The NFC North is going to be a bloodbath in the 2026 NFL Season, but with the emergence of the Chicago Bears, things could get even spicier. The Bears burst onto the scene in 2025, winning the division with a strong 11-6 record.
Despite winning 11 games, though, the defense struggled big-time outside of forcing turnovers, but the team did see a sizeable year two leap from Caleb Williams, who was truly more efficient across the board outside of that pesky completion percentage, which dipped below 60 percent.
However, Williams is still only in his third season and could continue to make strides with head coach Ben Johnson in their second year together. Where does Williams stand among NFC North starting quarterbacks?
Updated NFC North QB rankings paint a great picture for Chicago Bears' Caleb Williams
4. Kyler Murray, Minnesota Vikings
Kyler Murray is far from a bad quarterback, but he's definitely the worst in the division, which also tells you just how good the North can be. Murray had an up-and-down tenure with the Arizona Cardinals before signing with the Minnesota Vikings this offseason. Where Murray can change the game is with his rushing ability.
As a passer, he's solidly efficient, posing a career passer rating of 92.2. He also averages 30 total touchdowns across a full 17-game season, but throughout his career, we've never seen Murray ascend into that rare air at the position. He's solidly been in the 12-20 tier for his entire career, and for the time being, there isn't any reason to believe that can be improved on.
3. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
Jordan Love has been very good for the Green Bay Packers, but he's won exactly nine games in all three years of his starting career, and he's missed two regular season games in each of the last two seasons. We've definitely seen a bit of a ceiling reached by Love, and it's unclear if his fourth year on the job will be any different.
Love can make all the throws on the field and is typically quite efficient, but the Packers have been maxed out in the playoffs these last three seasons and still don't strike you as a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
Love's small, but still notable injury history is also something that doesn't help his case.
2. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
I believe the highs we have seen from Williams have been higher than those of Love's thus far, so he'll take the No. 2 spot in these rankings. His interception rate of 1.2 percent is the best in the NFC North, and in 2025, he led the NFL in fourth quarter comebacks.
He's also not missed a start and has played in nearly 100 percent of the possible snaps for the Bears thus far. Through two seasons, Williams has accomplished a lot, and given his youth over the other three starters and what appears to be a wicked-high ceiling, he could ascend to the top of these rankings during 2026.
1. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
Right now, not only is Jared Goff the best quarterback in the NFC North, but he's also one of the more underappreciated passers in the NFL, period. He's thrown no fewer than 29 touchdown passes in each of the last four seasons, also having a winning record during that time and not missing a single start.
Goff is also averaging a whopping 4,552 passing yards over the past four seasons and is still completing over 68 percent of his throws during that period. Simply put, Goff is one of the more prolific passers in the NFL and plays the position better than most.
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Sure, Goff isn't a dual-threat weapon and is typically only going to win from the pocket, but that's also the first job of a quarterback. For the time being, Goff is No. 1 in the NFC North.
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