Quarterback

The Lions finished the 2024 season with a 15-2 record, the best record in the NFC, and ranked 6th and 2nd respectively in yards per play differential and first down rate differential. They lost at home to the Commanders in the divisional round of the playoffs, but that looked like a fluke more than anything, as they won the first down rate battle by 7.95% and the yards per play battle by 1.07, only losing the game because they lost the turnover battle by 5, even though they had a signicantly better turnover margin than Washington in the regular season (+9 vs. +1).

The Lions did all that despite having significant injury issues, particularly on defense. While their offense actually had the second fewest adjusted games lost to injury, their defense had the most, leading to the Lions as a team having the 8th most adjusted games lost in the league. Their defense was not nearly as good as their offense, ranking 28th in yards per play allowed and 26th in first down rate allowed, but that’s in large part due to how much talent they were without for most of the season. 

Going into 2025, the Lions are highly unlikely to have anywhere near the same amount of injuries on defense, but they do have some significant concerns. For one, their offense is also unlikely to be as healthy as they were a year ago. On top of that, the Lions had a lot of losses this offense, both in terms of coaches and players. Both their offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn got head coaching jobs this off-season, forcing the Lions to promote internally to replace them, doing so from a limited group of assistants after both Johnson and Glenn brought some with them to their new teams. 

In terms of their player losses, their most significant ones came on their offensive line, which is a huge deal because that was the biggest strength of their offense last season. When you combine their offensive line losses, which I will get more into later, and the fact that this offense is unlikely to be as healthy, there is good reason to expect this offense to be significantly worse this season. This offense did rank second in both yards per play and first down rate last season, so they’re starting from a high base point, but if their offense declines significantly it will make it hard for this team to compete at the level they were competing at last season.

Jared Goff remains as their quarterback and is coming off of a career year, setting new career highs in QB rating (111.8), completion percentage (72.4%), yards per attempt (8.59), and passing touchdowns (37), but he has proven throughout his career that his level of play is highly dependent on having a lot of talent around him and on having great coaching supporting him. With the Lions’ offense taking significant hits in both of those areas this off-season, it stands to reason that Goff’s statistical production could decline significantly.

One area that Goff has been consistent in his career is his durability, as he’s only missed time with injury in two of nine seasons in the league. If he does miss time with injury this season, the Lions would likely turn to Hendon Hooker. Hooker has only thrown nine passes in his career, so he’s an unknown commodity, but he was a 3rd round pick in 2023 and could have been a second or even a first round pick if he didn’t tear his ACL late in his final collegiate season, so he has a lot of upside. 

Hooker could face competition for the backup job from free agent addition Kyle Allen, but Hooker is almost definitely considered the heavy favorite for the job, considering Allen has a career 82.3 QB rating in 19 starts in seven seasons in the league. The only way Allen would win the job would be if Hooker completely flopped in training camp. This is a solid quarterback room, but Goff probably won’t be as effective as he was a year ago, given the issues around him he will have that he didn’t have a year ago.

Grade: B+

Offensive Line

As I mentioned, the Lions’ offensive line is their position group that had the biggest losses this off-season. Last season, four of the Lions’ five offensive line starters finished with PFF grades above 77, but this off-season they lost two of those four, with right guard Kevin Zeitler (86.5 PFF grade in 16 starts) signing with the Titans and center Frank Ragnow (85.3 PFF grade in 16 starts) opting for an early retirement after years of nagging injuries.

To replace Zeitler at right guard, the Lions will turn to Christian Mahogany, who flashed potential as a rookie with a 81.6 PFF grade, but that came across just 75 snaps and he was only a 6th round pick, so he’s a major projection to a significant role and could easily struggle. Even if he doesn’t struggle, it seems highly unlikely he’ll be anywhere near as good as Zeitler was last season. At center, the Lions will likely turn to second round rookie Tate Rutledge, who also is highly unlikely to be anywhere near as good as Ragnow was last season.

Another option the Lions have if either of their young starters struggle is free agent addition Trystan Colon. Colon, who has experience at both guard and center, has only made 15 starts in five seasons in the league, since going undrafted in 2020, but he has shown promise, finishing above 60 on PFF in four of those five seasons, including a 71.0 PFF grade in 386 snaps (seven starts) in 2024. He’s a projection to a larger role, but, at the very least, he’s at least a good reserve option.

If Colon doesn’t beat out Mahogany or Rutledge for a starting role, he could potentially beat out left guard Graham Glasgow, who was the weak point of this offensive line last season. Glasgow has mostly been a solid player throughout his career, finishing above 60 on PFF in six of nine seasons in the league (122 starts), but two of those three seasons below 60 have come in the past three seasons, including a 57.9 PFF grade in 16 starts last season, and he’s now going into his age 33 and could easily continue struggling. He did have a 75.1 PFF grade as recently as 2023, but it seems unlikely he will come close to playing at that level again in 2025, given his age.

Left tackle Taylor Decker is also getting up there in age, going into his age 31 season, which is an even bigger deal because, unlike Glasgow, he is coming off of a strong season, meaning it would be really noticeable if he declined significantly. Decker has finished above 70 on PFF in eight of nine seasons in the league, including seven straight and a 77.0 PFF grade in 14 starts in 2024, but his best days could easily be behind him at this point, which is yet another reason to expect this offensive line to be significantly worse than a year ago.

The Lions’ best offensive lineman by far is right tackle Penei Sewell. The 7th overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, Sewell has received PFF grades of 77.0, 80.6, 90.7, and 87.5 in four seasons in the league and, only in his age 25 season, he might not have even reached his peak yet. He looks likely to be one of the best offensive linemen in the league for years to come. He and Decker will be backed up by swing tackle Dan Skipper, who has made 11 starts over the past three seasons in that role, but who has mostly struggled with PFF grades of 43.9, 66.9, and 55.4, and who is now going into his age 31 season. Penei Sewell significantly elevates the overall grade of this offensive line by himself, but this group has gone from elite to merely above average this off-season, which is a big deal.

Grade: B+

Receiving Corps

The Lions’ receiving corps remains the same in 2025, but it stands to reason that they will be less productive if Jared Goff isn’t as productive as a result of having an inferior offensive line in front of him and inferior coaching supporting him. Amon-Ra St. Brown led the way in catches (115), yards (1,263), touchdowns (12) and targets (141) and averaged 2.29 yards per route run, good for 12th best in the NFL among eligible wide receivers. This is nothing new for St. Brown, who had a 106/1161/6 slash line on 146 targets with 2.40 yards per route run in 2022 and a 119/1515/10 slash line on 164 targets with 2.69 yards per route run in 2023. Still only in his age 26 season, St. Brown should remain a highly effective receiver in 2025, even if his production goes down slightly as a result of the offense in general declining.

St. Brown wasn’t the only 1000+ yard wide receiver on this team last season, as Jameson Williams posted a 58/1001/7 slash line on 91 targets in 15 games, while averaging 2.10 yards per route run, giving the Lions the only wide receiver duo in the league who both surpassed 1000 yards receiving. While St. Brown functioned as a reliable possession receiver, Williams was the deep threat, leading the team with 17 catches of 20+ yards. Williams is a one-year wonder in terms of producing at the level he produced last season, but he has always had the talent to do so.

Williams was selected 12th overall by the Lions in 2022, despite tearing his ACL late in his final collegiate season. If not for the injury, he would have been a top-10 or even top-5 pick. His recovery from that injury limited him to just 78 snaps as a rookie and then he was limited to 444 snaps in 12 games in his second season in the league by additional injuries, as well as a suspension, before breaking out in his third season in the league in 2024. Along with being a one-year wonder, Williams could regress alongside the rest of this offense in 2025, especially since Goff is unlikely to have as much time to throw downfield, given the decline of their offensive line, but he’s still only in his age 24 season, so there is a good chance he remains one of the best pure deep threat receivers in the league for years to come.

Williams breakout season in 2024 seemed to come at the expense of tight end Sam LaPorta, who went from 120 targets a second round rookie in 2023 to just 83 targets last season and, as a result, fell from a 86/889/10 slash line and 1.76 yards per route run to a 60/726/7 slash line and 1.61 yards per route run. LaPorta figures to remain third on the team in target share in 2025, but, as far as third options go, he is one of the better ones in the league. He also saw his yards per target increase from 7.41 to 8.75 with his smaller role and, while he could decline statistically along with the rest of this offense, he is also only going into his age 24 season and could offset some of that decline by taking another step forward himself. 

Running backs were also a big part of this passing offense last season, as the Lions ranked 6th with 21.2% of their targets going to running backs. Lead back Jahmyr Gibbs had 63 targets and turned them into a 52/517/4 slash line and 1.67 yards per route run, while backup running back David Montgomery was even more efficient, with a 36/341/0 slash line and 2.24 yards per route run on 38 targets. Among eligible running backs, Montgomery led the league in yards per route run, while Gibbs ranked 5th.

That was not out of character for Gibbs, who was a good receiving back in college and had a 52/316/1 slash line on 71 targets as a rookie in 2023, albeit with just 0.97 yards per route run, but Montgomery had never been a good receiving back until last season, averaging 1.00 yards per route run across his first five seasons in the league prior to 2024. Both should remain a big part of the passing game in 2025, perhaps even more so if Goff is under pressure more often and has to check down more frequently as a result, though they could regress in terms of efficiency along with the rest of this offense, especially Montgomery, who is a one-year wonder in terms of producing at the level he produced at as a receiver last season.

With the Lions’ top-2 wide receivers, their top tight end, and their top-2 running backs all highly involved in the passing game, there isn’t much need for the Lions’ other pass catching options to have a role unless injuries strike. Tim Patrick was the de facto #3 wide receiver last season, but he only had 44 targets in 16 games, taking them for a 33/394/3 slash line and 1.15 yards per route run. Patrick showed some promise earlier in his career, with slash lines of 51/742/6 and 53/734/5 on 1.71 yards per route run and 1.48 yards per route run in 2020 and 2021 respectively, but then he missed all of 2022 and 2023 with two separate leg injuries, before returning in 2024 and not being quite the same. Now going into his age 32 season, he could decline further in 2025, but luckily it’s unlikely the Lions will need him for a big role.

De facto #4 wide receiver Kalif Raymond also played a limited role last season (22 targets) and also is getting up there in age, going into his age 31 season. Raymond averaged 1.68 yards per route run last season and has averaged 1.67 yards per route run in his career, albeit mostly in part-time roles, with a maximum of 71 targets in a season. Raymond’s age is a concern, as is Patrick’s, but neither of them are likely to have to play a significant role and the Lions planned for the future by using a 3rd round pick on Isaac TeSlaa, who will probably begin his rookie year as the 5th receiver, but who could play his way into a situational role by the end of the season.

Behind LaPorta at tight end, Brock Wright remains and will continue being a blocking specialist who rarely is targeted in the passing game, with just 71 targets in four seasons in the league, including 16 last season. Wright has averaged just 0.93 yards per route run in his career and is not a particularly good blocker either, leading to him finishing below 60 on PFF in all four seasons, but the Lions don’t have a good alternative. He will likely remain below average in 2025, albeit in a small, largely insignificant role. This is a deep and talented receiving corps overall.

Grade: A

Running Backs

The Lions running game was also very effective last season, ranking 3rd in the NFL in carries (534), 6th in rushing yards (2,488), 9th in yards per carry (4.66), and 2nd in rushing touchdowns (29), though it stands to reason they could be less effective this season due to the decline of their offensive line. Jahmyr Gibbs led the way with 250 carries, but he and Montgomery were almost identical in carry totals until Montgomery missed the final three games of the season with injury, as Gibbs had 186 through 14 games, while Montgomery had 185. Durability has been a bit of an issue for Montgomery in his career, as he’s missed time in every season except his rookie season in 2019, with 12 games missed in six seasons in the league, while Gibbs has only missed two games in two seasons in the league, but while both backs are healthy, I expect a pretty even split again in 2025.

Gibbs was significantly better than Montgomery in terms of yards per carry last season, at 5.65 vs. 4.19 for Montgomery, but Montgomery actually had the higher carry success rate, ranking 5th in the league among running backs at 55.1%, while Gibbs ranked 9th at 53.6%. A similar thing happened in 2023 when Gibbs averaged 5.19 YPC to Montgomery’s 4.63, but Gibbs had just a 46.7% carry success rate to Montgomery’s 54.8%. The reason for that is that Gibbs is more of a homerun hitter, with 15 carries of 15+ yards as a rookie and 25 carries of 15+ yards last season, while Montgomery is more of a short yardage power back and had just 6 carries of 15+ yards and 5 carries of 15+ yards over the past two seasons respectively. 

Gibbs is younger, only going into his age 23 season, while Montgomery is going into his age 28 season, and Gibbs is more talented, as a 2023 first round pick, so he definitely has a higher upside, but it’s likely we will continue seeing Montgomery have a higher carry success rate, while Gibbs has a significantly higher yards per carry average, though both could see their efficiency drop across the board, given the likely decline on the Lions’ offensive line.

With Gibbs and Montgomery leading the way, the Lions have very little need for any of their other backs. Even with Montgomery missing three games last season, all other Lions running backs combined for just 47 carries last season, as Gibbs just took over as the feature back in Montgomery’s absence, which Montgomery would do if Gibbs missed time. Craig Reynolds averaged 4.48 YPC on 31 carries as the #3 back last season and has averaged 4.33 YPC on 151 carries in six seasons in the league. He could face competition for the #3 role from 2024 4th round pick Sione Vaki, who only had six carries as a rookie, but who probably has a higher upside than Reynolds long-term. This is a very talented backfield, even if they aren’t quite as effective as they were a year ago, due to the offensive line’s decline.

Grade: A

Edge Defenders

As I mentioned, the Lions figure to be significantly healthier on defense this season than last season. By far their biggest re-addition is Aidan Hutchinson, who looked on his way to a Defensive Player of the Year award last season before a broken leg ended his season after five games. Prior to getting hurt, Hutchinson had a 94.9 PFF grade and had 7.5 sacks, 8 hits, and a ridiculous 22.7% pressure rate and, despite only playing five games, he still finished the season 34th among edge defenders in pressures. 

Hutchinson was on his way to the best season of his career last season before he got hurt, but it didn’t come out of nowhere, as he had PFF grades of 80.7 and 91.0 on snap counts of 953 and 986 respectively in his first two seasons in the league in 2022 and 2023, while totaling 21 sacks, 29 hits, and a 12.9% pressure rate in 34 games. Hutchinson entered the league with a massive upside as the #2 overall pick and it wasn’t a surprise that Hutchinson was playing at such a dominant level in his third season in the league in 2024. Still only in his age 25 season, Hutchinson could easily continue playing at a Defensive Player of the Year caliber level in 2025, though his recovery from a major injury does complicate his projection a little bit. 

In Hutchinson’s absence last season, the Lions traded for Za’Darius Smith, who wasn’t as good as Hutchinson, but still played well, with a 71.2 PFF grade across 291 snaps in eight games, while totaling 4 sacks, 6 hits, and a 16.6% pressure rate in those games. The Lions released Smith for salary cap purposes this off-season though, meaning the Lions still have a questionable situation at the edge defender position opposite Hutchinson. Aside from Hutchinson and Smith, no Lions edge defender played more than 100 snaps and finished above 60 on PFF last season.

The Lions did bring back Marcus Davenport on a 1-year, 2.5 million dollar deal and will hope for a healthier year from him after his 2024 season ended after 89 snaps in two games, but injuries have been a huge issue for Davenport throughout his career, so he will almost definitely miss more time, probably a significant amount, again in 2025. In seven seasons in the league, Davenport has missed 47 games and has never played more than 533 snaps or 15 games in a season. The past two seasons have been especially bad for him, as he’s been limited to 207 total snaps in six games. Davenport is only in his age 29 season and at least played well when healthy, with a 12.8% career pressure rate, but it’s very unlikely he’ll make it through the whole season healthy.

With Hutchinson and Davenport getting hurt and Smith not being added until mid-season, the Lions’ leading edge defender in terms of snaps played last season was Josh Paschal, who played 548 snaps. Paschal was a decent run stopper, but only had 2 sacks, 7 hits, and a 8.4% pressure rate and, overall, finished with just a 54.5 PFF grade. That’s in line with how he’s played in his career, since being selected in the 2nd round in 2022. He’s still only going into his age 26 season and could have some untapped upside, but most likely he will continue playing at the same level. He will start the season as a reserve, but he’ll probably end up having to start multiple games, given Davenport’s injury history, and, even as a reserve, he figures to have a significant role. 

Other reserve options include Al-Quadin Muhammad and Trevor Nowakse, who played 254 snaps and 332 snaps respectively last season. Muhammad was a solid rotational player in his prime, finishing above 60 on PFF in four straight seasons from 2018-2021, on an average of 569 snaps per season, but he fell to a 53.9 PFF grade on 609 snaps in 2022, spent 2023 on a practice squad, and then had a 60.0 PFF grade last season after being signed as an injury replacement mid-season. He’s now going into his age 30 season, so his best days are almost definitely behind him. Nowaske, meanwhile, is a 2023 undrafted free agent who struggled with a 52.1 PFF grade in the first action of his career last season. Both are underwhelming options, even as reserves. This position group is significantly elevated by the return of Aidan Hutchinson, who should be on the short list for Defensive Player of the Year, but the rest of the group is a concern.

Grade: B+

Interior Defenders

Another key defensive lineman coming off of an injury is interior defender Alim McNeill, who tore his ACL last season, although he tore it in week 15, so there is a good chance he isn’t quite ready for the start of the season. In fact, there is a chance, even if McNeill doesn’t suffer any additional injuries, that he still won’t play as many games in 2025 as he did in 2024, when he played 631 snaps in 14 games before getting hurt. 

McNeill also might not play at quite the same level immediately upon his return as he did before the injury, which is a shame because he had developed into one of the best interior defenders in the league before getting hurt, finishing the 2023 season ranked 6th among interior defenders with a 88.5 PFF grade and finishing the 2024 season ranked 11th with a 79.6 PFF grade. Also a solid run defender, McNeill excelled as a pass rusher over the past two seasons, with 8.5 sacks, 8 hits, and a 10.0% pressure rate in 27 games. McNeill is still only going into his age 25, so if he can return to form after his injury, he still has a very bright future, but there is a good chance he doesn’t give the Lions as much in 2025 as he did in 2024, both in terms of quality and quantity.

DJ Reader (507 snaps) and Levi Onwuzurike (635 snaps) also played significant roles on this defense last season and will continue doing so in 2025. Both had solid seasons with PFF grades of 65.4 and 69.4 respectively. For Onwuzurike, last season was a career best, but it didn’t come out of nowhere. A 2nd round pick in 2021, Onwuzurike’s career got off to a slow start, as he had a 43.2 PFF grade across 396 snaps as a rookie in 2021 and then missed all of 2022 with injury, but he seemed to turn a corner in 2023 with a 68.1 PFF grade, albeit across 132 snaps, before continuing to play at a similar level across a much larger snap count in 2024, particularly excelling as a pass rusher, with 1.5 sacks, 14 hits, and a 10.8% pressure rate. He’s technically a one-year wonder in terms of playing at the level he played at last season over the snap count he had, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he continued playing at that level in 2025. 

Reader, meanwhile, had a career worst year in 2024, and previously he had finished above 70 on PFF in six of the previous seven seasons, including a 82.2 PFF grade on 535 snaps as recently as 2023, but he’s now heading into his age 31 season, so he won’t necessarily bounce back in 2025 and could easily continue declining. To try to offset some of his potential decline, the Lions used their first round pick on Tyleik Williams, a similar run defense first interior defender who looks like Reader’s long-term successor. He will have at least somewhat of a role as a rookie, though he will probably see fewer snaps than Reader and Onwuzurike. He adds to a deep position group overall.

Grade: A-

Linebackers

Injuries also hit the Lions’ linebacking corps hard. Derrick Barnes and Malcolm Rodriguez had their seasons ended by injury after three games and nine games respectively, while Alex Anzalone missed seven games as well. In their absences, Jack Campbell broke out as an every down player, with a 77.4 PFF grade across 973 snaps. Campbell was a first round pick in 2023, so he’s always had talent, but he struggled with a 57.3 PFF grade across 637 snaps as a rookie. He’s technically a one-year wonder, but could easily keep playing at the same level in 2025, or potentially even better. Even with Barnes, Rodriguez, and Anzalone still on the roster, Campbell should keep his every down job. 

Rodriguez started last season as a reserve, only becoming a starter when others got hurt, and he might not be ready for the start of the season due to injury anyway, leaving Barnes and Anzalone to compete for the other starting job, with the loser of that battle being a situational base package run stopper and the top reserve. Anzalone has been an every down player for the past three seasons, averaging 62.5 snaps per game across 43 games, but he’s only been a decent every down player, with PFF grades of 59.2, 68.1, and 67.8 over those three seasons and he’s now going into his age 31 season, so it’s possible Barnes gives the Lions a higher upside going forward. 

Barnes has only played snap counts of 346, 704, and 120 over the past three seasons, but he has PFF grades of 62.3, 62.1, and 71.8 and the 2021 4th round pick is only going into his age 26 season. Anzalone is probably still the favorite to keep an every down role, but that’s not a guarantee. Rodriguez, meanwhile, will be a reserve whenever he is healthy enough to return. Also going into his age 26 season, the 2022 6th round pick has PFF grades of 62.8, 51.7, and 74.4 on snap counts of 611, 120, and 318 in his three seasons in the league. He makes this an already deep linebacking corps even deeper when everyone is healthy.

Grade: B+

Secondary

The safety position was probably the biggest position of strength for the Lions on defense last season, as Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch ranked 1st and 11th among safeties on PFF with grades of 91.0 and 77.6 respectively. For Branch, his strong season was very predictable, as the 2023 2nd round pick also had a 78.1 PFF grade as a rookie. Still only going into his age 24 season, Branch could easily have his best year yet in his third season in the league in 2025.

For Joseph, last year’s dominant campaign kind of came out of nowhere, as the 2022 3rd round pick received PFF grades of just 64.0 and 57.7 in his first two seasons in the league. It’s very possible that Joseph has permanently turned a corner and will remain a high level safety, still only in his age 25 season, but it’s also very likely that his performance last season will prove to be somewhat of a fluke and that he will be noticeably worse in 2025, even if he remains one of the best safeties in the league.

While Joseph and Branch are arguably the best safety duo in the league, depth behind them is somewhat of a concern if either player misses time with injury. Other than Joseph and Branch, the only other safeties on the roster who were drafted or who have ever played a defensive snap are Morice Norris, a 2024 undrafted free agent who played just one defensive snap as a rookie, and 7th round rookie Dan Jackson, both of whom would almost definitely struggle if forced into significant action in 2025.

At cornerback, the Lions didn’t bring back Carlton Davis, who was their best player at the position last season, finishing with a 74.5 PFF grade, but he also missed four games due to injury and the Lions replaced him with a comparable player in DJ Reed, who had a 70.7 PFF grade last season. That was actually Reed’s worst single season grade since his rookie season in 2018, though it wasn’t totally out of character, as his career best PFF grade was 78.6 in 2021. A highly consistent player, Reed should continue playing at a similar level in 2025 to how he’s played for the last six seasons, still only in his age 29 season.

Amik Robertson was their second best cornerback last season, with a 64.5 PFF grade across 628 snaps, but he’s a low upside slot specialist, receiving PFF grades of 64.1 and 63.4 on snap counts of 674 and 677 in 2022 and 2023 as well. This season, the Lions are hoping their other starting outside cornerback Terrion Arnold can take a step forward and be their second best cornerback. Arnold struggled last season with a 51.5 PFF grade across 947 snaps, but he was only a rookie and the 2024 1st round pick still has a huge upside, only going into his age 22 season.

The Lions also used a second round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft on a cornerback, taking Ennis Rakestraw, who also had a disappointing rookie season, playing just 46 snaps and receiving a 42.8 PFF grade. Now going into his second season in the league, the Lions are hoping he can at least lock down the #4 cornerback job and be their top reserve, but that’s not necessarily a guarantee. He’ll face competition for that role from veteran free agent addition Avonte Maddox.

Maddox had PFF grades of 72.8 and 71.3 in 2021 and 2022, but he was limited to 10 games by injury in 2022, and then four games by injury in 2023, and then he struggled in a reserve role in 2024 upon his return, with a 56.3 PFF grade across 345 snaps. Maddox is still only going into his age 29 season, but he’s two years removed from his last solid season, which is why he had to settle for backup work this off-season. Still, as far as backup options go, he’s a pretty good one. The Lions are obviously much better at safety than cornerback, but their cornerback room has a good chance to be better this season if Reed can stay healthier than Davis and Arnold can take a step forward in his second season in the league. Overall, this is an above average secondary.

Grade: B+

Kicker

The Lions signed 2023 undrafted free agent Jake Bates to compete to be their kicker last off-season, after one year in the UFL, and the move paid off, as Bates ranked 9th in the NFL last season with 5.97 points above average. Bates made 26 of 29 field goals, including 13 of 16 from 40+ yards, 6 of 8 from 50+ yards, and all 13 from inside 40, though he did miss three extra points. Bates has only played one year, but he has a good chance to be an above average kicker for years to come. 

Grade: A-

Conclusion

The Lions’ offense should take a big step back this season, given that their offensive line should decline and that they are unlikely to be as healthy on offense as they were a year ago, but they are starting from such a high base point that they should still be an effective unit. Meanwhile, their defense has a chance to take a big step forward this season, given that they are highly unlikely to have as many injury problems as a year ago. The loss of so many coaches this off-season is a concern, but overall on paper this still looks like one of the top few teams in the league.

Prediction: 12-5, 2nd in NFC North