The NFC North is set up in an incredibly intriguing way with the arrival of Caleb Williams to join the likes of Jordan Love and Jared Goff in leading their teams in the race for the division.

Among our NFC North best bets, we examine whether the Lions could repeat as champions, what we may see from both Love and Williams this season, and what 2024 might hold for the Vikings.

What Are Our Top Picks for All Four NFC North Teams?

Chicago Bears

Pick: Caleb Williams to lead rookies in passing yards (+100 at DraftKings)

This market is priced differently depending on the book you use, but anything under -140 has my attention. Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix are the other two rookies most likely to assume control of their respective offenses from the jump, making this something of a three-man race.

Drake Maye has the potential to make a splash, but if we are talking a 4-6 game head start, I have a hard time thinking they factor into this wager.

Forget the advanced analysis for a minute — how many reliable NFL pass catchers does Williams have access to?

We can’t include a rookie in the answer, but I’d say that he has more proven commodities (four) than Daniels and Nix together (two?). Williams owns an athletic profile, but no one is going to argue that a higher percentage of his offensive output will come on the ground than Daniels, opening us up for cheap passing yards instead of designed QB runs.

Even if you think this is tight down the stretch — I don’t think it finishes that way. Rookies tend to improve with time, so the fact that Williams closes his season with seven of eight games against below-average pass defenses from a season ago in terms of yards per attempt gives me confidence that he can push down the gas in December to win us this bet.

– Kyle Soppe, PFN Betting and Fantasy Analyst

Pick: Lions to win the division, with either the Packers (+320) or Bears (+450) to finish second.

Much like the AFC East, this division features three teams that figure to push for a postseason berth. For me, the excitement surrounding the Packers and Bears comes with the hope that they can be what the Lions already are. Detroit knows exactly who it is — this was a three-win team just three seasons ago before winning nine games in 2022 and 12 last season.

The Lions should come out of the gates strong (favored by an average of 4.8 points through September) and finish their season with a home game against the Vikings. I have them labeled as the class of this division, and while you could bet them to win the North (+135), I feel just as strongly about Minnesota being the worst team in this division.

By placing a pair of bets, I’m leveraging my two strongest takes in this division to get more bang for my buck than simply betting my confidence in Detroit.

Give me the Lions to win the division and either the Packers (+320) or Bears (+450) to finish second.

– Soppe

Pick: Jordan Love to throw for over 27.5 TD passes (-110 at DraftKings)

This number does not make much sense, given that Love had 32 passing touchdowns last season. The expectation is that the Green Bay Packers will be a better team than they were last season. Their over/under is set at 9.5 wins, which is 0.5 more than they achieved last year.

Therefore, it does not seem logical that Love would not progress at QB, let alone drop off by five passing touchdowns this season. Per TruMedia, he achieved those 32 passing touchdowns despite the Packers having a below-average 51.6% conversion rate inside the red zone.

I expect Love to take a step forward in his second full season, and he should be capable of achieving close to the 5.5% touchdown rate he achieved in 2023.

– Ben Rolfe, PFN Deputy Editor of Sports Betting, Fantasy, and Scouting