With the Super Bowl behind us, teams are forced to move on from the 2022 season and look towards 2023. In a series of articles, we will recap the past season, and look at how teams are positioned at their skill positions for next September.
Detroit Lions
Current Available Cap Space: $19.698 Million
Upcoming Draft Picks: Round 1 (6th, 18th), Round 2 (48th, 55th), Round 3 (81st), Round 5 (154th), Round 6 (183th, 194th)
We all know the saying “you can cut the tension in the room with a knife.” Well, in Detroit, there’s an overwhelming sense that you can almost physically feel. Instead of tension, however, that feeling is excitement.
It began building at Dan Campbell’s introductory press conference, and then continued when the Lions were featured on Hard Knocks. Campbell was one of many Lions who endeared themselves to fans across the league. It’s hard to cheer against a team that’s built around players who will run through a wall for their team (or bite opposing kneecaps).
Their offensive explosion this past season, resulting in the 5th most points scored in the NFL, made them must watch tv week to week. Off the field, the Lions are still reaping the rewards from their decision to move on from their franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford, as their 6th overall pick this year formerly belonged to the Rams. With 5 picks in the first 3 rounds in this coming draft, the Lions will have ample opportunity to continue to add to their core.
That doesn’t mean they’ve been sitting around waiting for draft day this offseason though. They were active in free agency and look to have reloaded their defensive backfield, a major weakness for the club last year. The NFC north is undergoing a bit of a shakeup, and if things align properly for the Lions, they could be positioning themselves to be division leaders by season’s end.
Coaching:
Head coach Dan Campbell may not be the top play designer or strategist in the league, but there’s no debating his ability to get the best out of his players on a weekly basis. The former tight ends coach turned the team around, going from 3-13 in his inaugural season to a respectable 9-8 in 2022, just missing out on the playoffs. Quarterback Jared Goff has been a successful reclamation project, increasing his yards per game average and touchdown percentages, while lowering his interception percentage.
Campbell has focused on acquiring hard nosed, gritty players that make the Lions a tough team to play against, and is now complementing them with some high end talent. He has the full support of Lions management and is always good for a solid sound bite or two in his press conferences.
Flanking Campbell is offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. Johnson, 36, was promoted to the role in 2022 after 3 seasons with the Lions in various coaching roles. He also spent 7 years working with the wide receivers in the Miami Dolphins organization. Johnson was a head coaching candidate after Detroit’s offensive explosion this year, and at one point was considered to be the leading candidate for the job in Carolina. He instead opted to return to Detroit to take care of some unfinished business.
His offense was in the top 10 for nearly every statistical category, including 5th in points scored, 4th in total yards and 8th in passing. Johnson involved Goff in the construction of the offense, inviting him to work on the scheme in the offseason to tailor it so that he would be comfortable, and it paid off in spades. With another year of experience under his belt and more offensive tools to use in his motion heavy offense, don’t expect the Detroit playmakers to slow down anytime soon.
While Detroit’s defense has yet to match the success of the offense, the work that 2nd year defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has done has been lauded throughout the league. Like Johnson, Glenn interviewed for head coaching positions but opted to come back to Detroit, and the latest word is the team is looking to sign him to a contract extension.
Glenn took over a young, inexperienced defense that was in desperate need of a new identity. A former DB himself, Glenn has such a strong reputation that he was a factor in the Lions being able to sign former Eagle CJ Gardner-Johnson, who he coached in New Orleans. Now that the tear down of the Lions is complete, Glenn has begun to add the proper personnel to fit his defensive philosophies, and it’ll be exciting to see the changes play out on the field in 2023.
Quarterbacks:
Jared Goff was dealt to Detroit in the deal for Matthew Stafford when the Rams decided that he wasn’t the one to lead them to a Superbowl. Stafford managed to get L.A. their championship, but Goff has been much more than a throw-in during his tenure in Detroit. Goff has led the Lions on 5 game-winning drives in his two seasons with Detroit, compared to just 8 in five seasons with the Rams. He’s taking care of the football much better than he ever has, and increased his passer rating year over year.
Still, the belief that he isn’t a Super Bowl winning quarterback remains. With the team on the rise, there was talk that the Lions would take their quarterback of the future with the 6th overall pick, as it’s looking less and less likely they will have such a high draft choice in the coming years. With so many quarterback needy teams already in position, the price may be too high for the Lions to move up, and the likelihood of their chosen quarterback slipping through the top 5 is slim.
Both Goff and the coaching staff are saying all the right things, and having an offense that is tailor made for you to succeed with will continue to keep Goff relevant. But with only 2 years left on his contract the Lions will have some decisions to make about the future of the position.
While question marks still remain about Goff, and the odds of an impact starter falling to the Lions at 6th against them, the team has yet to add any other quarterback on the roster. They signed Nate Sudfield in the 2022 offseason to back up Goff, but he is currently a free agent.
Lions management has been coy about the quarterback position. It certainly looks like they’ll either package their picks to make a big splash or the draft, or, more likely, wait and use one of their later picks to select a project that can work behind Goff for the remainder of his contract and take over once he’s acclimated to the NFL.
Wide Receiver/Tight End:
Amon-Ra St Brown might be the most underpaid player in the entire NFL. The 2021 4th round pick has absolutely broken out and entered the upper echelon of NFL receivers with his 106 catch, 1,161 yard 6 touchdown season in 2022. St-Brown is a target monster, being held to under 6 catches in only 4 games (one of those he left due to injury), and shows a knack for getting open at the first down marker. PFF has him ranked as the #2 receiver for last season, and with 2 more years on his contract at cap hits of $1.13 and $1.25 million he is an absolute steal as the Lions #1 wideout.
Ben Johnson will be giddy with excitement to unleash his 2022 12th overall pick Jameson Williams. Williams tore his ACL in the national championship game in his draft year, but his athleticism and talent were enough for him to be one of the top wide receivers taken in the draft, even with the knowledge he would miss most of the 2022 campaign.
Williams made it back in week 12, and had some explosive moments, but the Lions were wise not to put too much pressure on the young speedsters plate. Johnson loves using pre snap motion and getting his receivers the ball in space, and a player like Williams can thrive in that type of offense. Once he’s fully recovered from his injury, he’ll have a legitimate claim to being one of the faster players in the NFL, so look for big things from him in 2023.
Kalif Raymond is another smallish speedster that just can flat out make plays. He brings some kick returning ability as well to the team, which is always valuable. He started the year off slowly, but was a big part of the receiving game plan midseason before being slowly phased out as the season progressed. If he can find some consistency, he’s a player that looks like he can flirt with 1,000 yards receiving, but at this point in his career he’s yet to put it all together.
The Lions will be losing DJ Chark as a free agent, and although he didn’t put up stellar numbers in his one season in Detroit, he was their big bodied receiving threat that the team now sorely lacks. He managed to rack up over 500 receiving yards before heading to the injured reserve after 11 games but all signs point towards a youth movement at the position in the Motor City.
Josh Reynolds has good height, and is a reliable pass catcher, but doesn’t have the ability to go up in the red zone and come down with contested catches. The receiving room looks good, but they might be looking to add a little bit of size as free agency wraps up or through the draft.
As strong as the Lions finished the 2022 season, keep in mind that they began the season 1-6, which was a factor in opting to trade away their 2019 1st round pick T.J. Hockenson to division rival Minnesota. The Lions wanted to take a look at the tight ends they had within the organization, and likely didn’t believe they would be able to retain Hockenson after his contract expires following this year. There was certainly a drop in overall tight end usage after the trade was made, but as a group the tight ends combined for an impressive 9 touchdowns in the final 10 games.
After the deal, Brock Wright became the primary starter and had some remarkable moments, including a 51 yard game winning touchdown in week 15. He has solid hands, as evidenced by his 75% catch rate over the course of the season, and has big play potential, finishing the year averaging 12 yards per catch. At only 24 years old he will have to work on improving his blocking if he wants to stay on the field more consistently.
Shane Zylstra is another interesting talent, and he developed into a real red zone threat. He had the best game of his career in week 16, catching 3 touchdown passes against the Panthers. Zylstra doesn’t offer as much high end potential as others on the roster, but he was the highest ranked run blocker of the 3 tight ends the Lions deployed after the trade.
Detroit also got a look at rookie James Mitchell, a 5th round pick from 2022. Mitchell had a slow start to the season after recovering from injury, but increased his snap count after the trade. He did his part, catching all 11 of his targets this season. He also led the trio in pass blocking grade by the end of the season.
The Lions have some pieces at tight end, but trading away Hockenson left them without a star at the position that can stay on the field for 90% + of the offensive snaps. There are a couple veteran tight ends still looking for work in free agency that might help complete the tight end group. But, with extra draft capital it wouldn’t be surprising if they went even younger and found their future do it all tight end through the draft.
Running Backs:
It’s not often that a running back breaks out at 27 years old, but Jamaal Williams certainly did that in 2022. He finished the season with 1,066 yards, his first time eclipsing the 1,000 yard barrier, and a league leading 17 touchdowns. He had rushed for 13 touchdowns in his previous 5 seasons in the league combined, so to say this level of performance was unexpected is an understatement. Williams was in the final year of his contract, and used his breakout season to land a 3 year $12 million deal in New Orleans.
Williams’ running mate in 2022, D’Andre Swift, had another disappointing year. Swift is one of the most explosive backs in the league, and started the season off looking like he would be ready to take control of the backfield, kicking off the year with a 144 yard rushing performance. Unfortunately, as seems to be a trend with Swift, he was bitten by the injury bug again in 2022.
While he only sat out 3 games, a career low for him, he was clearly hampered upon his return and watched as Williams became more and more of a focal point in the offense. Before the season began, the coaching staff were publicly discussing shifting their focus regarding Swift into finding ways to keep him healthy as the seasons go along, as opposed to discussing how to best utilize his skillset within the offense.
Swift finished the season with a career high in yards per carry with 5.47, and added in 48 catches for 3 touchdowns and 389 receiving yards, so he has at least proven he can bring a pass catching element to the offense as well. Until he can prove he is able to stay on the field for an entire season, questions will remain about his role going forward. He is also entering the final year of his contract heading into the 2023 season.
One major reason that Williams went to find work elsewhere was the fact that the Lions signed former Bear David Montgomery to a 3 year, $18 million dollar deal. Montgomery is 3 years younger than Williams, and while the price tag is significantly higher, his contract will likely age better than Williams’ will in New Orleans. Montgomery and Williams have similar physical statures, however Montgomery is viewed as a more well rounded back, and has recorded over 300 yards receiving in each of the past 2 seasons. He’s proven to be able to handle the workload of being a bell cow back, toting the ball over 200 times a year since he entered the league, and has a 1,000 yard rushing season on his resume as well. While his career numbers don’t jump off the page, he’s been behind some poor Bear offensive lines for most of his career, and looks to be in line for a large role behind a much better Lions line in 2023.
Detroit will hope to have a healthy Craig Reynolds in 2023, after only playing in 9 games in 2022. Reynolds entered the season as the third running back on depth chart after he beat out Justin Jackson for the role in the preseason. Reynolds has an explosive element to his game and can spell Swift and Montgomery without much drop in production, as long as he stays healthy.
Offensive Line:
Rebuilding the offensive line has been a point of emphasis during Campbell’s tenure in Detroit, and it’s already paying off. The unit boasts 3 former 1st round picks in center Frank Ragnow and tackles Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell.
Sewell is already looking like one of the premier tackles in the league at only 22 years old, and even showed off his athleticism catching a touchdown pass from Goff in week 14. Having him learn the game while playing right tackle is a privilege, as fellow tackle Taylor Decker has done a fantastic job of protecting Goff ‘s blind side. Both tackles suited up for every game this year, and give the Lions an exciting young core. Add in center Frank Ragnow, who missed only 1 game despite dealing with a foot injury for the majority of the year, and the Lions look to have one of the most promising foundations in football.
Jonah Jackson manned one of the guard spots, and had a serviceable year, but didn’t live up to his Pro Bowl standard he set for himself in 2021. He’s a prime candidate to have a strong bounce back season.
The other guard spot was expected to be handled by Halapoulivaati Vaitai, but an offseason back injury and subsequent surgeries cost him his entire year. Detroit was forced to start a rotating cast of linemen to fill the void, with Logan Stenberg, Dan Skipper and Evan Brown all starting games early in the season. Brown ended up as the starter, and parlayed that into a one year deal with the Seattle Seahawks.
The Lions will have to make a decision on Vaitai. If they were to release him, they’ve already secured a potential replacement. The front office signed a familiar face in Graham Glasgow, Detroit’s 3rd round pick in 2016. Glasgow was a cap casualty in Denver, but brings starting calibre talent along with veteran leadership to Motown. If Vaitai is healthy, and remains on the roster, Glasgow also has experience playing center, making him a valuable 6th lineman in the event of injuries going forward.
Defense:
The Lions defense in 2022 was one of the worst in the league statistically, but there’s room for optimism for the young squad after improving their performance in the second half of the season.
Along the defensive line, the Lions added 3 rookies from the 2022 draft, highlighted by #2 overall pick Aiden Hutchinson. While he impressed in his rookie season, showing his all around defensive abilities as both a pass rusher and in coverage, the biggest breakout season belongs to James Houston. The 6th round defensive end was stuck on the practice squad until week 11, but once elevated, he recorded an impressive 8 sacks over the final 7 games.
Josh Paschal looks to earn more playing time in his second season in the league, as the former 2nd round pick only recorded 2 sacks over 10 games in 2022. He has all the tools to be a more impactful player, so look for a spike in his development in 2023. Waiver wire acquisition John Cominsky was also a pleasant surprise, notching 6 sacks and 12 quarterback hits as a rotational pass rusher.
The tackle position needs some improvement for the Lions, as Michael Brockers was benched and more recently released after subpar performances. Free agent Isaiah Buggs likely wasn’t expected to play 67% of the defensive snaps entering the season either. Second year tackle Alim McNeill was a solid, if unspectacular, run stuffer, notching 41 tackles with 6 TFL. As he enters his third year in the league, he should begin to show a little more consistency in his game that will take him to the next level. Behind those two, there isn’t much depth at the position. The Lions are still in the wait and see stage with Levi Onwuzurike, after he’s missed half of his career due to injury.
At linebacker, the Lions brought back Alex Anzalone, a locker room leader and defensive captain on a 3 year, $18.7 million dollar deal. Anzalone isn’t a perfect linebacker, and really struggles in coverage, which limits the Lions ability to play straight man to man coverage as he often gets exploited. He did, however, play 95% of the team’s defensive snaps in 2022, and earned plenty of credit for the unit’s late season turnaround. Sometimes signings like these are less about the numbers, and more about keeping the culture of the locker room in place.
The Lions got an unexpected breakout season from Malcolm Rodriguez, who was seen as a special teamer entering the season. He wound up starting 15 out of the 16 games, and despite being undersized, showed great instincts running down ball carriers and proper tackling techniques. If he continues this trajectory, the Lions may have stumbled onto a fundamental piece of their defense.
Behind those two, like defensive tackle, the Lions lack depth at linebacker. Derrick Barnes had his moments, but also looks unpolished and will need to show growth to be a contributor in 2023. One interesting name the Lions may target in the draft to help out the linebacker position is Noah Sewell, brother of Penei. Penei Sewell has said that the team would be adding “another me” if they chose his brother in the upcoming draft, and judging by how well that worked out for Detroit, he would be hard to pass up.
The Lions cornerback situation was a mess last season. Jeff Okudah, once viewed as a shutdown #1 cornerback struggled with injuries again, leading the questions as to whether or not the Lions will pick up the 5th year option on the former 3rd overall pick. Okudah shows flashes of talent, including an impressive 15 tackle game against the Cowboys, but doesn’t have the consistency necessary to play in the NFL yet. Injuries have been a big factor in his slow development .
The Lions also got a disappointing season from 2021 breakout Amani Oruwariye, who went from being the team’s number one cornerback to watching the majority of the games from the sidelines. He was benched after a particularly poor 6 penalty game against the Vikings, and struggled to regain any playing time the rest of the season.
Instead of taking a wait and see approach with their young cornerbacks, the Lions went out in free agency and brought in several veteran difference makers to help accelerate the defensive progression.
The Lions secured the services of Cameron Sutton, who was a standout on a weak Steelers secondary last season. Sutton held opponents to just 411 yards receiving when he was the primary defender all season, and limited quarterbacks to a passer rating of just 65.3.
They also added Emmanuel Mosley on a one year prove it deal after he tore his ACL in 2022. Moseley has the potential to be a true #1 shutdown corner, and allowed a passer rating of just 43.6 and no touchdowns in the 5 games he played in 2022. With the injury being so early in the past season, there’s belief that Moseley will be back for training camp and will take over the Lions #1 cornerback role.
The Lions weren’t done, as they recently signed CJ Gardner-Johnson to a bargain contract after he was unable to come to terms to stay in Philadelphia. Glenn has already shown he knows how to use the versatile defender after their time together in New Orleans, and CJ GJ has shown the flexibility to play multiple positions on defense. Gardner-Johnson was tied for the NFL lead in interceptions last season, and with only one season of contract security, he’ll be looking to improve on that number before hitting free agency again in 2024.
Gardner-Johnson will join young standout safety Kerby Joseph, who had a breakout season in 2022. The ball-hawking free safety stepped in after veteran Tracy Walker III tore his ACL early in the year, and led the Lions in interceptions by season’s end. Picking off Aaron Rodgers 3 times in one game also went a long way towards winning over the hearts of Lions fans.
Detroit made massive improvements to help fix their defensive holes, and it will be up to Glenn and his crew to make sure that the pieces all fit come September.
After years of ineptitude, it seems like the high draft picks are finally paying dividends in Detroit. The roster is loaded with talent, and they keep getting breakthroughs from their later round picks which has accelerated the timeline of this young team. The additions to the secondary allow the Lions to let the draft come to them, as now they don’t have to reach for any particular position. They’re a strong candidate to trade back, acquire more assets and keep finding valuable starters later in the draft, while still having the option of getting their quarterback of the future.
In a wide open division, the Lions will look to make a claim to the title in 2023 and look to not only reach the playoffs for the first time since 2016, but earn their first postseason win since 1991.
-Devon Gallant
Twitter: @DevGallant
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.