6 Detroit Lions make ESPN's Top-100 players list for 2024

The Detroit Lions have one of the best, and ultimately one of the youngest, rosters in the NFL. Any list of the best players in the NFL is going to have a good representation of Honolulu Blue, and with the preseason in the books ESPN has rolled out their list of the Top-100 players in the league for 2024.

Here's how ESPN arrived at the list.

"To create our list, we asked a panel of dozens of ESPN NFL experts to rate players based on performance expectations for the 2024 season compared with their peers. Emphasis was placed solely on the upcoming season and predicting potential greatness rather than on past performance or positional value....Our NFL Nation reporters weighed in on each player with a 2024 outlook, ESPN Stats & Information provided a signature statistic to know, and fantasy analyst Mike Clay projected a stat line for the upcoming season."

The San Francisco 49ers, just like last year, lead the way with eight players on the four-letter network's Top 100. The Lions have six players on the list.

6 Detroit Lions land six players on ESPN Top-100 list

All six Lions are actually in the top-75 of ESPN's list:

No. 68: Tight end Sam LaPorta
No. 65: Quarterback Jared Goff
No. 52: Running back Jahmyr Gibbs
No. 25: Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown
No. 24: Offensive tackle Penei Sewell
No. 19: Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson

Let's take a look at ESPN Stats and Information's "signature stat" for each Lion.

LaPorta: "LaPorta's 10 receiving touchdowns were four more than the next-closest tight end last season (David Njoku, six)."

Goff: "Since entering the NFL in 2016, Goff ranks fourth in the NFL with 30,429 passing yards and ninth with 185 passing touchdowns."

Gibbs: "Gibbs joined Barry Sanders (1989) and Billy Sims (1980) as only the third rookie in Lions franchise history to produce 1,000 yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns in a season."

St. Brown: "Since entering the league in 2021, he has five drops on 430 targets; his 1.2 drop percentage is the lowest in the NFL (among 70 players with at least 200 targets)."

Sewell: "Sewell finished the 2023 season ranked sixth among offensive tackles in ESPN's pass block win rate, sustaining his blocks for 2.5 seconds 92.5% of the time."

Hutchinson: "Hutchinson had 64 pressures in 2023, which ranked third in the NFL."

Former Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford came in at No. 92 on the list.