It's not fun to think about which players in the lower 75% of the North (got that one from a comment and loved it) could break out this year, but someone has to do it, so it might as well be you. 

Bears

The Bears player is obvious: Austin Booker. Maybe I think that he's better than he is because I don't like him, and we all think of him as a dirty player, but it seems like he could be the Bears' best edge rusher next season.

And that's saying something when they oversigned Dayo Odeyingbo to a massive deal in free agency (I still think they did this because Gutey leaked that he "wanted" him right before free agency; jokes on them, we got Micah Parsons instead) and spent a premium pick on Montez Sweat. 

Booker was graded as the 60th-best edge last year, certainly not great, but he only played half the season coming off a bad season and had half as many pressures as Rashan Gary.

Booker has reportedly put on muscle mass this off-season to come back better against the run, but he, interestingly, graded a little better against the run than the pass last season. The best thing for Booker would be for the increased strength to make him more consistent when rushing the passer. 

Lions

Sadly, the Lions player is Tate Ratledge. The Lions took the ultra-athletic guard three picks after the Packers reached for Anthony Belton, and there's a chance that this will be Josh Myers over Creed Humphrey 2.0. 

When the Packers took Myers, they were going for a bigger center to try to evolve into a more power-run-based offense. Humphrey had the classic Packers athletic profile and tape to go with it, and they chose to reach for Myers solely because he was bigger. In the 2025 draft, the team took the 6'6" 340-pound Belton, claiming he may work out at tackle, with Ratledge, one of the most natural-looking guards in the draft, ready and waiting. Hopefully, we won't all regret it for years. 

Ratledge had a pretty good rookie season, grading out as a top-22 guard and top-10 in run blocking over more than 1,000 snaps. His pass blocking was averageish but you have to think he can improve it with another year of NFL coaching, considering his athleticism. 

Vikings

The Vikings don't have a clear guy like the Lions or Bears. Some people will say Jalen Redmond because he had a great year against the run last year or James Pierre who was a PFF all-star as a spot starter, and they're looking to make their Al Harris. But I think the guy is Jordan Addison. 

Addison was a first-round pick who almost hit 1,000 yards in his first season and then went downhill the next two years with progressively worse QBs. Now the team has a QB who can at least get him the ball and a Juaun Jennings has arrived to take over the slot. I think it's time for Addison to prove that he is worth the DeVonta Smith deal as a top number 2 receiver. 

Smith is a good comp since he's also a small person. He's had three 1,000-yard seasons over five years and averaged around 14 yards per catch. Addison has matched his average but not the number of receptions.