2016 Lions Opponents: Did They Improve? NFC North & More
By Al Stahl
After a full offseason of free agency and the draft, the Lions’ 2016 opponents will look very different when they face off against Detroit. This week, we’re taking a look at the NFC North. And be sure to check out our recaps of the AFC South and the NFC East.
Aside from the AFC South and NFC East, the Lions will play six games against their NFC North division rivals, plus two additional games against the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints. So let’s take a look at each of these five teams and see what changes they’ve made heading into 2016.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings’ offense is going to look a little different this year.
| 2015 Offensive Starters | Proj. 2016 O Starters | |||
| Pos. | Player | Pos. | Player | |
| LT | Matt Kalil | LT | Matt Kalil | |
| LG | Brandon Fusco | LG | Alex Boone | |
| C | Joe Berger | C | John Sullivan | |
| RG | Michael Harris | RG | Brandon Fusco | |
| RT | TJ Clemmings | RT | Andre Smith | |
| TE | Kyle Rudolph | TE | Kyle Rudolph | |
| WR | Mike Wallace | WR | Laquon Treadwell | |
| WR | Stefon Diggs | WR | Stefon Diggs | |
| WR | Charles Johnson | WR | Charles Johnson | |
| RB | Adrian Peterson | RB | Adrian Peterson | |
| QB | Teddy Bridgewater | QB | Teddy Bridgewater |
The retirement of RT Phil Loadholt means the team will look to Andre Smith and possibly second year tackle TJ Clemmings to hold down the edge opposite Matt Kalil. The offensive line does get center John Sullivan back from injury and Alex Boone was added in free agency this year. He’ll take over the left guard spot, allowing Brandon Fusco to return to his preferred right guard spot. Overall, despite unexpectedly losing Loadholt, the offensive line should be an improved unit which is a scary thought for Lions fans.
Elsewhere on the offense, the Vikings added receiver Laquon Treadwell in the NFL draft. He’ll team up with Stefon Diggs and Kyle Rudolph to create a pretty solid core of weapons for Teddy Bridgewater. Adrian Peterson is still Adrian Peterson.
Now let’s take a look at the defense:
| 2015 Defensive Starters | Proj. 2016 D Starters | |||
| Pos. | Player | Pos. | Player | |
| DE | Brian Robison | DE | Brian Robison | |
| DT | Sharrif Floyd | DT | Sharrif Floyd | |
| DT | Linval Joseph | DT | Linval Joseph | |
| DE | Everson Griffen | DE | Everson Griffen | |
| OLB | Chad Greenway | OLB | Chad Greenway | |
| MLB | Eric Kendricks | MLB | Eric Kendricks | |
| OLB | Anthony Barr | OLB | Anthony Barr | |
| CB | Terence Newman | CB | Terence Newman | |
| FS | Harrison Smith | FS | Harrison Smith | |
| SS | Andrew Sendejo | SS | Michael Griffin | |
| CB | Xavier Rhodes | CB | Xavier Rhodes |
Last year’s No. 5 scoring defense returns 10 of 11 starters. The only difference on this squad is at strong safety where Michael Griffin should step in for Andrew Sendejo. I suppose you could call that an upgrade. Even though the secondary isn’t great, the front seven is where the Vikings make their money.
Verdict
The returning NFC North champs made very few changes to their playoff caliber team this offseason, but the changes they did make were important ones. Adding Alex Boone solidifies the interior of the offensive line. Adding Laquon Treadwell provides Bridgewater with a big-bodied receiver that he really hasn’t had before and that the offense was lacking. On defense, an upgrade at safety should help clean up the back half of a really good defense.
The Vikings could repeat as division champs and 10 or 11 wins is probably expected at this point. Two games against Green Bay, two home games against Dallas and Arizona in a brand new stadium and an early season road trip to Carolina are the biggest challenges for this team, and they have just as good a chance winning those games as they do losing them.
Lions’ chances for a road victory: 20%
Lions’ chances for a home victory: 45%
Next: Green Bay Packers