While the Detroit Lions' defense may not be on the same level as their offense headed into this season, fans should have faith that the teams' intentional free agency gets are able to step up and provide some effective starts for the team.
At cornerback, they have plenty of options. At safety...perhaps not as many. But, there's time to still figure things out at these two potential positions of need.
Despite those two roster holes, there's been some love thrown Detroit's way as they're essentially running it back in 2026 with some better depth. NFL Spin Zone's Lou Scataglia is adding even more to that love with a few weeks out from training camp, naming the Lions as his projected second-best team in the NFL this year.
"With how loaded this roster is, especially with this group on offense, the Lions simply need the defense to be at an average level in 2026, which was not the case in 2025. That may seem like an easy enough thing for the unit to do, and with the unit having some star players like Aidan Hutchinson, Jack Campbell, and Kerby Joseph, the Lions, personnel-wise, are still in a good spot there and will have a rebound season."
Lions could (almost) be the best team in the league
Detroit would need an exemplary season from their defense in order to topple a squad like the Los Angeles Rams this year, which is the team that Scataglia has as the best. It's no surprise - Los Angeles is also basically running it back with their excellent roster from 2025, and it just doesn't look like former Lion Matthew Stafford is slowing down anytime soon.
With the addition of Myles Garrett to their roster - which they accomplished by barely touching their roster - they're just the obvious team to beat.
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Los Angeles had Detroit's number in 2025, taking them down by a final score of 41-34. That kick started a three-game losing streak for the Lions, which just added to the sadness of their 2025 season overall. In every facet, they were beaten - Puka Nacua outplayed Amon-Ra St. Brown, Stafford out-threw Jared Goff, and their running back room bested Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.
Detroit has to avoid such games in 2026 - games where their star power takes a back seat and allows their opponent to thoroughly prove that they're the better unit. With a much lighter schedule for them this season, they should be able to do just that, and at a high clip.
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