Detroit Lions: Producing a top ten offense is realistic and on the horizon
By Bob Heyrman
Four: Let’s not count out second-year tight end T.J. Hockenson. Expect the tight end to return motivated after a solid rookie campaign. After that miraculous week one performance in Arizona, it had been a tough row to hoe for Hockenson. A whopping 131 of his 367 receiving yards came in week one, along with one of his two scores.
Expect Hockenson to take a significant step forward in year two in both the blocking and pass-catching aspect of the game. Detroit will look to find better production from veteran tight end, Jesse James, as well. He quickly became one of my biggest disappointments last season. He can only be better in his second year with Detroit.
Aside from Scarbrough, the running back group of Johnson, Swift, Johnson, and Huntley (if he makes the team) all can contribute in the receiving game, which only strengthens the overall Detroit attack.
Verdict: Overall, it’s a skilled group of weapons that will look to build upon the 18th scoring offense from a year ago, and an attack that produced 347 yards per game which ranked 16th with Stafford missing for half of the season.
If Darrell Bevell’s offense in year one was any indication of what is to come, we could be very optimistic this will be a top-ten offense entering year two. A lot of the offensive production will rely on the Detroit offensive line and if that group will get the time necessary to work in conjunction during the offseason and build the proper chemistry needed to excel as a unit.