Offense
The Detroit Lions as a team were the biggest surprise of the 2014 season. Yet somehow, their offense still underachieved. Matthew Stafford had his best statistical season since he threw for 41 touchdowns in 2011. The addition of Golden Tate really helped him. Tate established himself as a top 20 WR in the NFL, and the Lions needed him to step up because Calvin Johnson was playing hurt a lot of last season. Even though Johnson was playing hurt, he is still Calvin Freaking Johnson. He still had over a thousand yards, and went on some dominant stretches of football. Combined with Golden Tate, they are the best wide receiver duo in the NFL, and I'm excited to see what they do if both are healthy. As extra wide receiver depth, they have Corey Fuller, Lance Moore, Jeremy Ross, and Ryan Broyles. Those players are okay for depth, but aren't reliable starters at this point, and as long as Tate and Johnson are healthy, the Lions don't need them to be. At tight end, the Lions have really invested in the position over recent years. Eric Ebron has a chance to be a star. Even after a very underwhelming rookie season, Ebron has the talent to become one of the best TE's in the NFL. I think he'll make a big jump in 2015, and become a top 10 tight end in the NFL already. The Lions also have Brandon Pettigrew and Joseph Fauria at the position. I'm a big fan of Fauria, he's an absolute monster of an end zone target, and I think he is underused in Detroit. Pettigrew is solid, he's athletic but can struggle with drops and staying healthy too. At running back, the Lions aren't looking great, but they look better than last season. Joique Bell and Ameer Abdullah are both very talented running backs and compliment each other well. Bell is a tough, contact runner and he'll be used in most of the short yardage situations. Abdullah has a chance to be one of the better running backs in the NFL, and he is the best pure runner on the team. He's shifty, has top notch speed, and he will immediately be one of the best pass catching running backs in football. Seriously, take 30 seconds and look up his game winning run in college, it's awesome and it shows you what he can really do. Speaking of pass catching RB's, Detroit also has Theo Riddick who really gained Stafford's trust as the season went on. Riddick really doesn't take up any carries, he's just basically a wide receiver in the backfield. The Lions have invested a lot into their offensive line this offseason. At left tackle, they have a solid player in Riley Reiff. He could potentially be a dominant guard, but he has improved since his rookie season and is a reliable blindside protector. At left guard, Detroit just drafted Laken Tomlinson and he should slot in as an immediate upgrade for them. He has a heavy anchor, andis going to give a boost to their run blocking and pass protection. Travis Swanson will take over the center position this season, and he is a talented young player. At right guard, Larry Warford has proven that he is one of the best, young guards in the National Football League. He is an absolute thumper in the run game, and he shuts down interior pass rushers too. To close out the O-line, LaAdrian Waddle has turned into an average starter, and he should be reliable for the 2015 season. The Lions also traded for Manny Ramirez for added depth on the interior line. This offense has the talent to be a top 10 offense in football, BUT they had the talent to be a top 10 offense last season too. If Calvin Johnson is healthy, that alone will have a huge impact on their offense. Abdullah is also in a good position to give a shot of life to this team, as he is the most explosive runner on a pass first team. They have a decent O-line, and between Stafford, Johnson, Tate, Ebron, and Abdullah, I can't see how they won't improve on last season's numbers. I predict a top 12 finish for this offense, which is at least a ten spot improvement from 2014.
Defense
One of the biggest surprises from the 2014 NFL season was the Detroit Lions defense. They had the 3rd best defense, and were one point allowed away from the 2nd best defense. It was obvious that this team had a really good front 7 last season, but the secondary stepped up in a huge way. At cornerback, they have Darius Slay and Rashean Mathis. Slay has turned into a great number one CB, although the one thing he really lacks is ball skills. He has two career interceptions, and even though he was shutting down opposing ones, the lack of forcing turnovers will keep him from joining the elites at cornerback. Rashean Mathis continues to defy his age by putting forth another solid season. A sleeper rookie I like is Quandre Diggs. If he wins the starting slot cornerback job, he could be a high impact player from day 1. At safety, Detroit has one of the more underrated safeties in football in Glover Quin. He had 7 interceptions last season, and even though that number is unrealistic to expect for 2015, he is still a great player to have roaming the field for you. Beside him, James Ihedigbo put forth a solid year, and has turned into a reliable safety. The backbone of this defense has shifted from the defensive line, to the linebackers. Stephen Tulloch injured himself celebrating last season (He really did, tried the discount double check when they were playing the Packers) but he is a great inside linebacker when healthy. DeAndre Levy is one of the best 4-3 outside linebackers in football, and beside Tulloch for a full season will give them a huge tackling duo that will shut down the run. Levy is also terrific in coverage, as evidenced by his 6 interceptions in 2013. Opposite Levy, Kyle Van Noy or Tahir Whitehead should be the starter, and both of those players have talent and will be solid starters. The Lions had two huge losses this offseason in Suh and Fairley. With that being said, their D-line isn't in horrible shape. Ezekiel Ansah is a star defensive end, and will be the anchor of their line for as long as they have him on their team. Opposite Ansah, Jason Jones or Devin Taylor will be getting most of the snaps, and both of those players are fairly underwhelming and that position is a weak spot of this defense. At defensive tackle, the Lions made a bold move and traded for Haloti Ngata after they lost out on the Ndamukong Suh sweepstakes. I loved this move, and even if Ngata doesn't bring the same level of production, the Lions still needed an interior threat on their defensive line to bring some more heat on opposing QB's. Detroit also made another underrated move by signing Tyrunn Walker. He isn't an elite defensive tackle by any means, but he could be a solid player with Detroit and he was one of the better pass rushing DT's in 2014 too. This defense should see some regression after losing Suh and Fairley, but it is still a very good D. Teryl Austin, Detroit's defensive coordinator, deserves a lot of credit as he has raised the level of play of almost every defender on this team in his current tenure. I think that people are expecting more regression just because of the loss of Suh, but this is still a talented team that is also getting back one of their better defenders in Tulloch. I still do expect a top 10 finish for the Lions defense in 2015.
The 2015 Detroit Lions are a good competitive team. I don't think that last season was a blip on the radar, and 2015 will prove that. Even still, I think this team will have a tough time making the playoffs. I'm grouping the Lions with the Vikings, Cowboys, and Cardinals as the teams that will be fighting for wild card spots in the NFC. They are definitely in the hunt for a playoff spot, and it would not shock me at all if they won a wild card spot, but if I have to split hairs I think they have a tougher schedule and a little less talent than those three teams. The Lions aren't in a bad position though. Stafford is a good young QB, and he is definitely no Andy Dalton. They have elite talent at WR with Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate. They also have stars on defense with Ansah, Levy, Tulloch, and Slay. This is a young team that is going to be good for a while, but they still seem like they are a couple pieces away from being truly great.
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