As a residual of a rebuild, the Detroit Lions have had one of the youngest rosters in the NFL the last two seasons. And with a few as one player on the final 53 heading into the season that will be 30 years old--left tackle Taylor Decker, who turns 30 on Aug. 23-and at most two if Jake McQuaide wins the long snapper job, the roster will be very young again in 2023.
So that means a lot young players will be relied on heavily in a season the Lions will enter as the favorites to win the NFC North. While some are easy to expect to meet high expectations (Aidan Hutchinson, Amon-Ra St. Brown, etc.), the hype around guys like that has already given way to tangible NFL resumes to set expectations from.
Dan Campbell and the Lions coaching staff will do everything they can to keep players from surrendering to the hype around the team. But not every player will be able to meet any high individual expectations and hype--that's the simple reality. More tape is out on them, etc.
With the start of training camp getting closer, here are three young Lions players who are being overhyped and fans need to temper their expectations on.