5 NFL teams that should blow away expectations in 2022
NFL team poised to blow away expectations no. 3: Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions. 50. Scouting Report. . Pick Analysis. . 3. player
Let’s use this platform as another avenue to talk about the Detroit Lions.
The Lions are one of the top punchlines to every NFL joke over the last few decades and last year, things reached a new low.
They watched their own number one pick — Matthew Stafford — lead the Los Angeles Rams to a Super Bowl in his first year with the team after spending 2009-2020 with the Lions.
Although I’m sure Detroit Lions fans were happy for Stafford, you can’t help but wonder why that couldn’t have happened when he was still in Detroit.
Unfortunately, the Lions’ rebuild timeline just didn’t match up with Stafford’s personal wishes, because it seems like this team is always rebuilding.
Only now, it feels like there’s something different about the quality of the roster and the coaching in Detroit.
Dan Campbell and his staff seem to be doing an outstanding job and looking at this roster from a bird’s eye view, you can see general manager Brad Holmes’ vision coming into focus.
Offensively, the Lions have a very strong offensive line with a combination of good young players and proven veterans.
The skill position groups have been completely revamped and turned around from arguably the league’s very worst heading into the 2021 season to one of the better-looking groups in 2022.
Here are a few players Jared Goff will be able to spread the ball around to in 2021:
- TE TJ Hockenson
- RB D’Andre Swift
- WR Amon-Ra St. Brown
- WR Jameson Williams (eventually)
- WR DJ Chark
- WR Josh Reynolds
- WR Kalif Raymond
And there are others the Lions like, players like Trinity Benson and Quintez Cephus.
With Detroit making some key acquisitions defensively like drafting Aidan Hutchinson and getting Jeff Okudah back from injury, this team could make some serious noise in the NFC North in 2022 as their rebuild presses on.