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The Detroit Lions will no longer be a surprise contender.
General manager Brad Holmes and coach Dan Campbell have built something special over the first three seasons of their tenure. In that time, they have quickly risen from afterthought to legitimate Super Bowl favorite.
They’ve gained plenty of national acclaim from pundits across the league. Because of the array of talent as well as depth on the roster, the Lions are in the upper echelon of teams expected to compete for a championship.
Here’s how national analysts view the Lions amongst other NFL teams in a series of Week 1 power rankings.
Power ranking: 2nd
“The Sports Illustrated preseason Super Bowl favorite Lions come in at No. 2 on our power rankings. We can discuss a lot about this roster but, for me, the strength is on the line of scrimmages. This is a decidedly unsexy way of talking about a team with Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jahmyr Gibbs, among many others. But D.J. Reader, Alim McNeill and Aidan Hutchinson as a combination are way more exciting to me. The Lions are going to absolutely wear teams down by forcing them into obvious passing situations which will lessen the stress on their still-developing secondary. They are also going to continue to be one of the most dominant possession teams in the NFL. Last year, the Lions held onto the ball for more than 31 minutes per game. The Browns, for reference, were the only club that broke the 32 minute barrier last year.”
Power ranking: 2nd
“These guys were in a good mood when they were 1-6 in 2022. Now, they have won 21 of their last 29 games, and wide receiver Jameson Williams looks like he’s taken a step forward in practice. Add Williams’ dynamic breakaway speed to an offense that finished third in the league in yards per play last year (5.9), and Campbell might not even need that 12th daily cup of coffee.
Power ranking: 7th
“They should once again push for a deep playoff run and more. Dan Campbell needs to stop being so reckless with his fourth-down decisions since his team is much better now.
