Saturday open thread: Will any Lions player make an All-Pro team in 2022?

The All-Pro honor is reserved for the best of the best in the NFL. Unlike the Pro Bowl, where ballot stuffing and alternates are commonly included in the league’s unnecessary and unwanted all-star game, the All-Pro team is voted on by select members of the media and commonly viewed as the highest honor a player can earn—outside of an MVP award.

While the Detroit Lions didn’t have an All-Pro player last season, center Frank Ragnow and punter Jack Fox were both selected to the second All-Pro team in 2020. Before that season, the last players to secure first-team All-Pro honors were cornerback Darius Slay and Jamal Agnew as a punt returner.

So today’s Question of the Day is...

Will any Lions player make an All-Pro team in 2022?

It’s hard to imagine Ragnow wouldn’t have been included as an All-Pro last season had he not suffered a season-ending injury to his toe in Week 4. As already mentioned, he was coming off an All-Pro season in 2020 and looked to be better than ever before he was put on the shelf. A bounce-back campaign is in the cards for the anchor of Detroit’s offensive line, and if he manages to stay healthy, he could very well earn first-team All-Pro honors—or even if he fractures his throat, who cares, he’ll play through it.

Some other candidates who have yet to earn All-Pro honors belong to the offensive side of the ball as well. T.J. Hockenson is a tight end who could earn himself the richest contract in the position’s history if he has a career year for Detroit. A former Pro Bowl selection in 2020, Hockenson finally has the kind of weapons around him that could spread the middle of the field thin for him to capitalize in a big way.

Detroit’s tackles, Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell, both stand a chance at solidifying themselves in a way they have yet to accomplish. Decker, a likely underrated left tackle, has always been a part of the conversation for one of the most reliable players at his position but never regarded as one of the best. This season, should the rest of the offensive line stay intact, Decker is playing next to Jonah Jackson—a Pro Bowl player a year ago—and he could finally stamp his ticket to the top tier.

Sewell is another story. After splitting time at both tackle positions last season due to Decker’s injury, Sewell is finally repping exclusively at the position he’ll play all season long should things go to plan, and for a player as athletically gifted as Sewell, his ceiling has still yet to be realized. A Year 2 jump feels like a matter of “how big?” rather than an if proposition, so Sewell could have the kind of season to situate him immediately among the best at his spot.

Your turn.