of the most challenging divisions in football, but there is one thing missing: a Lombardi Trophy.

Since Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl almost twenty years ago, the NFC North hasn’t made it back to the championship game.

Will one of these quarterbacks change that fact?

Here are my rankings of the NFC North’s starting QBs heading into the 2026 season.

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1. Jared Goff (Detroit Lions)

I know what I’m getting with the 10-year veteran. If the Lions give him a clean pocket, he’s a top-five QB in football and can make all the throws necessary to pilot an elite offense.

When he’s forced on his back foot, that’s when things fall apart. He might have a lower ceiling than the two QBs ranked below him, but the Lions should give him better protection in 2026, and that means results.

2. Jordan Love (Green Bay Packers)

Although I’m worried about the constant injuries that he picks up throughout the season, Love, when healthy, is a well-above-average franchise guy teetering on superstar status.

And he’s done it all without a star wide receiver to throw to. Maybe if the Packers fixed that in the offseason, I’d have him at the top, but alas, that didn’t happen.

3. Caleb Williams (Chicago Bears)

The Iceman pulled off some of the craziest throws of last year’s NFL season, and he’s truly improved from where he was when he first started two years ago.

His potential is higher than Love’s or Goff’s, but that consistency needs to be there throughout his third season for me to have him above the pair above him.

Also, this has to be the year Williams breaks through and becomes the Chicago Bears’ first 4,000-yard passer.

4. J.J. McCarthy (Minnesota Vikings)

Is it even McCarthy at this point? Although I’m sure Minnesota will do its best to protect its young QB and say that he’s the frontrunner for the job until he’s not, there’s a strong chance Kyler Murray starts for the Vikings in Week 1, and we never see McCarthy play again for the franchise.

And with a deep QB prospect class coming in 2027, the Vikings, depending on how the season ends, might be ready to fully push the reset button at the QB position.

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This story was originally published April 29, 2026 at 4:52 PM.