Sunday open thread: Which NFC North player do Detroit Lions fans hate the most?

With the exodus of Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets, Detroit Lions fans no longer have to expend all of their hate towards the quarterback who had terrorized the division for every year other than 2022. Good riddance to a good player but very annoying person.

However, that leaves a pretty big hole to fill in the division. There seemingly lacks a true villain (other than Lions GM Brad Holmes) in the NFC North, and we have all this residual hate to expend.

So today’s Question of the Day is simple?

Who is the Lions’ biggest rival player to hate in the NFC North?

My answer: My first instinct is to stay with the Green Bay Packers, because... well, because screw the Packers. But there isn’t a player that immediately jumps out as the villain type. Maybe cornerback Jaire Alexander, who certainly likes to talk a lot of trash. But can the biggest rival in the division truly be a cornerback? I’m not convinced.

I believe Justin Fields has the potential to take the title, but he’s certainly not there yet. He killed the Lions last year with his feet, but everything else about that Bears team—especially their pass offense—was so bad that Fields felt like a boss on easy mode. With some new weapons around him and some development as a passer, though, there could be something brewing there.

In Minnesota, Kirk Cousins is too innocent to be a villain, but Justin Jefferson is both a better player and a more polarizing personality. Heck, the man didn’t even name his own quarterback as a top-five passer in this league (although, he’s absolutely right). Last year, there was a nice little mini-rivalry between Jefferson and the Lions. Detroit absolutely took him out of the picture in the first game (but the Vikings won). In the other matchup, Jefferson vowed to get his revenge and light up the statsheet. He did, but the Lions won in fairly convincing fashion.

Now that the Lions have a little more attitude in their secondary with C.J. Gardner-Johnson, a healthy Tracy Walker, and a budding Kerby Joseph, I feel like this matchup could get heated this year.

Who is the player you hate the most in the NFC North right now? Sound off in the comment section by creating an account here and scrolling down to the comment section.