Lions notes: Darius Slay one of few Lions selected for All-NFC North team

The Detroit Lions are not receiving much positive attention from the national media entering the 2019 season, and that seems to have caught on to The Athletic.

The team over at the websites NFL coverage put together a preseason all-NFC North team heading into the upcoming season, and the Lions seem underrepresented. Only three players from Detroit are named to the list.

Two of which who were named to the team—cornerback Darius Slay and defensive tackle Damon Harrison Sr.—are players that are seeking new deals heading into 2019. The other is left tackle Taylor Decker.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford, wide receiver Kenny Golladay, tight end T.J. Hockenson, guard Frank Ragnow and defensive linemen Trey Flowers and Mike Daniels were named as honorable mentions.

• USA Today named the Top 100 NFL teams of all time on Tuesday. The only representation the Detroit Lions received was the 1952 team led by Bobby Layne, which came in at 55.

• The Lions are set to take on the New England Patriots in their opening preseason this game this week, and it will be a rematch of the final game of Stafford’s last career college game against Patriots quarterback Brian Hoyer, per the teams official PR account.

• For The Win’s Charles Curtis named a potential fantasy football bust for every NFL team in the upcoming season, and wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. was the choice for Detroit.

• This week's preseason game is a matchup of other former college rivals again, as running backs Kerryon Johnson and Sony Michel will meet after dueling at Auburn and Georgia for years respectively. ESPN’s Mike Reiss talked to both at the team’s joint practice today in a clip posted by the teams official PR account.