Sizing Up the Vikings’ Rivals: The Lions
The closest thing the Lions’ fans have to an in-stadium chant is “JARED GOFF!” Not exactly iconic or timeless, as he will retire at some point. I was searching for a slogan for the team or a chant, and other than that, I came across “One Pride” and the less popular yet often used over the decades “Same Old Lions”.
Honestly, the team has been one of the most mournful teams in the NFL, with their lone division win coming back in 1993. Along the way, they lost every game of the season in 2008, going 0-16. The team has been a perpetual paper bag-wearing fan base with glimmers of hope for some years, as they made the playoffs, only to be quickly bumped in their first game.
Sizing Up the Vikings’ Rivals: The Lions
Things started to really turn around for the better in 2021 when the team hired Dan Campbell as their head coach. Campbell came in, and the first thing he began to turn around was their attitude of believing they are a losing franchise. The mentality took hold, and the team and its fans started to believe in that mantra. In the last two seasons, the Lions have won the NFC North and have been a legitimate threat to every team in the league.
Surprisingly, the biggest trade of Matthew Stafford for Jared Goff didn’t completely put the franchise into a larger tailspin but instead brought stability to the team. Goff has played very well after having some up-and-down moments with the LA Rams. Stafford finally got his ring with the Rams after struggling on Detroit’s roster for years. Could Goff get the team to their first Super Bowl? He alone might not have to.
The Lions have built a team with one of the best offensive lines in the league by drafting very well at those positions. They matched that by pumping power and pass rushing prowess into their defensive line and a defensive backfield that can cause major headaches for opposing offenses.
Michigan native Aidan Hutchinson joined the team in 2022 after a stellar career at Michigan with the #2 overall pick and became an immediate force on the team. “One Pride” has definitely become a true slogan for the team and the fans to get behind now. In 2023, they got to the Conference Championship game and barely lost to the 49ers by 3 points.
This last season, the team was decimated by injuries on the defensive side of the ball, including Aiden Hutchinson for most of the season, and they still won the division with a final win over the Vikings in the final regular season game. The Lions made it to the divisional round and lost to the upstart Washington Commanders, where they just couldn’t get over all the players they had lost. Will the Lions’ ascension in the NFL continue, or will they fall short and revert to their old ways?
Tough Coaching
Head Coach Dan Campbell is given the most credit for the Lions’ turnaround, which is deserved. He came in and told the team to ignore the past and focus on being the meanest, scrappiest team in the league. Many coaches try this approach, but getting an organization to buy into it fully can be challenging. Lucky for him that everyone did.
Campbell isn’t afraid to be daring in his coaching, and it shows by his regularly going for it on 4th downs and waiving off the special teams units. Has it come back to bite him? A few times, but for the most part, the team is successful when they gamble on making it to live another set of downs. This year might be different because when teams succeed, they tend to lose staff members to other organizations looking for head coaches.
Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson was just such a man who stayed in Detroit as long as he could. Johnson is the mastermind behind several plays that got the Lions where they are. The division rival Bears plucked him this offseason to be their head coach, and it leaves everyone wondering if the magic continues without him in Detroit. We’ve often seen coaches propped up by their staffs, and we see that success follows the former assistants to new teams. That is possible here as Campbell is more of the emotional leader than the brains behind the schemes.
The job now falls to John Morton. The defense may also struggle as Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn took his talents to the Jets as their new head coach. Kevin Sheppard steps into the position for 2025. Both coordinators will be filling big shoes, and if the team regresses significantly, the “Same Old Lions” phrase might be back in vogue.
Free Agency
The Lions didn’t hold back when keeping key free agents. General Manager Brad Holmes has done a good job controlling the salary cap. Goff has a manageable cap hit this year of $32 million, and the only really big contract is left tackle Taylor Decker.
They let a lot of players go but also retained a large amount of them this offseason. They lost cornerbacks Carlton Davis to the Patriots, Kindle Vildor to the Buccaneers, and Ifeatu Melifonwu to the Dolphins. In the trenches, they saw right guard Kevin Zeitler take his skills to the Titans and defensive lineman Jonah Williams head south to the Saints. Most would think they had to clean house due to their success and the salary cap coming into play this year.
The team has $42 million under the cap this year, so they could keep some more guys around if they wanted to. They did some spending, going after possibly the top cornerback that hit the market in former Jets player cornerback DJ Reed to upgrade the defensive backfield.
After that, though, it is less impressive, with only defensive tackle Roy Lopez added from the Cardinals. The key is that they retained many of their key players like linebackers Derrick Barnes, Anthony Pittman, and Zeke Turner, and defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike, and offensive lineman Dan Skipper. Keeping as many guys around who know the system and made the team successful is sometimes more important than adding new people.
The only real key player they let walk was Za’Darius Smith, who had his annual “I need to go somewhere else” moment. Since they have drafted so well the last few years, they didn’t have to go on a spending spree.
2025 Draft
The Lions’ draft wasn’t bad, but some viewed it as kind of confusing to a certain extent. For instance, many believe they need another pass rusher off the edge to help Hutchinson on the other end. Someone adept at getting back to the quarterback could make that unit a terror to deal with.
They drafted defensive tackle Tyleik Williams from Ohio State, which seemed odd other than as a depth piece or starter until Alim McNeill is fully recovered from his knee injury suffered this season. With DJ Reader and Lopez already in position, what happens when McNeill comes back? With players like Mike Green and Donovan Ezeiruaku still on the board and even the falling cornerback Will Johnson, they chose a position that is pretty full for them. They even moved up on the 2nd round to take guard Tate Ratledge, to fill Zeitler’s vacancy, and didn’t address the edge until round 6.
The Lions could also use a wide receiver to complement Amon-Ra St Brown better, but this was a very weak receiver class. They scooped up Isaac TeSlaa in the 3rd round, who is tall at 6’4″ and has some long speed to go with it. Ratledge made sense, but the others had people scratching their heads. If the missing players from last year come back healthy, the drafted players can have time to develop.
Final Analysis
Until proven otherwise, the Lions are the top dog in the NFC North. They retained most of their star players, and just because some top coaches have left doesn’t mean they will reinvent the wheel or their schemes. Campbell will ensure that and keep the team focused on staying on top by being aggressive.
Goff is a tier 2 quarterback with great wide receivers to throw the ball to in St. Brown and Jameson Williams, and a star tight end, Sam LaPorta. Add to that the 1-2 punch of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs to hand the ball off to, and the Lions can beat anyone by either means. The defense will still be a handful with Hutchinson ready to come back on a rampage after missing most of last season. Remember how I said the cap was great this year? Well, 2026 is different as they go from a positive $42 million to a negative $38 million as some of these players’ contracts ramp up.
Goff jumps to almost $70 million next year while St. Brown and Penei Sewell balloon to $33 million and $28 million, respectively.
Add to that, McNeill pole vaults to almost $29 million after they re-signed him last fall. They can restructure some contracts and maybe move some money to this year, but the window to win the Super Bowl is tightening up. With the NFC North being one of the toughest in the league with the Vikings, the Packers, and improving Bears all nipping at their heels, this year could be where they fall back to being the “Same Old Lions”. More likely is that they’ll have a real shot at getting to the Super Bowl.
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