Best of NFC North: QB, draft pick, fans and more

The season is creeping closer. Before we know it, the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game (Aug. 3) will be here. As we speed toward the start of the 2023 season, let's examine the best of the NFC North.

BEST QB | Kirk Cousins, Vikings: Cousins didn't make the cut on teammate Justin Jefferson's top-five quarterback list, but with Detroit's Jared Goff, Chicago's Justin Fields and Green Bay's Jordan Love not ready to overtake him, he remains the best quarterback in the NFC North. In 2022, Cousins ranked fourth in passing yards (4,547) and fifth in touchdown passes (29) in the NFL and posted the third-highest completion percentage (46 percent) on passes beyond 20 yards, trailing only Miami's Tua Tagovailoa (48 percent) and Seattle's Geno Smith (49 percent).

The 2022 season ended sourly, with a Cousins' fourth-down pass coming up short of the sticks on the deciding play of the wild-card round. However, head coach Kevin O'Connell said he's "very excited" for year two with Cousins, who until this season hasn't had the same play-caller for consecutive seasons as a Viking. 

BEST COACH | Matt LaFleur, Packers HC: Entering his fifth season, LaFleur has a bit of an unfair advantage, holding the experience edge over his counterparts by a large margin. However, the numbers don't lie. Of the other NFC North head coaches, only O'Connell has a winning mark (13-4), but he has only coached one season. Furthermore, LaFleur's playoff record alone tops the other three combined, 2-3 to 0-1. 

LaFleur owns the fifth-highest winning percentage (.712) in NFL history through four seasons. Heading into 2023, he'll face a new challenge, starting his first season with a quarterback not named Aaron Rodgers, as the Packers turn the keys over to 2020 first-rounder Love. 

BEST 2023 FREE-AGENT SIGNING | C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Lions, safety: The Lions desperately needed help in their secondary after boasting the lowest coverage grade (48.8) in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus. While Detroit added cornerbacks Cameron Sutton and Emmanuel Moseley in free agency, they made a giant splash, inking arguably the best safety on the market in Gardner-Johnson. 

Gardner-Johnson proved his playmaking skills in 2022 with the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles, finishing tied for the NFL lead in interceptions (six) in only 12 games. The fifth-year pro ranks eighth among safeties ahead of the 2023 campaign, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, with one league executive saying Gardner-Johnson was "worth his weight in gold" and would immediately impact the Lions where they need it most. 

BEST 2023 DRAFT PICK | Hendon Hooker, Lions, QB: There are plenty of intriguing rookies in the NFC North this season, but perhaps none have a higher ceiling in terms of value than Hooker. The former Tennessee standout suffered a torn ACL in November, causing him to fall to the Lions with the 68th pick (third round). Thought by many to be a first-round selection, Hooker could be a huge bargain if he morphs into a franchise QB. 

There are concerns about Hooker's age (he turns 26 in January) and readiness for the NFL after playing in Tennessee's spread offense. However, former ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said in April that Hooker showed NFL teams that he understood concepts and could recite calls from his days at Virginia Tech, where the team ran a pro-style system, "like he was playing in it yesterday." 

BEST FANS | Green Bay Packers: The NFC North is full of die-hard fans who support their teams, but Packers fans get the nod as the best. Not only are the Packers one of the oldest franchises in sports, but Green Bay has built that reputation in the smallest pro market in the U.S. 

No game-day atmosphere matches Lambeau Field, the Packers home stadium. In 2022, the Packers finished with the third-highest attendance (685,623) in the NFL, behind only the New York Giants (688,266) and Dallas Cowboys (841,192). Meanwhile, the Packers' well-known ticket waiting list includes roughly 147,000 names heading into the 2023 season. Of Green Bay's 38,000 season-ticket holders, 99 percent renew yearly.