Detroit Lions shut out of PFF’s top 101 players of 2019 list

The Detroit Lions sent two players to the Pro Bowl—cornerback Darius Slay and wide receiver Kenny Golladay—but outside of those two players, there weren’t a lot of bright spots from the 2019 season. The Lions finished 3-12-1, lost nine straight to finish the season, and couldn’t even notch a single divisional win.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that not a single Lions player made PFF’s top 101 players from the 2019 season.

The list, which was based solely on 2019 performance (including playoffs), values all positions equally, so it doesn’t heavily feature quarterbacks or edge rushers. But it didn’t matter, the Lions were completely shut out.

Detroit was one of four teams that didn’t feature a single player on the list, joining the 4-12 New York Giants, the 10-6 Buffalo Bills, and the 5-11 Miami Dolphins.

As for the Lions’ top performers, Kenny Golladay appears to have just missed out on the list. His 79.9 overall PFF grade was just below that of Chicago’s Allen Robinson II (80.8) who landed 85th on the list.

It’s unclear if Matthew Stafford was ineligible for the list due to missing the final eight games, but his 82.4 overall grade was higher than the lowest ranked quarterback on the list (Dak Prescott, 80.3). If the list is based on PFF grade alone (unclear if that’s true), Stafford would have landed somewhere between 83 (Aaron Rodgers, PFF grade 81.2) and 79 (Kirk Cousins, 84.3).

On the defensive side of the ball, the only player that really came any close to making the list was Trey Flowers. His 83.0 overall grade was significantly below Colts edge defender Justin Houston (87.0), who was the final player on PFF’s list.

Last year, the Lions had just one player on PFF’s list: defensive tackle Damon Harrison Sr.