Detroit Lions Season Preview
4 Reasons the Lions can be a sneaky good team.
Dare I say the Lions may be a sneaky and frisky team this year? After back-to-back great drafts by second year GM Brad Holmes, this season is the first real test to see how this rebuild is going.
After finding out the Lions had no primetime games outside of thanksgiving, the twitter fanbase decided we would be lurking in the shadows this season, part of the reason we could be ‘sneaky good.’
For older Detroit Lions fans, I know. I’m way ahead of myself and I shouldn’t have any faith in this team until they actually do something. But looking at this roster, all the pieces brought in through the last two drafts, and the offensive weapons surrounded by a great O-line, this feels reasonable.
Dan Campbell did everything he could do with what he was given last season. We clearly were one of the worst rosters in the NFL, and set Jared Goff up to fail by giving him guys we found off the street as offensive weapons. But Campbell seems to have done exactly what he said he was going to do and reset the culture.
Sheila Ford has owned the Lions since 2020. Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes were hired in 2021. With the cards the Lions have now, and the additional two first round picks we have next year, theres no reason to still be the pathetic no hope Lion’s fan base I’ve seen from older generations. Call me crazy, but right now feels different.
In no particular order, here are 4 reasons why us Lions fans should be excited for the upcoming season:
1. First Round Draft Picks
Is no one going to talk about how Penei Sewell was immaculate last season? The rookie only had 11 penalties all season, second for all offensive tackles, and was rated the second best tackle in football by PFF for a 7 week stretch last year. Sewell was one of the best rookies the Lions have seen in quite some time, and one of the best rookie OTs the league has seen in awhile.
Everyone loves to talk about the fact that he didn’t back down from a scrap with Aaron Donald. How about the fact that Aaron Donald didn’t record a sack against the Lions as he lined up against the rook the majority of the game? We may have a future all-time great on our hands.
Oh yeah, we have the top rated defensive player of the 2022 draft in Aidan Hutchinson, who happens to play the most impactful and valuable position on defense. He starts getting double teams, he helps out his other defensive line guys. He starts getting to the QB, are corners look a lot better.
He was picked second overall for a reason. He DOMINATED everyone across from him at Michigan. We drafted him to do that in the NFL. Between him and Sewell, Brad Holmes goal is clearly to win games via the trenches. Good ol’ fashion football. Would we want it any other way in Detroit?
Not only did the Lions pick up the highest rated player on the defensive side, but also the clear number one skills player who inevitably was going to be the first receiver drafted before he got hurt. If you haven’t seen Jamison Williams Alabama highlights yet, do yourself a favor and go watch them. An aggressive move by the front office resulting in the Lions swooping in and absolutely stealing a top tier talent. I envision Detroit’s front office laughing after this because they felt like the evil villains making everyone look silly for not taking him yet. The way first round receivers have been playing from their first snap on the grid iron (Justin Jefferson, Terry Mclaurin, AJ Brown, Jamar Chase), I’m not sure what first round pick to be excited for more.
Also, we’ve got another two first picks next year. See how valuable they can be?
2. The O-Line
We’ve already talked about Penei Sewell being one of the best young players in the league (only 21 years old), but how about the guys lining up next to him?
Taylor Decker was good enough two season’s ago to rank as the ninth left tackle in football according to PFF, only giving up two sacks while starting all 16 games. Unfortunately, he missed most of last season with a few different injuries. Expect him to be back like he never left to start the season.
Of course, you can’t talk about the Lions offensive line without talking about the future hall-of-famer and arguably the best Center in the NFL, Frank “The Tank” Ragnow. The former second team all-pro man from Ohio State was ranked first among centers in 2020 by PFF, before missing the majority of 2021 due to injury. In that immaculate 2020 season, Ragnow allowed only 8 pressures and 0 sacks.
We still have not seen Ragnow, Decker, and Sewell play together. Assuming Sewell continues to improve, while Decker and Ragnow bounce back from injuries, this could be a scary offensive line to see in the trenches.
3. The Weapons
We talked about how special Jamison Williams could be, but how about everyone else?
Aman-Ra St. Brown looked like the next Deebo Samuel the last few weeks of the season. He’ll be our main slot guy this season, and he’ll be a damn good one. The rookie had a 2.4% drop rate last season, ranking first amongst rookies and ninth in the entire league. Glue hands.
DJ Chark is 6'4" and 200 pounds. He’s an outside the numbers go up and get it guy, something Goff was not given a season ago. The former 1000 yarder averaged a whooping 22 yards per reception last season.
Between Williams, Aman-Ra, and Chark, theres a lot of diversity amongst our core receivers. Aman-Ra is the catch in open space/on the run guy, Chark is the big play down the field guy, while Williams is our lightning fast superstar do it all guy.
But wait, theres more! TJ Hockenson, the former pro-bowl tight end, has size and athleticism with excellent ability to track down the ball and pick up yards. Now we just have to hope he learns how to run after he catches it. His numbers were down last season, but that can be credited to being the only weapon on his team, so defenses knew all they had to do was take him away. Hopefully Hock can benefit from the great receiver room too, by the wide outs opening up some lanes down the field for him.
Don’t forget DeAndre Swift! Swift picked up 452 yards through the air last season, averaging over 7 yards per catch. Granted, he surely wont get as many targets as last season now that the Lions have some competent receivers in the building, but that doesn’t change the fact that he is perfectly capable of catching 80 + percent of the balls thrown to him. Swift is electric in open space. It’s almost a guarantee he’ll make the first man miss, so having him out of the back field is just another weapon to utilize this season.
4. Goff?
Jared Goff has no excuses this season. He was set up to fail last year. The finger couldn’t have been pointed at him as the reason we were losing. Look who he was throwing too. But now with some elite receivers in the room along with, when healthy, one of the best offensive lines in the entire league, who knows, maybe Goff becomes a great system Quarterback this season. Is it really the craziest thing? Have I gone mad? Tweet at me to let me know. But he did play in the Super Bowl as a system QB. Just sayin.
