Coming off a trip to the NFC Championship Game and an easy candidate to go a step beyond that this season, the Detroit Lions are well-equipped to sustain a high level of success for the foreseeable future. Five players on a list of young stars around the league, and with a couple more who could've made it, proves that.
Young, broadly productive and deep is the deal way to have an NFL roster be. Few teams can say they have that combination, and there are some teams who can't claim any of those three things right now. The Lions absolutely have all three in a way few teams do.
Lions take lofty and rightful place in PFN roster ranking
With offseason moves all but done, Dallas Robinson of Pro Football Network recently ranked all 32 NFL rosters.
The big caveat here is quarterbacks are removed from the equation, with the starter for each team only mentioned. So there's no advantage for the Kansas City Chiefs (Patrick Mahomes), the Buffalo Bills (Josh Allen) or any other team who has a top-end quarterback to prop up a roster. Having Jared Goff included could help or hurt the Lions in a ranking of NFL rosters, depending on who you're talking to.
The Lions land at No. 3 on the list, behind only the San Francisco 49ers (No. 1) and the Cleveland Browns (No. 2). The strong and weak area of the Lions' roster Robinson highlighted land as obvious.
"Roster strength: OL. The Lions don’t have a hole along their offensive line after replacing guard Jonah Jackson with Kevin Zeitler. Right tackle Penei Sewell became the NFL’s highest-paid tackle after making first-team All-Pro in 2023. Center Frank Ragnow has two second-team nods on his resume."
"Roster weakness: WR. It’s almost baffling that Detroit didn’t add a receiver in free agency or the draft, especially after losing Josh Reynolds, who played the second-most snaps among Lions WRs in 2023. Detroit has plenty of weapons in RB Jahmyr Gibbs, WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, and LaPorta, but the club is hoping for a Jameson Williams breakout."
The Lions have built a roster in a way many teams can only dream of doing, however aided by having a lot of draft picks and multiple first-round picks in 2022 and 2023. They undoubtedly have a top-five roster in the league, with or without Goff included.