Detroit Lions: Ranking the NFC North offenses for 2020
By Robert Jones
Detroit Lions fans are feeling offensive optimism for the 2020 season. But where does Motown’s offense rank in the NFC North?
The Detroit Lions are coming off a lowly 3-12-1 season. They are also heading into the 2020 campaign with the mandate to play ‘meaningful’ games in December.
While this mandate is certainly going to be a margin call by the Ford family, general manager Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia are hoping to finally get things right and find a way to compete in the NFC North.
After an offseason that saw free-agency used to fill mostly defensive holes and a draft that could certainly be filed under the theme of ‘improve the ground game’, Both Quinn and Patricia hope they have done enough to create a competitive roster in Detroit.
Until the season starts we won’t know for sure. It appears that the defense is still a few pieces shy of being good enough to cause some havoc. Meanwhile, the offense has created optimism among much of the Lions fan base.
The Honolulu Blue and Silver faithful are hoping that the offense can carry the defense. The truth is that the defense will have to be better in order for the offense to have any real chance to carry this team. After all, the defense has to get at least some stops this year in order to allow the offense an opportunity to lead this team to meaningful games in December.
ALSO READ: Ranking the NFC North defenses for 2020
Yet when you sit down and evaluate the Lions offense it has a chance to be good. As a matter of fact, better than good. This is, of course, going to be dependent on the contributions of the Lions rookie guards Jonah Jackson and Logan Stenberg being able to make positive contributions to the offensive line as well as rookie runner D’Andre Swift living up to the hype as one of the best backs in the draft.
Matt Stafford is coming off an injury that saw him miss half of last season, but the half he played was outstanding. He will have his talented trio of top receivers, Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones, and Danny Amendola back, plus second-year tight end T.J. Hockenson should be better.
In a division that has the early prognosticators already throwing Detroit in the cellar, is their offense competitive enough to keep them afloat? Let’s break down where the Lions rank offensively in the NFC North.