Worst to first: When will it be the Detroit Lions turn?
The 49ers: Why not order what they’re having?
If you compare San Francisco’s 2018 season to the 2019 Lions, there are plenty of surface level similarities to be found. Enough that if you squint hard enough, it’s possible to see the Lions taking the same path to a memorable turnaround of their own next year.
Final record/Draft position- San Francisco was 4-12 last year and picked 2nd; Detroit went 3-12-1 and will pick 3rd (assuming they don’t trade down).
Injured starting quarterbacks- Jimmy Garoppolo tore his ACL in Week 3 a year ago and missed the rest of the year; Stafford’s back injury sidelined him for the final two months of 2019.
Stable of young running backs- The 49ers essentially don’t have a starter, splitting between Tevin Coleman, Matt Breida, and NFC Championship hero Raheem Mostert. The Lions have seen plenty to be hopeful about with Kerryon Johnson and Bo Scarbrough and will be hoping for a leap from Ty Johnson in his second year in the league (all 23 or younger).
Stud tight end from Iowa coming into his own- Former Hawkeye George Kittle just got named first team All-Pro, with back to back 1,000 yard seasons following an ordinary rookie year. Before missing the final month, T.J. Hockenson (32 rec, 367 yd, 2 TD) was on pace for nearly the exact numbers as Kittle’s first season.
Hockenson will absolutely be expected to emerge into a Kittle-level game changer next year to justify being drafted in the top ten, and has shown glimpses of the talent to pull it off.
Philosophy vs Reality- The narrative behind San Francisco’s turnaround has been that drafting Nick Bosa helped lay a vicious pass rush as the foundation, which is partly true.
The 49ers have a top five defense and collected 48 sacks on the year (Detroit had a lowly 28), but the real story has been a much better than expected offense, which finished 2nd in points, 4th in yards, and 2nd in rushing.
Over in Detroit, Matt Patricia’s philosophy has been defense first, but the reality was a potent offense pre-Stafford injury that kept the team in nearly every game, while the defense never held up its end.
As the losing streak dropped them within range of the #1 overall pick, many fans have clamored for Chase Young as catalyst for the defense and the answer to all our woes. After all, if the Lions want a quick fix like the 49ers had, what better place to start than using a top three draft pick on freak defensive lineman from Ohio State, right?