With free agency still a month away and the NFL Draft more than two in the future, it’s far too early to make any predictions that should be taken seriously. But you’ll have to forgive us and ESPN, because now that all the excitement from the first month of the offseason is over, it’s the lean time of year.
Several experts over at the Worldwide Leader of Sports made some way-too-early predictions (ESPN+ required), including Super Bowl 56 winners, MVP, and, as the headline indicates, the team most likely to have the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Of the nine NFL analysts poll, three of them chose the Lions to finish the upcoming season with the worst record in the NFL: Mike Clay, Dan Graziano and Kevin Seifert.
Their reasonings are admittedly sound: they downgraded at quarterback after the Matthew Stafford trade, and the front office is clearly taking a long-term approach to building the team, which means a rough season or two ahead. But Clay actually views it as a positive.
“The Lions appear committed to the long game in terms of contending, especially after acquiring a pair of future first-round picks in the Stafford deal,” Clay wrote. “A rough 2021 campaign seems likely but will pay off down the road.”
Seifert, on the other hand, is a little more skeptical of the Lions’ process. He appears to have little faith in head coaching hire of Dan Campbell.
“They gave an inexperienced and lightly pursued coaching candidate (Dan Campbell) a six-year contract,” Seifert wrote. “All indications are that the Lions are buckling down for a long-term rebuild that could make 2021 an ugly mess.”
If you’re bored and looking for some ridiculously early predictions, the entire thing will take up some of your time. There are other noteworthy predictions, like one analyst picking Matthew Stafford as the 2021 MVP or the few predictions that have the Rams in the Super Bowl. I’ll let you find the rest on your own.
- The Lions worked with Comerica Bank to provide 550 personal care kits for kids facing homelessness in the local Detroit area:
The Lions partnered with @ComericaBank and @UnitedWaySEM for the annual Hometown Huddle to pack personal care kits for @Detroitk12 students facing housing insecurity and homelessness. pic.twitter.com/wmamm2jaY7
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) February 10, 2021
- MLive’s Kyle Meinke listed both the good and the bad that came from the Detroit Lions 2020 rookie class.
- Our own John Whiticar dusted off some old Madden games and found the ratings of a few new Lions coaches:
(2/2) pic.twitter.com/BEIqnlkGzi
— John Whiticar (@Whiticar) February 9, 2021
- PFF listed its top 101 players from the 2020 season. The Lions had just three players make the list: center Frank Ragnow, left tackle Taylor Decker, and.... Matthew Stafford.
- If you haven’t seen it yet, the Lions already put out a hype video for the future, and... it’s quite effective:
It starts today, Detroit#OnePride pic.twitter.com/4v6Scyl3H3
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) February 8, 2021
- Lions Wire is reporting Detroit will add Jett Modkins—son of former Lions running backs coach Curtis Modkins—as the team’s assistant special teams coach under Dave Fipp.
- It’s been a rough couple weeks for the sports community and the NFL. On Tuesday, we lost Yahoo Sports writer Terez Paylor and former NFL coach Marty Schottenheimer. The Lions, who had previous relationships with both, released separate statements on their passing.
We join the NFL family in mourning the sudden loss of Terez Paylor. A Detroit native, Terez frequently made it a point to visit Allen Park for Lions training camp. The positive impact of his life will leave a lasting impression on everyone who knew him. pic.twitter.com/CEkRuLn86k
— Detroit Lions PR (@LionsPR) February 9, 2021
We join the @NFL community in mourning the passing of Marty Schottenheimer, who spent part of his legendary coaching career with the Detroit Lions as a linebackers coach from 1978-79. pic.twitter.com/ZJZ6nKezeT
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) February 9, 2021
Last week, the NFL world also lost writer Chris Wesseling to cancer. Our thoughts are will all of these people, who touched many lives throughout their careers. Rich Eisen had a touching tribute below:
A tribute to our friend, Chris Wesseling. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/vIlSFL1kdB
— NFL (@NFL) February 7, 2021