2023 Lions Season Preview - kdutch98's Dynasty

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2023 Lions Season Preview

Posted on September 3, 2023 at 08:53 PM.

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2023 DETROIT LIONS SEASON PREVIEW

In 2022l, the Detroit Lions overcame a 1-6 start, winning 8 of their final 10 games, to finish the season 9-8. It was the Lions first winning season since 2017. The Lions used the offseason to upgrade the defensive secondary, via free agency, and the draft. Many prognosticators predict that the Lions will be in the mix for the NFC North division title. The Lions haven't won their division since 1991.

COACHING
With the 1-6 start, many people felt that Head Coach Dan Campbell was on the hot seat. Then they went on a tear. Now, Campbell's job seems as secure as ever. Players love playing for him, and several free agents that signed with the Lions indicated that one of the biggest reasons they choose Detroit, was because they wanted to play for Campbell.

Campbell is an aggressive coach, not afraid to go for it on 4th down, or call trick plays, such as fake punts, or a pass to Penei Sewel on a critical 4th down that extended a drive, and all but sealed a victory. As he has said "We play to win games, we don't play to not lose games. If we play to win games, and come up short, I can live with that."

QUARTERBACKS

When the Lions traded Matthew Stafford to the Rams, Jared Goff was often seen as an after thought, and that the Lions would use the draft capital in order to draft the QB of the future. But, Goff quietly put up a solid 2021 season, then followed that up with an excellent 2022 season, in which he went the final 324 pass attempts without throwing an interception. Goff carries that streak into the 2023 regular season. Goff runs Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson's offense so well, that the Lions management are currently in talks with Goff about a potential extension. Goff is currently in the second to last year of his contract.

With high expectations, comes the need for a good back up option. The Lions entered the preseason with Nate Sudfield as the backup, but ended up signing veteran Teddy Bridgewater to be the backup. Bridgewater isn't going to wow you, but he is a QB capable of winning a few games if pressed into duty.

RUNNING GAME
The Lions had their best season running the football last season, since the great Barry Sanders. However, both Jamaal Williams, and De'Andre Swift are gone, Williams having left as a free agent, and Swift having been traded to the Eagles. The Lions signed former Bear David Montgomery to replace Williams, and drafted Jahmyr Gibbs out of Alabama. Montgomery is a former 1000 yard rusher, and should be an upgrade over Williams, though he probably won't reproduce the 17 TDs that Williams scored last season. Gibbs is a home run threat every time he touches the ball, and will also be a big fixture in the passing game. Craig Reynolds and Zonovan Knight will be the primary backups. Knight rushed for 300 yards with the Jets last season.

RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS
Amon-Ra St. Brown, the steal of the 2021 Draft, followed up his 90 catch rookie season, 106 catches and 1161 yards in his second season. He is more of a slot receiver, but he rarely drops passes. He figures to be the main focal point of the passing game. The Lions lost deep threat D.J. Chark to the Panthers. In his place, they signed Marvin Jones Jr for a second go-round in Detroit. Jones played the last 2 seasons in Jacksonville, and played well. He isn;t the same player he was when he was with Detroit the first time around, but he should be a decent #2 option.

Jameson Williams was drafted in the first round of 2022, but missed most of the season recovering from an ACL injury in the National Championship game. He caught only one pass, but it was a 41 yard touchdown against the Vikings. He will have to miss the first 6 games of the season, due to a suspension for betting at team facilities.

Kalif Raymond has caught 95 passes over the last 2 seasons in Detroit, and he returns. Raymond also serves as the kick/punt returner. Josh Reynolds caught 38 passes last season. The Lions also have speedy rookie Antoine Green, who was drafted in the 7th round.

After trading T.J. Hockenson, the Lions offense surprisingly got better. It allowed Goff to spread the ball around much more. The Lions drafted Sam LaPorta out of Iowa in the second round. LaPorta was the best tight end in training camp, and figures to start. Brock Wright, and James Mitchell will serve as the back ups. Shane Zylstra will miss the entire season with an injury.

OFFENSIVE LINE
This is the unquestioned strength of the Lions. Taylor Decker, Jonah Jackson, Frank Ragnow, and Penei Sewell are very good. With Graham Glasgow brought in via Free agency, and Halapoulivaati Vaitai healthy, the OL should be even better in 2023. Vaitai will likely be the top backup at both guard and tackle. Glasgow would move to center, if anything happened to Ragnow.

DEFENSIVE LINE/LINEBACKERS
Aidan Hutchinson is the heart and soul of the defense. Hutchinson had 9 sacks as a rookie, and was at time dominant. The return of a healthy Romeo Okwara, and Charles Harris, along with rookie James Harris (8 sacks in 8 games) should make the Lions pass rush a very formidable threat. Alim McNeill played really well in the second half, and looks to improve. Levi Onwuzurike is finally healthy, and showed some promise in the preseason.

At linebacker, the Lions re-signed Alex Anzalone (98 tackles.) Anzalone was solid, but not spectacular, but fits the defense very well. Malcolm Rodriguez impressed as a rookie, and should get a lot of playing time. The Lions drafted Jack Campbell out of Iowa, and he looks to be a standout. Campbell's instincts are second to none.

SECONDARY
This was easily the weakness of the Lions in 2022, though there were some bright spots. Rookie Kerby Joseph had a very good season, with 4 interceptions, 3 coming off of Aaron Rodgers. Jerry Jacobs played really well at times at CB.

Cameron Sutton was signed away from the Steelers, and will start at one CB spot. Emmanuel Mosely was also signed as a free agent, and looks to start at the other CB spot, though he is recovering from an injury. The Lions signed Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to a 1 year contract late in training camp. Gardner-Johnson is a ball hawk who led the league in interceptions last season. He can play both safety and nickel back. The Lions also drafted Brian Branch in the second round. He will see a lot of time at safety, when Gardner-Johnson plays the nickel. The Lions also have Tavon Walker coming back from an injury, to provide depth in the secondary. The Lions believe that the secondary should be much improved.

SPECIAL TEAMS
Kalif Raymond will be the primary return man. Raymond only returned 2 kickoffs last season, but averaged 13.2 yards on 20 punt returns, including a touchdown against the Jets.

Riley Patterson will handle the kicking duties. At least at first. Patterson was so-so in the preseason, including missing his only attempt from beyond 50 yards. Last year's primary kicker Michael Badgley was signed to the practice squad.

OUTLOOK
Optimism is high in Detroit, following their 8-2 stretch last season. With the departure of Aaron Rodgers, and the Minnesota Vikings losing Dalvin Cook, and the Bears not quite ready to contend, the division appears to be very winnable. In fact, many have the Lions as the odds on favorite to win the division, and host a playoff game for the first time in Ford Field history.

The schedule doesn't do the Lions any favors, though they will be featured in several nationally televised games, beginning with the opening game of the season on Thursday Sept 7th in Kansas City. Following that game, the Lions have a home game against the Seattle Seahawks, who narrowly edged the Lions out for the final playoff spot last season. The Lions also have road games in Baltimore, in LA against the Chargers, in Dallas, as well as divisional games in Green Bay, Chicago, and Minnesota.

If the defense is as improved as everyone predicts, and the offense keeps humming along like it did last season, this is a Lions team that could easily win 10 or 11 games, which should be good enough to take the division crown. From there, anything can happen.