Lions offense has all the pieces to be among NFL’s elite
Yahoo Sports NFL analyst Nate Tice and Yahoo Sports fantasy analyst Matt Harmon discuss how Detroit can bounce back this season after some playing changes and missing the playoffs in 2025. Check out the full conversation on "Football 301" - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , YouTube or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
I think the skill position players on this team Like, I think early on in the Lions' ascension, it was actually the offensive line doing the heavy- Yep lifting.
Yep.
And then the skill position players were good, but- Yeah the, the offensive line was the, the I think now it's flipped, where the skill position players have all gotten better, and I don't think the offensive line is gonna, like, fall off a cliff here.
You know, Penei Sewell, obviously, I, you gotta hope- Yeah it goes like Tristan Wirfs, and I think he's a star enough for it to go like Tristan Wirfs, where it's like, "Oh my God, he's gonna move from right tackle to left tackle."
It's like, yeah, he's gonna be a left- the best left tackle in the league, you know?
Agreed.
And I think that can happen.
I think the guards can get better, second year, kind of in with them as the starting combination.
I like Cade Mays as the center.
Rookie right tackle Blake Miller, obviously that, we never just know what rookies are gonna look like.
But still, I think at worst this might be what, like a I wo- I would be shocked if it was an average offensive line.
I still, I th- I think it's going to be above average this year.
And Sam LaPorta being healthy is gonna be a big deal.
Amon-Ra St. Brown is just, like, no more caveats, a top five receiver in the NFL.
He's gotten so much better against press coverage every single season.
W- that's why he's the most involved receiver on a target share basis around the end zone.
I think as long as Campbell's there, that is going to be fine.
I don't think the pass game design or whatever, player usage, which was bad in Arizona in my opinion, is not gonna look like the Drew Petsing Cardinals offense or, you know, the Cleveland Browns, Kevin Stefanski offense- whatever you wanna call it.
I think it's gonna look like the Lions have under Dan Campbell all this time.
But I think the run game will look like the Arizona Cardinals run game, which prior to last year was pretty badass.
So I, I actually think, like, that's what Petsing's here to do, is just I'm just guessing.
I don't have any inside information on this.
So that's kinda how I've settled on this, which ultimately, like, all that, I stewed that together in the pot yesterday to come up with these rankings.
You spit 'em out at number two.
I, I, I'm really high on this offense, and I think they could be the best offense in the league.
And I kinda think they're gonna have to be the best offense in the league, 'cause the defense has a lotta questions.
I'm with you.
I, this offense could end up top four, top three, and I wouldn't be shocked.
They, the skill players are so good, the offensive line got boosted up, and Jared Goff's a great trigger man, for the whole offensive system.
So, now, I might, try to sort out the NFC North, man.
That's every day I'm kinda like going like, "Oh, I kinda like the Lions now.
Well, actually no, the Bears, you know.
Oh, and Vikings could be this."
It's just every single day, but they, yeah, the Lions offense though, I think is gonna kinda recapture some of the magic, even if the defense has some question marks.
