On Monday, I wrote why Aaron Rodgers would be foolish to leave the Packers for an AFC team. He would be dealing with some of the best young quarterbacks in the league. Rodgers would have to compete for week-in-week-out with chasing Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and others. As well as some great coaches like Bill Belichick, Andy Reid, Sean McDermott, Mike Tomlin (Unless Rodgers played for Pittsburgh). With the news of Sean Payton retiring and Tom Brady leaning towards it, the NFC is in flux. Let’s look at NFC as a whole

Right now, the teams that are in the best position if the season started tomorrow are the Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, and Los Angeles Rams. Those four seem to have the best chance to be regular powerhouses. Each has its own issues. Packers with Rodgers. Dallas will have Payton hanging over Mike McCarthy’s head all year. What will the Niners do at quarterback? Will the Rams be able to have dream team rosters year in and year out? That said, if we put that group with Kansas City, Buffalo, Cincinnati, I think it pales in comparison.

The second tier of the NFC is where things get brutal. It is all based on potential and nothing else. Arizona could be great but they fell apart in the playoffs. Philadelphia has draft picks and a young quarterback but what’s their roadmap? Chicago also has a young quarterback, but he looked less than stellar all season. Minnesota has a bunch of talent but an average quarterback with no succession plan. If you take those four and compare them to the next tier in the AFC – Baltimore, New England, Los Angeles, Indianapolis, there is a wide gap.

This doesn’t mean that the AFC will reign over the NFC similar to what the NFC did in the 80s and 90s where the NFC won 16 of 20 Super Bowls. It’s football. Anything can happen. Hell, the Rams or Niners could beat Kansas City in a few weeks. But what this shows is why Rodgers coming back and having an opportunity to win another title is not that outlandish. The NFC is wide open.

Charlie.