The Detroit Lions entered the 2025 NFL season with major doubts about their coaching staff. While their roster was mostly untouched, losing Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn looked like a huge blow, especially given Dan Campbell's aggressiveness and questionable decision-making at times.
The new offensive coordinator failed to live up to the expectations and was shown the door, whereas Kelvin Sheppard did a solid job as their new defensive coordinator. However, getting back to playoff contention required much more than just moving on from John Morton.
The Lions had an impressive haul in the 2026 NFL Draft to address the few roster holes they still had, drawing praise from most analysts. However, it looks like FanSided's Cody Williams remains unimpressed by what they did. In fact, he had the Lions at No. 14 in his pre-draft power rankings, and he's now dropped them all the way to No. 16.
Lions need to remind everyone who they are
With all due respect, it's hard to believe there are 15 teams better than the Detroit Lions right now. He has the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys, who also missed the playoffs, ranked ahead of the Lions, as well as non-contenders like the Jacksonville Jaguars. Even so, it's on them to turn the narrative around, and they may not have done enough to do so.
All things considered, the Lions didn't do much to help their case in the NFL Draft, at least not in terms of getting help right away. Granted, most of their rookies might need a year or two to make an impact, but that's not uncommon with first-year players.
The Lions may have found their right tackle of the future in Blake Miller, the most athletic OT prospect entering the league this year. They addressed a major need after Taylor Decker's departure, but he's still raw and might not be ready to start right out of the gate.
Derrick Moore may not have been the most NFL-ready guy to solve their pass-rushing needs, but they added two intriguing guys with sleeper potential in Jimmy Rolder and Keith Abney II. They're both uber-aggressive and play with a chip on their shoulders, and the Lions simply cannot afford to let them grow through their mistakes as rookies before giving them a bigger role down the road.
This team is coming off a fairly disappointing season, so some skepticism is warranted and fair to a degree. That said, they'll have a much easier schedule this time around, a new offensive coordinator, and the determination to return to the top of the NFC North.
It would've been much better if they also had NFL-ready guys who could help their case right out of the gate. Since that's not the case, they'll just have to be considered a mid-tier team until they prove the doubters wrong.
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