ESPN hot take artist Stephen A. Smith has jumped aboard the Detroit Lions bandwagon

As the Detroit Lions bandwagon fills up, it now includes ESPN's best-known hot take maven Stephen A. Smith.

The Detroit Lions bandwagon has been filled with national media members all offseason, to the point it's almost scary. Now, it seems it has reached a tipping point.

Stephen A. Smith has made his brand, and a whole lot of money, offering plenty of hot takes centered on his morning flagship ESPN show "First Take." Earlier this week on said show, "Eagles vs. NFC" was a topic discussed.

Chris "Mad Dog" Russo offered up the Green Bay Packers, and Keyshawn Johnson went with the New Orleans Saints as a surprise team who could challenge the Eagles.

Smith offered the Lions as his surprise team who can challenge the defending NFC champions this season. Quite a turn from his past critique of the Lions, but it's clearly a new day for the franchise and for related evaluations of their chances to do something notable.

Stephen A. Smith climbs aboard the Detroit Lions bandwagon

Here's a good portion of what Smith had to say about the Lions during the segment:

"We saw Jared Goff throw 29 touchdowns, seven interceptions, completed about 65 percent of his passes, the team believes in him. They've got an elevated level of confidence," said Smith. "This is a quarterback that quarterbacked in the Super Bowl a few years back. Their offense was top five last year.""

"I expect them to do similar things this year offensively. Defensively, let's see what they have with Aidan Hutchinson and those boys. Let's see what they do defensively, cause they got a lot to prove, cause they were the 28th-ranked defense last year," "I get all of that. But, I'm just looking at the upside for the Detroit Lions. I like coach (Dan) Campbell. Let's see what they do.""

Russo subsequently, and within the core premise of "First Take", called out Smith for turning his tide about the Lions.

"He hates Goff. Now, all of a sudden he thinks Goff's Bobby Layne," "He can't stand the Lions, (and) now he loves them.""

Many Lions fans will see Smith's blessing of the team as a possible challenger/contender in the NFC this year as a curse. But the bandwagon is filling up, and even those whose thing is occasionally offering up ridiculous opinions are jumping aboard.