Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Lions Links for Tuesday 5-20-25

Articles:

What new TEs coach Tyler Roehl wants to see from his players:  https://www.detroitlions.com/news/what-new-tes-coach-tyler-roehl-wants-to-see-from-his-players

Lions offseason questions: Games to watch:  https://www.detroitlions.com/news/detroit-lions-offseason-questions-games-to-watch-2025-nfl-schedule










Dan Orlovsky Helped Teach Lions Jared Goff How to Watch Film:  https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/dan-orlovsky-helped-teach-lions-jared-watch-film

Tashard Choice: I Have to Be 'Harder' on RB Jahmyr Gibbs:  https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/tashard-choice-will-coach-jahmyr-gibbs-tough
L
Lions' Dave Fipp: 'I'm Living a Dream':  https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/lions-dave-fipp-living-dream

Jason Cabinda Details How Matt Patricia Angered Darius Slay:  https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/jason-cabinda-details-matt-patricia-angered-darius-slay


Notes: Analysts Fearful Lions Have Tough Competition in Division:  https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/analysts-fearful-lions-tough-competition-division

Podcast: Is Lions Alex Anzalone Getting New Lions Contract?:  https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/podcasts/podcast-alex-anzalone-getting-new-lions-contract

Former Packers LB Picks Lions to Win Division:  https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/clay-matthews-picks-lions-win-division

Lions Are Betting Favorites in Majority of 2025 NFL Games:  https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/lions-betting-favorites-majority-2025-nfl-games


Notes: NFL Media Executive Explains Lions Thanksgiving Time Change:  https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/nfl-media-executive-explains-lions-thanksgiving-time-change


Dan Skipper: NFL International Games Are 'A Joke':  https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/dan-skipper-nfl-international-games-are-joke


D.J. Reed Could Get Special Tattoo If Detroit Lions Win Super Bowl:  https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/dj-reed-could-get-special-tattoo-detroit-lions-win-super-bowl

Aidan Hutchinson Expected to Have 'Prolific' Sack Production:  https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/aidan-hutchinson-expected-have-prolific-sack-production






Breaking down the Detroit Lions’ non-NFC North opponents’ offseasons:  https://www.prideofdetroit.com/2025/5/19/24430235/2025-detroit-lions-schedule-breaking-down-non-nfc-north-opponents


Every NFL team's top three players entering the 2025 season (DETROIT LIONS - WR AMON-RA ST. BROWN.  EDGE AIDAN HUTCHINSON.  OT PENEI SEWELL.  St. Brown continues to dominate PFF’s receiving metrics. He leads all wide receivers in WAR in 2024 (0.70), cumulative WAR over the past three years (1.70) and average WAR over that span (0.57). His 92.5 receiving grade trails only Tyreek Hill across those three seasons. Hutchinson opened 2024 with one of the most dominant five-game stretches ever recorded, earning a 95.0 pass-rush grade and a 38.9% win rate before injury. Sewell delivered a second consecutive elite run-blocking grade (91.5) and remains one of the top offensive linemen in football.):  https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-every-nfl-team-top-three-players-2025-season

PFF Quarterback Rankings: All 32 starters ahead of the 2025 NFL season (9. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions:  Goff has piloted one of the NFL’s most productive offenses over the past two seasons, earning an 84.8 passing grade over that span, the seventh-best in the league. We’ll soon find out how much of that success was tied to Ben Johnson, now the Bears' head coach, but the results speak for themselves: Goff has been a top-10 quarterback over the last two years.):  https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-quarterback-rankings-all-32-starters-2025-nfl-season

Highest-graded player at every position from the 2024 NFL Draft (1. T Penei Sewell, Detroit Lions - Three-year grade: 92.8.  Snaps played since 2022: 3,734.  Average WAR since 2022: 0.54. Sewell led this list last year, and after another dominant season as one of the three highest-graded players at his position, his spot at the top remains solidified. Sewell’s run-blocking ability is his best asset, as he owns a 95.2 PFF run-blocking grade for his career — the second-best mark among all offensive linemen since entering the league in 2021. Most impressive about Sewell’s top PFF overall grade is that he has played more snaps (4,773) than any other qualifying player for this list, keeping him as the top player under 25 for one more year.  8. S Brian Branch, Detroit Lions - Three-year grade: 87.0.  Snaps played since 2022: 1,855. Average WAR since 2022: 0.41.  Branch is one of several young, promising Lions players to make this list, getting off to a great start in his NFL career through two seasons. He ranks behind only Kyle Hamilton among qualifying players on this list at the position in both career PFF overall grade and career PFF coverage grade (84.3).  Branch’s versatility has been a significant asset for Detroit, as he served as a high-end nickel cornerback in Year 1 before transitioning to a more permanent full-time role as a movable chess piece in Aaron Glenn’s defense and never disappointing, earning top-15 PFF overall grades for his position in each season.  10. RB Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions - Three-year grade: 90.2.  Snaps played since 2022: 1,371.  Average WAR since 2022: 0.17.  Gibbs and Robinson are in a neck-and-neck battle to be the best young running back in the NFL, and they’ll likely continue to be compared to one another throughout their careers after being separated by just four picks in the 2023 NFL Draft.  The margins in which Gibbs and Robinson differ in PFF grades are also very thin: Gibbs finished one spot behind Robinson in PFF rushing grade in 2024. Gibbs has delivered more than 1,000 rushing yards and at least 400 receiving yards in both of his NFL seasons (postseason included) thus far, with 2024 being his most productive. He ranked inside the top five at his position in both rushing yards (1,412) and receiving yards (517) in the regular season.  23. TE Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions - Three-year grade: 78.3.  Snaps played since 2022: 2,129.  Average WAR since 2022: 0.47.  Much like De'Von Achane, LaPorta engineered a historic rookie season in 2023, setting the rookie tight end record at the time for receptions and receiving yards, and faced high expectations for Year 2.  While he regressed slightly in 2024, his 79.1 PFF receiving grade was still the sixth-best mark at the position in 2024, and the sixth-best figure over the past two seasons. LaPorta ranks fourth at the position overall and fifth on the Lions in PFF WAR since 2023, making him another worthy Detroit player for this list.  25. S Kerby Joseph, Detroit Lions - Three-year grade: 77.7.  Snaps played since 2022: 3,076.  Average WAR since 2022: 0.11.  Joseph would have been much higher on this top-25 list had his All-Pro 2024 campaign — which earned him a large new contract — extended to his previous seasons. He was the top-graded safety overall (90.4) and in coverage (91.1) this past season, but he ranked 50th or lower in PFF coverage grade in each year before 2024.  However, while those first two seasons were used as a tie-breaker that pushed him down the list, he ultimately deserved to make the cut after an excellent 2024 season.):  https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-highest-graded-players-2024-nfl-draft

Who could dethrone Super Bowl champion Eagles? Chiefs, Bills, Ravens headline top six contenders (4
Detroit Lions - Eagles fans won't appreciate this, but last season was supposed to be Detroit's year. The Lions had the motivation (after blowing a 17-point halftime lead at San Francisco in the previous season's NFC Championship Game), the talent (their offense led the league in scoring), the coaching (both their offensive and defensive coordinator would land head-coaching jobs after the season) and the urgency (this team hasn't won an NFL championship since 1957 and has never appeared in a Super Bowl). The one thing Detroit didn't have going for it was fate. A litany of injuries, especially on defense, eventually ruined all those lofty aspirations and led to the Lions losing to Washington in the Divisional Round. Detroit understands that there will be new challenges coming this season -- especially with OC Ben Johnson and DC Aaron Glenn moving on -- but the foundation that head coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes have built over five years remains solid.  The offense will once again feature Pro Bowl quarterback Jared Goff, first-team All-Pro wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, one of the best lines in football and the dynamic running back duo of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery (who rushed for a combined 2,187 yards and 28 touchdowns). The defense can't wait to see star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson back on the field after a broken leg limited him to just five games in 2024. The Lions invested a lot of resources into rebuilding their secondary last offseason. Returning Hutchinson to the lineup means this D will play more like Campbell and Holmes envisioned: harassing quarterbacks with relentless pressure and suffocating receivers with sticky coverage. That happened to be the same formula Philadelphia used to overwhelm Kansas City in the Super Bowl, which surely wasn't lost on anybody in Motown.  The Lions did their best to overcome plenty of setbacks last season -- let's not forget, they were the top seed in the NFC with a sparkling 15-2 record -- but you only get so many chances at claiming a title. It simply wasn't their year in 2024. They're good enough to turn this coming season into a redemptive experience.):  https://www.nfl.com/news/who-could-dethrone-super-bowl-champion-eagles-chiefs-bills-ravens-headline-top-six-contenders

Longtime Rival Predicts Lions Will Win NFC North Again in 2025:  https://athlonsports.com/nfl/detroit-lions/clay-matthews-predicts-detroit-lions-win-nfc-north

What might an NFL flag football Dream Team look like in 2028 Olympics? (RB: Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions - Many will go with Philadelphia's Saquon Barkley — if you can hurdle a defender backward, you can probably make a few guys miss a flag — but Barkley will be 31 when the 2028 Olympics roll around. Gibbs is five years younger, and most importantly, he's an elite pass-catcher. Olympic flag football allows no running plays once a team reaches the 5-yard-line, so pass-catching is almost as crucial as being able to make people miss. If you're looking for a wild card as a super-quick, smallish back, maybe Miami's De'Von Achane.):  https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/nfl-flag-football-team-2028-olympics-jayden-daniels-justin-jefferson

With NFL players allowed to play in 2028 Olympics, who would make the USA's flag football Dream Team?
What would an American team with NFL players look like in flag football? (RB: Jahmyr Gibbs - The quarterback can hand it off to a running back or throw, but the running back has to be an elusive threat out of the backfield with the ability to catch. Sorry Derrick Henry, you can't run over the poor defenders in this game. We've seen Gibbs absolutely dust NFL defenders in open space, and good luck to the German or French defender catching up to Gibbs.):  https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/article/with-nfl-players-allowed-to-play-in-2028-olympics-who-would-make-the-usas-flag-football-dream-team-181156191.html

Five Lions Ranked in Top 25 Best Players Under 25 Years Old:  https://athlonsports.com/nfl/detroit-lions-five-players-top-25-under-25

If Lions’ (the league office’s) playoff proposal passes, the NFL needs to revamp the scheduling formula:  https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/if-lions-the-league-offices-playoff-proposal-passes-the-nfl-needs-to-revamp-the-scheduling-formula

Regrading every team's 2022 NFL Draft class (Detroit Lions  - 2022 Grade: B+. The Skinny: They had the second overall pick and landed edge Aidan Hutchinson, who might have been on his way to Defensive Player of the Year honors before breaking his leg last year. He is a special player. They followed that by trading up to get receiver Jameson Williams, who is their deep threat and had a big season in 2024. The also landed a starter in third-round safety Kerby Joseph, who is coming off his best season and was All-Pro, and backups in edge Josh Paschal (second) and linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez (sixth).  How I did: I loved the move to trade up to get Williams and questioned taking tight end James Mitchell in the fifth, and he is now with the Panthers after having 13 catches for the Lions in his first two seasons. I liked them getting Hutchinson and Paschal to help the pass rush, but Hutchinson was a no-brainer.  New Grade: A+):  https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/regrading-2022-nfl-draft-chiefs-packers-classes-look-even-greater-commanders-high-mark-plummets-to-f/

2025 NFL Win Totals: Over/Under Predictions for All 32 Teams (Detroit Lions: 10.5 - Prediction: Over.  Don’t worry too much about the Lions going into a season without former coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn. Coach Dan Campbell and GM Brad Holmes are still around, and they stuck to their successful blueprint of adding tough players for both sides of the trenches. The depth on the offensive line and defensive front should pay off again in 2025.):  https://www.si.com/nfl/2025-nfl-win-totals-over-under-predictions-for-all-32-teams

Video:

SportsWorks - 5-18-25 -- Dan talking Tigers, Lions, NBA & PGA Championship with John Niyo & Will Burchfield:  https://www.fox2detroit.com/video/1643395

Most/least vulnerable NFL division champs: Chiefs to repeat in AFC West? Lions in trouble?:  https://www.nfl.com/news/2025-nfl-season-lions-eagles-among-most-vulnerable-reigning-division-champions

Bigger threat to Eagles: Lions or Rams? | 'GMFB':  https://www.nfl.com/videos/bigger-threat-to-eagles-lions-or-rams-gmfb
Posted by LionsFan at 6:09 PM

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