2018 Detroit Lions Pride of Detroit Awards: Most Valuable Player

For the past few years, the Detroit Lions MVP Award has always been one of the easier to hand out. Matthew Stafford continually wins thanks to his furious comebacks and his shouldering of the team.

2018 is going to be a little different. Last season was far from Stafford’s best, and many of Detroit’s six wins were thanks to heroic efforts elsewhere on the field. So with that in mind, here are four candidates for 2018 Detroit Lions MVP.

Damon Harrison Sr.

It seems unfair or downright wrong to vote for Snacks as the team’s MVP considering he only played for 10 of the 16 games this year, but he made that big of a difference to receive the overwhelming majority of nominations for this category.

Harrison was equally valuable in his own contributions and his aide towards his teammates. Everyone on the defensive line suddenly got better, and he even allowed Jarrad Davis to run free—where Davis is at his best.

Kerryon Johnson

2018 felt like a passing of the torch for the Lions offense. No longer will Matthew Stafford have to bear the weight of the entire unit. Around the midway point through the season, Kerryon Johnson became the centerpiece of the offense, and when he was running successfully, the team was rolling.

In three games, Johnson rushed for over 80 yards and 5.8 yards per carry. In all three games, the Lions won.

Johnson was capable of turning any play into a big one, and that’s something the Lions have been severely missing for the past five years.

Kenny Golladay

When the Lions needed a big play to keep them in the game, they often turned to Kenny Golladay.

The second-year receiver had a whopping 19 plays of 20+ yards on the season, which was 11 more than anyone else on the team and 10th in the NFL.

Golladay may not quite be at the level of a pure No. 1 receiver, but he certainly took a step in that direction in 2018, and he may have been Detroit’s most exciting player on the field for the entire season.

Matthew Stafford

You have to perform a little mental gymnastics to follow here, but 2018 actually made a pretty good case that Stafford is the team’s literal most valuable player. It’s no coincidence that Stafford’s worst season in five years was also the team’s worst record since 2012.

In 2018, Stafford proved the team will only go as far as their quarterback takes them. And while Stafford wasn’t terrible last year, he clearly wasn’t playing up to his own expectations and the team suffered.