2025 NFL Season Preview: Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions (Last Year: 15-2)

2025 NFL Season Preview:

Veteran Additions:
DT Roy Lopez, LB Grant Stuard, CB D.J. Reed, CB Avonte Maddox, CB Rock Ya-Sin.
Early Draft Picks:
DT Tyliek Williams, G Tate Ratledge, WR Isaac TeSlaa. Lions Rookie Forecast
Offseason Losses:
QB Teddy Bridgewater, G Kevin Zeitler, C Frank Ragnow, DE Za’Darius Smith, CB Carlton Davis, CB Emmanuel Mosley, CB Kindle Vildor, S Ifeatu Melifonwu.

2025 Detroit Lions Offense:
The Lions have ranked in the top four of yardage in each of the past three years. Yet, there’s reason to be concerned about how they’ll play on this side of the ball this upcoming season. Part of the reason would be Ben Johnson’s departure. The brilliant offensive coordinator took the head-coaching job in Chicago, so Detroit will miss his creative play-calling. Johnson was able to get the most out of his players, and it’s unclear how his replacement, John Morton, will do.

Many offensive starters will be back for the Lions, and that includes Jared Goff and his receivers. Goff had a great 2024 season, but withered in the playoff loss to the Redskins. Goff has a history of struggling in the postseason, so this wasn’t too much of a surprise. It remains to be seen if Goff can ever get over the hump and lead his team to the Super Bowl despite possessing great weapons like Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Sam LaPorta. St. Brown should continue to be great no matter what, but it’s unclear if Williams will suffer regression in the wake of Johnson’s departure. Williams could also be traded in the near future, so the Lions added third-round receiver Isaac TeSlaa for depth. TeSlaa was a great tester at the combine.

It’s possible that the running game will take a hit with Johnson gone. Johnson utilized his running backs, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, masterfully. Montgomery could see less work if Morton prefers to give one running back more of the workload. Both running backs will also be hurt by the developments on the offensive line.

The Lions received some bad news in June when Frank Ragnow announced his retirement. Ragnow was one of the best centers in the NFL, so he’ll sorely be missed. What stings is that the Lions also lost Kevin Zeitler to free agency, so their interior blocking looks weak unless second-round rookie Tate Ratledge performs on a high level right away. He’ll be joined by the mediocre Graham Glasnow and 2024 sixth-rounder Christian Mahogany in what appears to be a weak interior.

Detroit is in much better shape at tackle, and not just by default. Penei Sewell is arguably the best left tackle in the NFL, and if he’s not, he’s certainly in the top three. Taylor Decker is an excellent right tackle.

2025 Detroit Lions Defense:
The Lions looked to have a strong defense to start the year. The unit wasn’t elite, but seemed good enough to help the team win the Super Bowl. By the end of the year, Detroit couldn’t stop a nose bleed, ranking 20th in net yardage despite a great start.

Injuries were the culprit for the Lions, who will hope to be healthier this year amid another coordinator change; Aaron Glenn has moved on to be the head coach of the Jets. Having Aidan Hutchinson back from injury will certainly help make up for the loss of Glenn, as Hutchinson being lost for the year diminished the pass rush. Acquiring Za’Darius Smith helped, but while he was solid, he was nowhere near as dominant as Hutchinson, who logged 7.5 sacks in five games. He was on pace for a record-setting 25.5 sacks, so perhaps he’ll continue where he left off this season, but he could also be operating at less than 100 percent. Detroit was expected to find a better bookend for Hutchinson, but it’ll settle for mediocre Marcus Davenport, who was on the field for only two games last year.

Hutchinson and Davenport were far from the only Lions to get hurt. Alim McNeill was lost for the playoffs, which was devastating for Detroit, especially after Hutchinson went down. McNeill is a great player, so he was sorely missed. The Lions made sure they wouldn’t be hurt by this sort of an injury again, as they used their first-round pick on Tyliek Williams. While Williams was a reach, he’ll provide needed depth behind McNeill and D.J. Reader, a monstrous defensive tackle who had a solid first year with the Rams.

Linebacker injuries also hit the Lions hard last year. Jack Campbell played all 17 games and was great, but Alex Anzalone missed seven contests. Other linebackers like Malcolm Rodriguez and Derrick Barnes missed eight and 14 games, respectively.

There was a major injury at cornerback as well, with Carlton Davis missing the end of the year. Davis signed elsewhere this offseason, so the Lions needed a replacement. They certainly got one by signing D.J. Reed. The former Jet is coming off a down year, but he still projects to be a better player than the one with Davis. Detroit will be hoping to have a strong one-two pairing with Terrion Arnold. The 2024 first-round pick struggled as a rookie, but has enough talent to rebound in 2025. There’s also Amik Robertson, an average nickel cornerback who will reprise his role once more in 2025.

The only position in which Detroit didn’t have a starter injured was safety. Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph were both stellar last year, though they lost Ifeatu Melifonwu to an offseason departure, which hurts the depth at the position.

2025 Detroit Lions Schedule and Intangibles:
New Lions kicker Jake Bates had a great season. He was 26-of-29, including 6-of-8 from 50-plus.

Punter Jack Fox ranked atop the leaderboard in net punting average, though he wasn’t great at pinning the opposition inside the 20.

The Lions have a very difficult schedule to start the season. They battle the Packers, Bears, Ravens, Bengals, and Chiefs in five of their first six games. Later in the year, they have to take on the Eagles, Rams, and Steelers.

2025 Detroit Lions Rookies:
Go here for the Lions Rookie Forecast, a page with predictions like which rookie will bust and which rookie will become a solid starter.

2025 Detroit Lions Positional Rankings (1-5 stars):

Quarterbacks	Offensive Line	Secondary
Running Backs	Defensive Line	Special Teams
Receivers	Linebackers	Coaching

2025 Detroit Lions Analysis: The Lions are considered one of the Super Bowl favorites, but this seems to be a mistake. They lost both coordinators, as well as two interior offensive linemen, so they won’t play as well in 2025 as they did last year. Also, they suffered lots of injuries last season. Perhaps they’ll be healthier in 2025, but that could be a sign of bad training, and if the players aren’t 100 percent, there could be more injuries. The Lions could suffer some temporary regression before they bounce back in 2026.

Projection: 9-8 (3rd in NFC North)

2024 Projection: 12-5. 2024 Actual Result: 15-2.
2023 Projection: 12-5. 2023 Actual Result: 12-5.
2022 Projection: 11-6. 2022 Actual Result: 9-8.
2021 Projection: 1-16. 2021 Actual Result: 3-13-1.
2020 Projection: 5-11. 2020 Actual Result: 5-11.
2019 Projection: 5-11. 2019 Actual Result: 3-12-1.
2018 Projection: 8-8. 2018 Actual Result: 6-10.
2017 Projection: 7-9. 2017 Actual Result: 9-7.
2016 Projection: 4-12. 2016 Actual Result: 10-6.

NFL Draft Team Grade: D Grade

Goals Entering the 2025 NFL Draft: The Lions were ravaged by injury last year, particularly on defense. They need to make sure that they find depth players so they’re not damaged by constant injuries once again. Positions that were hurt by these injuries are edge rush, defensive tackle, and cornerback. With so few needs otherwise, the Lions can obtain the best player available.

2025 NFL Draft Accomplishments: The Lions have drafted incredibly well under their curent regime, but that doesn’t appear to be the case this year. Their shockingly poor draft began in the opening round when they appeared to be shell shocked that Tyler Booker and Donovan Jackson were off the board. They made a major reach for Tyleik Williams, who was considered a mid-second-round pick.

Detroit used its second-round choice on Tate Ratledge, which was a quality selection, but then the Lions made an inexplicable move to trade up for Isaac TeSlaa. The Arkansas receiver is athletic, but was considered to be a third-day prospect. It made no sense why the Lions believed they needed to surrender substantial draft capital to secure him.

Of the Lions’ seven picks, three were graded “C” or lower, with the TeSlaa pick being marked down as a Millen. Detroit took players at positions of need, but completely sacrificed value in the process.

NFL Draft Individual Grades:

28. Tyleik Williams, DT, Ohio State – D Grade

I said we’d see some bizarre picks in the 20s, and here we go. Tyleik Williams was a mid-second-round prospect at best, so I don’t understand why Detroit drafted him at No. 28. This is a reach. It’s not an insane reach, but definitely a reach. There were definitely better options at this spot.

57. Tate Ratledge, G, Georgia – B+ Grade

The Lions wanted to address guard in the first round, but they couldn’t land Tyler Booker or Donovan Jackson. They finally get their guard in the second round. Tate Ratledge’s pass protection is worrying, but he’s a great run blocker. He makes sense in this range.

70. Isaac TeSlaa, WR, Arkansas – MILLEN Grade

The Lions moved up for Isaac TeSlaa!? I don’t mind the prospect, as TeSlaa is an athletic player with upside, but I had him in the fourth or fifth round. I’ve heard some evaluate him in the seventh. There was no reason to trade up for TeSlaa, who easily could have been available late in the third.

171. Miles Frazier, G, LSU – A Grade

Miles Frazier could have gone earlier than this with no complaints. The Lions won’t complain, as they wanted to draft a guard in the first round. There’s a chance Frazier could start sooner rather than later.

196. Ahmed Hassanein, DE, Boise State – B Grade

Ahmed Hassanein was a very productive player at Boise State. He lacks height and length for the NFL, but perhaps he can defy the odds and become productive for the Lions. He’s a project, but could pan out, especially with having an attitude Dan Campbell loves.

230. Dan Jackson, S, Georgia – C Grade

Dan Jackson is another prospect who wasn’t on the radar as a draftable player, so we’re reached that time of the draft. The Lions are just getting this player for special teams.

244. Dominic Lovett, WR, Georgia – B Grade

Dominic Lovett has size limitations and figures to just be a slot receiver in the NFL. The problem is that Amon-Ra St. Brown plays there, so Lovett will be blocked, barring injury. Still, he should do well on special teams.

Follow me @walterfootball for updates.