DETROIT LIONS

NFL Futures Odds:

To Win Super Bowl +1000
To Win NFC Championship +550
To Win NFC North +150
Regular Season Wins -- Under 10.5 Wins -150, Over 10.5 Wins +120
To Make Playoffs -- Yes -200, No +160

The Detroit Lions have looked like they were in pretty good playoff position the last two seasons. In the first of those seasons, they let snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against San Francisco. Last season, as the #1 seed in the NFC, they were practically looted by the Washington Commanders, giving up 45 points with a number of people on defense injured.

Now, presuming that they are going to be healthier, could this be the year they get to the Super Bowl? That's never been done in franchise history.

GM is at the heart of the Lions' revival

How the Lions got to the point where they could be real Super Bowl challengers might be traced back to the hiring of Brad Holmes as Vice President and General Manager. Holmes played at North Carolina A&T and aspired to get a job in sports administration. He worked his way up from being an intern in the Rams' public relations department, eventually becoming involved on the personnel side of things.

He took over the football operation of the Lions in 2021 and has made one brilliant personnel move after another. Detroit's drafts have been extremely fruitful, and there have been some very savvy free agent signings in the process of filling things out.

Holmes also hired Dan Campbell as head coach, and his approach has brought some intensity into the situation. Campbell had previously served as an interim coach in Miami, and after that experience he became an assistant with the Saints. His attitude with the Lions has been unflinching, and he's been known for many bold moves on the field that have established a "brand" for the franchise.

Campbell's challenge this season has been to replace both offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to head coaching jobs.

Whether Johnson carried any "magic dust" with him or not is something one can debate. But John Morton, who's had quite a few jobs, including passing game coordinator at Denver last year, takes over as the offensive coordinator.

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Lions once again rely on play action game

Detroit has a great formula for making things work. Jared Goff has always worked effectively in play action. He led the league by a wide margin in play action passing yardage. You can't make play action work unless you can establish a ground game. And that's something the Lions have been able to do with their backfield duo.

David Montgomery gets the tough yards and had 775 of them last season. People were asking why Holmes would draft running back Jahmyr Gibbs on the first round in 2023. Well, the Alabama alum has answered that in a big way. Last year he exploded for 1412 rushing yards and 517 in receptions, scoring 20 touchdowns.

When Goff is able to freeze opposing defensive lines, he has wide receivers who are perfectly capable of benefiting from it. Amon-Ra St. Brown has caught over 100 passes three seasons in a row. Jameson Williams was the most explosive receiver in college football when he was at 'Bama, and he may be on his way to being one of the most explosive in the NFL, topping the 1000-yard mark in 2024 on 17.3 yards per catch. And let's not forget tight end Sam LaPorta, who made All-Pro after he was drafted on the second round in 2023.

All of these people represent very astute personnel moves.

The offensive line has proven to be a real foundation, but there is repair work needed. All-Pro center Frank Ragnow retired, and guard Kevin Zeitler left in free agency. Rookie Tate Ratledge, a second-rounder out of Georgia, is going to get his opportunity to start in the NFL right away, as he'll likely replace Zeitler.

Defense has to stay in one piece

Kelvin Sheppard, the new defensive coordinator, steps into a situation where he has to pick up the pieces of a wounded stop unit that was 30th in the NFL in passing defense.

But his hope is that this group can stay healthy. And there is reason they'll get off to a good start in that regard.

The Lions lost veteran Marcus Davenport and young star pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson relatively early in the 2024 season. But they are expected back. And they should be able to do a respectable job against the run with the presence of DJ Reader and rookie first-round draft pick Tyleik Williams up front.

Linebackers Alex Anzalone and Derrick Barnes were also hobbled, but when you look at it, this is a very solid group, anchored by Jack Campbell, the team's first-round draft pick in 2023.

Safety Kerby Joseph who was drafted in 2022, has had more interceptions than anyone in the league since then. His running mate, Brian Branch, is one of the league's best at his position. Cornerback Terrion Arnold, who struggled as a rookie, is now going to be joined by DJ Reed, who came over as a free agent from the Jets. There's some upside here.

The special teams are a strength. The Lions have an All-Pro punter in Jack Fox and a great punt returner in Kalif Raymond, and placekicker Jake Bates is that guy you were probably hearing about on social media kicking all those 60-plus-yard field goals in the UFL before joining the Honolulu Blue and Silver.

2025 Detroit Lions Predictions

The Lions were the top scoring team in the National Football League last season, and were #2 in total offense. They'll put points up on the board, although they need to plug some components into the offensive line.

With a healthier defense, they have the makings of something very effective. Last year Detroit's players lost more total games to injury than any other team. They still earned the NFC's #1 seed. With more in place this year, they can do more.

That means we'd recommend the price of +150 on the Lions winning the NFC North over rivals that are not nearly as complete. We also have no problem taking +150 for a win total over 10.5 and laying -200 for a playoff berth.

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