National Football League

Are Detroit Lions a good offseason away from competing?

Published Feb. 25, 2022 8:00 p.m. ET

Detroit Lions fans and their tear-stained paper bags have endured a few particularly grueling seasons in recent years.

They’ve only enjoyed six wins in the confines of Ford Field since the start of the 2018 season and suffered the cruel fate of watching long-time quarterback Matthew Stafford hoist the Lombardi Trophy this winter while wearing a slightly darker shade of blue.

However, despite an unsightly 3-13-1 record in 2021, a Detroit fan base desperate for optimism enjoyed a number of encouraging signs towards the end of the campaign. The Lions limped to an 0-10-1 start last season, a run that included a number of devastatingly close losses. They lost five of their first 11 games by a single possession, prompting an emotional response from first-year head coach Dan Campbell before Detroit finally broke through against the Vikings.

Detroit won three of its final six games to conclude the 2021 season, however, including dominant victories against playoff teams Arizona and Green Bay. And the Lions will look to cast off the shackles of the NFL basement with the help of two first-round draft picks this spring.

To find the last run of success in Detroit, you have to go back to 2014, when the dominant presence of defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh led the Lions to 11 wins — tied for the second-most in franchise history.

Suh was the second overall pick by Detroit in the 2010 draft. Now, the Lions are projected to introduce another disruptive defensive lineman to their fans with the No. 2 overall pick this year.

In his most recent mock draft, FOX Sports Betting Analyst Jason McIntyre expects the Lions to pick Aidan Hutchinson at No. 2. Hutchinson, a local product who spent four seasons at Michigan, finished third among FBS players last season with 12 solo sacks.

Hutchinson, who McIntyre called "the most dominant lineman in the sport," would revitalize an anemic Lions pass rush, which finished with the third-fewest sacks in the NFL last season.

The Lions also have another first-round selection (No. 32 overall) that they received from the Rams in the Stafford-Jared Goff deal. There has been plenty of speculation that Detroit may use that pick to grab a quarterback, with the long-term goal of moving on from Goff, who finished with the eighth-lowest quarterback rating last season. McIntyre projects that the Lions will take Liberty QB Malik Willis with that pick.

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Campbell's coaching chops also became clear throughout the 2021 season, even to those without blue-and-gray-tinted glasses. Among the top 150 free agents this season, only two are Lions, demonstrating the lack of talent on Detroit’s roster and Campbell’s commitment to developing a young core.

The Lions are anticipated to make much bigger moves in free agency this offseason while still adhering to Campbell’s tenants of grit and toughness — Marcus Williams and Chris Godwin have emerged as top targets for Detroit. With ample cap space and a high draft pick likely to make an immediate impact, there’s definite reason for optimism in Motown entering 2022.