Detroit Lions: Time to blow up this positional group
Out of all the Detroit Lions offensive positional groups, this particular area of the current roster should be blown up and restocked with talent.
When you look at the current Detroit Lions on the offensive side of the ball, there is plenty to be happy about. Matthew Stafford appears to be a staple under center for the next decade. Wide outs Golden Tate, Marvin Jones Jr. and Kenny Golladay make up one of the better receiver corps in the NFL.
Although fraught with injuries this season, the Lions’ offensive line has some solid contributors. Left tackle Taylor Decker and guard Graham Glasgow appear to be foundational pieces along the O-line. And this offseason, Detroit shelled out big money to sign free agents T.J. Lang and Ricky Wagner to help solidify this positional group. Both struggled with injuries and consistency. But you also have to believe another season together will do wonders for their chemistry.
The one area where the Lions’ offense absolutely needs an overhaul is at running back. Currently manning the roster are backs Theo Riddick, Ameer Abdullah, Zach Zenner, Dwayne Washington and rookie Tion Green.
Riddick is a better third down back than a workhorse, excelling as a receiving threat out of the backfield. Abdullah’s style seems very similar to Riddick, who is also not an every down back. And questions about Ameer’s health, ball security and ability to pass protect are big obstacles to overcome. He could be an excellent trading piece this upcoming offseason as he still has one-year left on his rookie deal.
Both Zenner and Washington have had multiple chances to prove they were the answer in Detroit. And have both fallen short. And Green is ….well, green. With just four game appearances under his belt, the Lions have a very small sample size to gauge from.
But the Lions currently possess the worst rushing offense in the NFL. And these five players are the most responsible for that fact. It’s a positional group that needs to be blown up and restocked with talent in 2018.
"“I would not be surprised if Riddick is the only familiar face we see in Detroit’s backfield next season,” answered Tim Twentyman to a mailbag question on the team’s official website. “I would guess there’s a rookie or two in the mix and possibly even a veteran. Maybe Tion Green is in there too, but there will most likely be some new faces.”"
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The Detroit Lions can not continue to move forward with this group of running backs and expect to see different results. The truth is, transcendent players like Todd Gurley, Alvin Kamara and Ezekiel Elliott are transforming their teams via the rushing attack. The Lions need to find themselves a dominate running back or two to push tier one-dimensional offense to new heights.