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Over the last few days, we’ve discussed the potential of the Detroit Lions’ offense in 2018, thanks to a revamped rushing game. We’ve even debated whether the Lions can average 28 points per game this year. Though the vote was split nearly 50/50, most Lions fans believe the team could rank very close to the top five this season.
NFL.com’s Chris Wesseling has his own ideas of how the top offenses will play out in the 2018 NFL season. On Tuesday, Wesseling ranked the top 10 offenses in the league, and while the Lions did manage to crack his top 10, they barely slipped in as the final entry at 10th.
Perhaps most interesting of his breakdown was his positional grades for each team. Here’s how Wessling graded each aspect of the Lions’ offense:
Quarterback: B+
Backfield: B-
Receiving corps (WRs/TEs): B+
Offensive line: B
While none of those rankings seem particularly outrageous, the Lions are certainly hoping some of those positions perform better than those grades. Specifically, the Lions’ offensive line seems to be much better, on paper, but in Wesseling’s defense, that is all purely hypothetical at this point. Considering how poor the offensive line play was last season, it would be hard to give this group an “A” based purely on faith. Additionally, the Lions are also obviously hoping the additions of rookie Kerryon Johnson and veteran LeGarrette Blount result in better than “B-” play.
Here’s how the rest of Wesseling’s rankings play out: