NFC North Preview 2: The Detroit Lions
This is the second in a four-part series in which I will break down each of the NFC North teams in alphabetical order. The Chicago Bears opened the series.
Last Season: The Greatest in Team History
The 2024 Detroit Lions were a dominant force. Their offense led the league with 33.2 points per game, and they finished the regular season first in wins and point differential.
The postseason was another story: the Lions fell apart on all fronts when it mattered most en route to a divisional-round debacle at home against the Commanders.
Biggest Moves: Adding Defenders
The 2024 Lions featured one of the best rosters in the game, so they had relatively few holes to fill this offseason. In both free agency and the draft, the Lions focused their attention on improving their defense, including notable free agent signing cornerback D.J. Reed and first-round draft pick DL Tyleik Williams.
Biggest Losses: Two Coaches and a Center
The Lions lost OC Ben Johnson, the mastermind behind their offensive success, to the division rival Bears. They also lost DC Aaron Glenn, who achieved remarkable success despite a roster that was severely depleted by injuries.
Notably, the Lions decided to hire internally for their opening at DC, promoting former linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard. On the other hand, they went with an external hire at OC, bringing in Denver Broncos pass-game coordinator John Morton. The latter hire is a bit surprising, as the 2024 Broncos offense looked very different from the Lions’; the former heavily featured the run-pass option, while the latter was built largely on play-action.
The Lions also lost Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow, who surprisingly retired at age 29 for the sake of his long-term health.
Together, these represent potentially devastating losses and raise legitimate questions about Detroit’s ability to maintain its offensive firepower in 2025.
Bottom Line
After one of the most dominant regular seasons in NFL history, the Lions are almost certain to regress for the simple reason that there is little room to improve.
Yet statistical regression is not the only reason to think that the Lions will take a step back in 2025. Ben Johnson and QB Jared Goff proved to be a perfect match, and it’s hard to imagine that new OC John Morton will be able to pick up where Johnson left off.
That said, there is still just too much talent on the Lions’ roster to imagine they’ll disappear in 2025. Even without Ragnow, their offensive line is one of the best in the game, and the Lions’ exceptional 2023 draft class is still hitting its prime. The Lions are and should be the favorite to win the NFC North, but the gap between them and the rest of the division is narrowing.