Why it's tough to bet against Bears to repeat as NFC North champs

How about if we all have some fun by trying to answer a very subjective question with some even more subjective answers and then try and figure out what it all really means?

Does the team with the best talent usually win its division, or is the champ the team with the most talent?

The distinction here is: would you rather have half a dozen studs and a number of positions you have to work around because you know your stars are going to win games for you, or are you willing to go with a few less All Pros to field quality pros at every position?

Heading into the 2019 season using only recent history as criteria, it's impossible to argue the Bears aren't the team with the best talent in the NFC North, returning five first-team all pros and eight players who played in the most recent Pro Bowl.

But do the Bears have the most talent, or are the Vikings, Packers or Lions more likely to claim that crown and deserve the nod as our preseason choice to win the division?

Let's put together our all NFC North team and see.

The quarterback is Aaron Rodgers. End of conversation.

While all four clubs have a running back at No. 1 on the depth chart, none are exactly sure things. So I have to go with Tarik Cohen for what all the all pro brings to the table, and the Packers' Aaron Jones - unproven for sure, but the NFL's leader in average yards per carry last season at 5.5.

We'll take three wideouts - Minnesota's Adam Thielen, Green Bay's Davante Adams and in a tossup between the Vikings' Stefon Diggs and the Bears' Allen Robinson, I have to go with Robinson.

The tight end is Kyle Rudolph, at least until we know what T.J. Hockenson and Adam Shaheen can do in a division somewhat threadbare at the position.

The tackles are the Packers' David Bakhtiari and the Bears' Charles Leno. Both left tackles, I know, but the division shows holes on the O-lines of all four teams, and Leno is coming off a Pro Bowl alternate season.

I'd take Bryan Bulaga over Leno, but you just can't count on him to be on the field.

At guard, Kyle Long is one of the best in the game - when healthy - and in a really nondescript group, I have to take Cody Whitehair, too, coming off his first Pro Bowl as an alternate at center, clearly not his best position.

I expect James Daniels to be the best center, but since he hasn't played it in the NFL yet we have to give this spot to Green Bay's Corey Linsley.

To allow for 4-3 and 3-4 defenses we'll take five D-linemen, four linebackers and five defensive backs, but we'll take the three best corners rather than debate over nickels.

Up front, the Bears' Akiem Hicks, Detroit's Damon "Snacks" Harrison, Minnesota's Linval Joseph and Danielle Hunter and Chicago's Eddie Goldman are pretty easy picks for me.

Likewise, it's hard for me to imagine any debate over taking the Bears' Khalil Mack and Minnesota's Anthony Barr on the outside and Chicago's Roquan Smith and Danny Trevathan inside.

In the secondary, the first four are certainly Chicago's Eddie Jackson and Minnesota's Harrison Smith at safety, and on the corners you've got Kyle Fuller, the Vikings' Xavier Rhodes and Detroit's Darius Slay.

Minnesota's Matt Wile was the best punter last year. I think you have to go with Matt Prater as the place-kicker, and if Cohen isn't the best returner in the NFC North, Cordarrelle Patterson is.

So for the 29 position players we picked - we'll count just one returner - let's total them up and see what we've got:

Bears - 13, Vikings - 8, Packers - 5 and Lions - 3.

I realize some will argue the Leno and Whitehair picks, and I suppose I could be convinced otherwise, but it still doesn't cost the Bears the lead.

So let's take one other approach.

The only area the Bears are unsettled right now is at place kicker. The Vikings need to establish the runnig back group, offensive line and linebackers after Barr.

The Packers are uncertain at receiver after Adams, guard and everywhere on defense, and the Lions just don't have the talent the other three in the division have.

Injuries and schedules will come into play, but with what we know now, this is why it's so hard to pick any team but the Bears in the NFC North.

• Hub Arkush, the executive editor of Pro Football Weekly, can be reached at harkush@profootballweekly.com or on Twitter @Hub_Arkush.