The Detroit Lions have won the NFC North and they are virtually locked into the No. 3 seed in the NFC playoffs heading into the final week of the regular season. The rebuild led by general manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell is slightly ahead of schedule if we're being frank about. And with one of the younger rosters in the NFL and cap space to burn moving forward, the future is bright.
A lot of so-called experts wanted to lament the Lions' draft strategy last April. A running back not named Bijan Robinson (Jahmyr Gibbs) with a top-10 pick ? An off-the-ball linebacker (Jack Campbell) with a second top-20 pick? Some may have even lamented them taking Sam LaPorta over Michael Mayer early in the second round, among a deep draft class of tight ends. Brian Branch fell further than he should have in the draft , and he's been a key piece of the secondary from the start this season.
But the Lions' brass saw players who fit what they wanted, and took them.
It's safe to say things have worked out well. Gibbs was eased in a bit to start the season, but he has been awesome alongside David Montgomery since his workload ramped up. LaPorta is setting records for a Lions' tight end on a weekly basis. Campbell is the second-leading tackler on the team heading into Week 18 (83 total tackles), with an increased role as the season has gone on.
Here are the top five newcomers for the Lions this season.