A recent article by the football analytics website Pro Football Focus ranked the roster of every NFL team entering training camp. And they placed the Detroit Lions 31st overall on the list, next to last. But do the Lions truly have the second-worst roster in the entire league?
First, it’s true the Lions are in the midst of a complete rebuild. That after Detroit parted ways with general manager Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia last November.
The Lions brass went about the business of replacing their front office personnel, coaching staff, and several players on their roster this offseason in order to build that all-to elusive winning culture in the Motor City.
Last year, the Lions fielded the worst defense in the NFL. They ranked dead last in two critical categories. Detroit allowed the most points to be scored against them by opposing offenses (32.4) and the most yards (419.8).
But with the moves made this offseason by the new regime of general manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell, the offense in Motown got significantly worse as well. This new group traded away longtime quarterback Matthew Stafford and replaced him with Jared Goff. They also overturned much of the wide receiver corps and replaced them with several questionable veteran free-agent additions signed to one-year deals.
Much of the early focus of Detroit’s rebuild has been on improving play in the trenches. The Lions used the seventh overall pick in the draft on an offensive lineman, Oregon’s Penei Sewell. Then their next two draft picks in the second and third rounds were used on defensive tackles. Detroit also traded for veteran defensive tackle Michael Brockers.
The Lions’ brain trust knows that a rebuild is going to take more than a single offseason to accomplish. And with additional first-round selections in 2022 and 2023 obtained during the Stafford trade, the foundation for their future success appears to be set before them. The team appears to be willing to sacrifice this upcoming season for more lasting success in the near future.
The Detroit Lions are certainly hoping the development of some of their younger players combined with excellent coaching can make a positive difference in 2021. But simply looking at the roster, this appears to be a worse team on paper than the one that recorded a disappointing 5-11 record in Detroit just last season.