Detroit Lions 3 bold predictions for the 2022 NFL season

The Detroit Lions are going to be one of the most fun teams to watch in the NFL this season. Let’s take a look at some bold predictions for this team.

The Detroit Lions are about to become one of the most popular teams in the NFL in 2022.

The Lions are the subject of this year’s Hard Knocks series on HBO, and even just one episode in, you can see very clearly that this team is not only loaded with personalities, but they have also pretty significantly reloaded the talent on the roster. Detroit has a pair of key cornerstone pieces in the trenches on both sides of the ball in 2021 first-round pick Penei Sewell (the team’s right tackle) as well as 2022 top pick Aidan Hutchinson, a stud off the edge defensively.

Getting these pieces in place while rebuilding and reloading is key. The Detroit Lions had to watch their former first overall pick and franchise QB Matthew Stafford win a Super Bowl in his first year with a new team while they stayed at the very bottom of the NFC.

But better days are on the horizon, even if the light at the end of the tunnel is a freight train. The Lions may not have a winning record in 2022, but they also might make a lot more noise this year than anyone is really used to.

Let’s take a look at three (bold) predictions for the Detroit Lions heading into the 2022 NFL season.

Detroit Lions bold prediction no. 1: Dan Campbell finishes as a finalist for coach of the year

From his first press conference with the team to the first episode of this year’s Hard Knocks, it’s clear that Dan Campbell is one of the easiest coaches in the NFL to love.

Campbell used to play tight end in the NFL though you would think just by looking at him and listening to him that he spent 15 years in the WWE. This guy is a load of energy and fire but he also knows football exceptionally well.

And he’s hired an outstanding coaching staff that has already been receiving significant recognition around the rest of the NFL. Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn was interviewing for head coaching jobs this past offseason and it’s only a matter of time before he and Duce Staley (among others, potentially) are tabbed as head coaches or coordinators around the league.

Campbell comes from the Bill Parcells/Sean Payton coaching tree and you can tell that what he portrays within the media is truly how he is every single day. The double shot in an iced coffee from Starbucks — x2 every day — sounds about right.

Campbell’s intensity aside, I think we’re going to see tremendous player development within this Lions organization in 2022 as well as a major leap in the overall level of play from the team, which could result in Campbell earning some NFL coach of the year votes.

Detroit Lions bold prediction no. 2: Jeff Okudah picks off at least four passes

One key factor to the Detroit Lions‘ success in 2022 is going to be how well the secondary plays for defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. Glenn has a couple of really nice pieces in the secondary this year, especially at the cornerback position.

Former Penn State star Amani Oruwariye was a revelation for the Lions last year with a whopping six interceptions, doubling the total of interceptions he had in his first two NFL seasons combined. The emergence of Oruwariye was nice to see and gave Lions fans hope at the cornerback position even though the team was missing former first-round pick Jeff Okudah due to injury.

Well, entering the 2022 season, it seems like Oruwariye is the unquestioned CB1 for this Lions team which means we could see a lot of balls thrown the direction of Okudah. Okudah isn’t out of the woods just yet. He’s apparently competing with Will Harris for a starting job in this Lions defense.

There will undoubtedly be a role for both players and I’m expecting a huge year from Okudah, the former third-overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Okudah’s final season at Ohio State was filled with absolutely textbook play at the cornerback position. He was a top-three pick for a reason and I think we’re finally going to get to see that side of him here in 2022.

Although injuries are disappointing, it’s hard to call Okudah a disappointment up to this point in his NFL career. According to those in attendance at Detroit Lions training camp, Okudah has been looking great. I’m calling a shot right now, that Okudah is able to stay mostly healthy this year and pick off at least four passes for the Lions.

Detroit Lions bold prediction no. 3: WR DJ Chark returns to the Pro Bowl

A year ago at this time, the Detroit Lions had the worst-looking wide receiver group in the entire NFL. And they undoubtedly knew that to be true.

The Lions made a trade with the Denver Broncos to get promising young player Trinity Benson to take at least a dart throw at the position, but it was a series of other developments that actually led to the Lions assembling a rather impressive group of receivers for position coach Antwan Randle-El in very short order.

The Lions saw the emergence of rookie Amon-Ra St. Brown, a fourth-round pick out of USC who played outstanding last year. Jared Goff’s productivity and efficiency as a passer also skyrocketed once the team acquired his former Rams teammate Josh Reynolds, a guy who was brought back in 2022 as well.

The Lions also brought in former Pro Bowl DJ Chark in 2022 free agency, one of the best and most underrated moves any team made this offseason for my money. Chark signed a one-year “prove-it” deal with the Lions and I think he’s going to cash in big-time. Chark was once a Pro Bowl receiver with the Jacksonville Jaguars before their QB situation was even close to being sorted out, and now he has the chance to be a major weapon for Jared Goff.

Goff proved last year that he can spread the ball around and even if he’s not a top-tier player at the QB position, I think he’s going to do just fine with the weapons at his disposal. In particular, I think DJ Chark is going to have a monster year in Detroit.

It’s hard to believe that more teams weren’t all over trying to sign Chark this year, especially considering there are so many playoff-ready teams in need of wide receivers. I think a lot of NFL franchises are going to regret passing on the opportunity to get Chark on a rather reasonable one-year deal.

Their loss will be the Detroit Lions’ gain as Chark returns to the Pro Bowl this season.