2023 statistics (ranking)
Points per game: 27.1 (5th)
Total yards per game: 394.8 (3rd)
Plays per game: 66.9 (2nd)
Pass Attempts + Sacks per game: 37.5 (13th)
Dropback EPA per play: 0.11 (7th)
Rushing attempts per game: 29.4 (7th)
Rush EPA per play: -0.01 (6th)
Coaching team
Dan Campbell always had courage. A tight end selected in the third round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the Giants, he entered the coaching ranks shortly after his playing career, starting as an intern with the Miami Dolphins in 2010. In 2015, then the Dolphins’ tight ends coach, Campbell was appointed interim coach for four games of the season. Under Campbell, the Dolphins went 5-7, including a 20-10 victory over the New England Patriots in the season finale. Miami opted to sign Adam Gase and Campbell went to New Orleans, where he received a crash course as an assistant to Sean Payton. Looking back now, it’s no surprise that Campbell mentioned biting opponents’ knees in his first press conference as head coach in Detroit.
Brian Daboll and Kevin Stefanski have won Coach of the Year in each of the last two years, respectively, but no coach can claim to have been better than Campbell in that span. In 2022, Campbell’s Lions recovered from a 1–6 start to win eight of their last 10 games, including a 20–16 victory at Green Bay on Sunday Night Football to eliminate the Packers from playoff contention in the final game. of Aaron Rodgers with the franchise. In 2023, Detroit tied the franchise record for wins with 12, won its first division title since 1993, and advanced to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1991. After instilling a culture built on resilience, Campbell’s Lions have not lost consecutive games. for the first time since 1972. The 21 wins over a two-year span is a franchise record that became even more impressive in the wake of the Matt Patricia era (13-29) and a 3-13-1 season in the first year of Campbell in 2021. Coach of the Year is a single-season award, but the Lions’ turnaround and changes last year were remarkable. As of Week 8 of the 2022 season, Detroit is 22-8, including its two playoff victories, and Campbell’s Lions were halfway to reaching the Super Bowl in just their third year.
Campbell can count on a unique group of assistants that includes nine accomplished former NFL players, including most notably Aaron Glenn (defensive coordinator), Antwaan Randle El (receivers) and Mark Brunell (quarterbacks). Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson didn’t play in the NFL, but the former North Carolina quarterback was on the Dolphins’ coaching staff when Campbell was interim head coach. That familiarity informed Campbell’s decision to keep Johnson, who coached tight ends under Patricia, in Detroit when he took over in 2021. The two formed a bond with the Lions, and over the past two seasons, Johnson has recommitted to continue supervising a top. offensive unit in Detroit rather than accepting a head coaching opportunity elsewhere.
Offense Passage
QB: Jared Goff, Hendon Hooker, Nate Sudfeld
WR: Amun-Ra St.
Authors: Jameson Williams, Antoine Green
Authors: Kalif Raymond, Tre’Quan Smith
TE: Sam LaPorta, Brock Wright, Shane Zylstra, James Mitchell
The Lions rewarded Jared Goff with a four-year, $212 million extension this offseason. Left aside by the Los Angeles Rams in the Matthew Stafford trade, Goff resurrected his career and gained long-term security in Detroit. As of Week 13 of the 2021 season, among quarterbacks with at least 800 rushing attempts, Goff ranks eighth in completion percentage (66.6), third in yards (10,149), fourth in yards per attempt (7.6.6), 5), fourth in touchdowns (70), sixth-fewest in interceptions (21) and fifth in rating (99.6).
In 2023, Goff was second in passing yards, seventh in yards per attempt, and seventh in completion percentage. There’s no doubt he can be successful in this offense, but he only had QB11 in fantasy points per game last year (minimum 10 games). Kirk Cousins, Kyler Murray and Anthony Richardson are back this year, in addition to the new class of rookie quarterbacks and that’s how Goff ends up coming off the board as the QB16 in drafts these days.
Goff’s 2023 home/road splits have been interesting, to say the least. In eight home games last year, Goff averaged 21.7 fantasy points per game. In four dome road games, he averaged 16.1 fantasy points per game. In five outdoor road games, he averaged 13.3 fantasy points per game. Those splits should have made the decision to start or sit Goff pretty simple. In 2024, the schedule falls into Goff’s hands. The Lions will play nine home games and five away games in a dome. He will only play away from home three times all season and one of those games will be in San Francisco.
Last offseason, Goff sent Johnson a message that simply said: “St. Brown. Great year.” It wasn’t exactly a bold prediction, but he was right. Brown had 119 receptions (2nd in the NFL), 1,515 yards (3rd) and 10 touchdowns (4th) on his way to first-team All-Pro. The Lions secured their former fourth-round pick with a four-year, $120 million extension this offseason. After playing together for three years, the Goff-St. The brown duo is one of the best in the championship. Their chemistry is at the point where St. Brown doesn’t need to create separation from defenders for Goff to find him with his accuracy. Brown showed up when it mattered most in the 2023 season, coinciding with the fantasy playoffs. He had at least 100 total yards and a touchdown in each of the final four weeks of the season. St. Brown remains the focal point of the 2024 offense.
Jameson Williams will be an important part of the offense this year. Williams missed the first four games last year due to a game suspension, but his route percentage was 60 percent over the final seven games of the regular season. That increased to 78 percent in the Lions’ three playoff games. Detroit let Josh Reynolds, who ranked second in targets among Lions wide receivers last year, act as a free agent and opted not to make any serious additions at the position.
The path for Williams to be the second WR on offense is clear. In May, Campbell referred to Williams as a man on a mission and noted that the receiver has improved across the board. Goff mentioned that Williams has become extremely hard on himself and holds himself to a very high standard. GM Brad Holmes has said draft picks should be judged after three years and Williams, who Holmes traded up to select 12th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft, is entering his third year. While Williams’ numbers in his first two seasons are dismal, he still possesses the elite speed that powered his breakout at Alabama, when he had 1,572 yards on 79 receptions (19.9 yards per catch), 15 receiving touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns. kick return. That season, Williams had more touchdowns than Ladd McConkey had in three seasons at Georgia and more yards than Keon Coleman had in his two years at Michigan State and Florida State. Williams is still being drafted after the two rookie receivers, which is probably a mistake, especially in top ball formats where his boom-or-bust profile is advantageous.
Sam LaPorta set the rookie tight end record for receptions with 86, while finishing with the fourth-most yards (889) of any rookie tight end and the second-most touchdowns (10). Although the Lions were criticized for trading TJ Hockenson, they were able to save cap space and upgrade at tight end when they drafted LaPorta. Elite tight ends are not easy to find and due to their heavy usage in one of the best offenses in the league, LaPorta has a case for TE1 in the retooled and dynasty formats.
Racing game
RB: Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, Craig Reynolds, Sione Vaki
OL (LR): Taylor Decker, Graham Glasgow, Frank Ragnow, Kevin Zeitler, Penei Sewell
Before last offseason, Ben Johnson mentioned that the Lions left a lot of meat on the bone in the run game. Johnson told the media that, “We could have had eight, nine yards when we still had three or four.” Despite Jamaal Williams rushing for over 1,000 yards and a franchise-record 17 touchdowns and D’Andre Swift rushing for over 500 yards and five touchdowns in 2022, the Lions felt upgrades were needed in the backfield.
Detroit pounced on David Montgomery as a free agent, signing the then-26-year-old to a three-year contract worth $18 million. Montgomery is two years younger than Williams and has a proven track record of four years with at least 800 rushing yards as a Bears starter. He was a clear improvement over Williams, who was a fan favorite and had a bright personality but didn’t gain even 600 rushing yards in any of his four seasons in Green Bay before coming to Detroit.
With Swift entering the final year of his rookie contract, many expected the Lions to use him alongside Montgomery. Detroit shocked the football world in the 2023 NFL Draft when it selected Jahmyr Gibbs 12th overall, which led to Swift’s exodus via trade with the Eagles. Holmes was so excited about the team’s selection of Gibbs that he accidentally elbowed Campbell in the stomach during the draft room celebration. An elusive back with every move in the book, Gibbs has proven himself to be on a completely different level than Swift in just his first year in the NFL.
Johnson’s words proved prophetic. Detroit’s rushing attack went from 11th in yards and 15th in yards per carry with Williams and Swift in 2022 to fifth in yards and fifth in yards per carry with Montgomery and Gibbs in 2023. Running backs are important when you have one of the best offensive lines in all of football, which the Eagles seemed to take seriously when they decided to move on from Swift to Saquon Barkley this offseason. There’s no more meat on the bone in Detroit, Gibbs and Montgomery are eating it all. Montgomery is one of the best value defenders in the draft, while Gibbs is a borderline first-round pick.
Total wins
DraftKings has the Lions Over/Under at 10.5 wins, which is probably at least one win short. Detroit is running one of the best offenses in the league with the same offensive coordinator and likely a more involved Jameson Williams. While the Lions extended Goff, St. Brown and right tackle Penei Sewell with big contracts, they spent the offseason improving their defense. Holmes acquired Marcus Davenport, DJ Reader, Cartlon Davis and Amik Robertson and drafted Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. Last year’s rookie Brian Branch will likely play more safety as part of the secondary overhaul. An improved defense should keep the Lions at the same level as last year, when they won 12 games and suffered a controversial narrow loss in Dallas.
