ESPN NFL analyst says Detroit Lions are better than you realize

Many people think the Detroit Lions are not going to contend in 2020. However, at least one analyst thinks they are better than you realize.

The Detroit Lions are not giving many people much hope that they will be able to seriously compete for a 2020 Super Bowl title. They had an offseason that can only be described as neutral at best, adding a few solid pieces but losing just as many key pieces to free agency.

Most people will need to see a grand-slam draft from Lions’ general manager Bob Quinn to jump aboard a hype train for the 2020 season. However, there is one analyst out there that says the Lions look better on paper than most people realize. ESPN’s Mike Clay puts out his own projections based on his own model called “#ClayProjections“.

Most people see a losing season looming for the Motor City football team, but they could surprise people once the season rolls around. With quarterback Matthew Stafford leading the offense anything is possible and the veteran quarterback is coming off what might have ended up being the best season of his career had he not become injured halfway through the season.

In Clay’s projections, he has the Lions winning eight games, going .500 on the season. Some highlights of the game predictions are the Lions beating the Chicago Bears twice and beating the Houston Texans as well. However, he also has Detroit splitting the pair of games with other division rivals, Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings.

Offensively, Clay projects that Stafford will throw for over 4,200 yards and 25 touchdowns while throwing 11 interceptions. Looking at Stafford’s season last year, it’s not a stretch to say that the projections could too low by 500 yards and 10 touchdowns. Detroit also has to deal with another season without a 1,000-yard rusher as starting running back Kerryon Jackson only picks up 839 yards in the projection.

Budding star wide-out Kenny Golladay is projected to have a solid season, catching 66 passes for 1,139 yards and eight touchdowns. However, this once again seems to be on the light side, as Golladay beat all of these numbers last season and should only improve with another year under his belt and a full year with Stafford at the helm.

Defensively, things are a struggle. The projections only foresee a total of 12 interceptions throughout the season and what’s worse just 39 sacks. The lone bright spot for the defense is safety Tracy Walker, who is projected to lead the team with 109 tackles and two interceptions. Defensive end Trey Flowers is also projected to have a decent season with 7.0 sacks and over 50 tackles.

Hopefully, things improve with what should be the addition of a starting rookie guard, cornerback, and edge rusher. They might even be able to add an impactful interior defensive lineman and/or wide receiver as well if they trade down and acquire extra day one and two picks.

Thanks to Mike Clay’s in-depth projections, Detroit Lions’ fans should have a better idea of what to expect from their favorite teams and players for the 2020 season. If you wish to explore the entire team and player projections put forth by Clay, click here to see them.