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The page has been flipped on the 2018 NFL season, and we’re already turning our attention to the 2019 Detroit Lions. We’re at the most optimistic part of the offseason: the very beginning. At this point, there are endless possibilities. The best potential free agents could come to Detroit, and with a top-10 pick, the NFL Draft possibilities are endless.
And with that hope brings irrational confidence. 2019 is the Lions’ year. The defense now knows what’s expected of them, the offense finally has the right coaching staff in place, and Matthew Stafford won’t ever play that bad again. We are all very, very sure of this and there’s little chance we’re wrong.
So instead of pushing back on that delusion, let’s lean into it and make a ridiculous bold prediction. Today’s Question of the Day is:
What is your bold prediction for the Lions’ 2019 season?
My answer: Kerryon Johnson will finish in the top three in rushing yards next season.
Just about everything the Lions have done over the past 12 months have worked to Kerryon Johnson’s favor. They found a new offensive line coach who has a resume filled with improving running games year after year. They added another offensive lineman and a fullback in the 2018 NFL Draft. This year they grabbed an offensive coordinator that loves to run the ball and helped produce a few Pro Bowl running backs.
As for Johnson himself, if he gets the carries and can stay healthy, the sky is truly the limit for this promising back. He averaged 5.4 yards per carry in 2018, the second best in the league, and the highest average for a Lions running back (min. 100 carries) since Barry Sanders in 1997 (third best in team history).
Johnson is insanely talented, and based on how Detroit has built their team recently, they know it. Now it’s just a matter of whether the young Lions back can reach the full potential. Thing very rarely work out the way you expect them to with the Lions, but I feel confident Kerryon can make a run at the rushing title in 2019.
Your turn.