State of Detroit Sports: 2024 Mid-Year Review: Part 4

Detroit Lions: Perennial Losers to Detroit's Best Chance at a Championship?

    For years, when you were to hear the name of the Detroit Lions, it would insight disappointment and embarrassment for most fans. We were the franchise known for never winning a Super Bowl, or even making it to the big dance. We were known for wasting, arguably, the single-greatest running back and single-greatest wide receiver in the history of the game in Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson. We were known for having the worst single-season record ever by going winless... 0-16. See even as I am writing these things on paper is raising my blood pressure.

    However, times are changing after years and years of failed rebuilds, horrible management and some of the worst coaching ever seen. We have finally found the perfect combination of that gutsy, hard-nosed, take-no-prisoners, kneecap-biting coach, and savvy drafting general manager in Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes. Since inheriting the team in 2021, Dan Campbell has gone on to record a 24-26-1 record in his first three seasons. It was a big disappointment in his first season with the team, as the team went 3-13-1. This was the first season after the huge Jared Goff-Matthew Stafford trade with the L.A. Rams.

    In his second season as head coach, Campbell would coach the team to a 9-8 record, starting the first half of the season going 2-6, they came back and went 7-2 in the last half of the season, showing major improvements. In his third season, Campbell would coach this team to a 12-5 record, winning the NFC North and taking them to the playoffs. The team would make it all the way to the NFC Championship, before losing to the San Francisco Giants. In just three short years, mainly through the draft, Brad Holmes as sculpted this team into a championship-caliber team. Holmes has drafted 2 first team all-pro players Penei Sewell and Amon-Ra St. Brown. Another pro-bowl-caliber talent Aidan Hutchinson was drafted by Holmes. Below is a breakdown of each of the drafts that Brad Holmes as completed, aside from this year.

2021 Draft:

• Round 1, Pick 7: OL Penei Sewell, Oregon
• Round 2, Pick 41: DL Levi Onwuzurike, Washington
• Round 3, Pick 72: DT Alim McNeill, North Carolina St.
• Round 3, Pick 101: Ifeatu Melifonwu, Syracuse
• Round 4, Pick 112: WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, USC
• Round 4, Pick 113: DE Derrick Barnes, Purdue
• Round 7, Pick 257: RB Jemar Jefferson, Oregon St.

2022 Draft:

• Round 1, Pick 2: DE Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan
• Round 1, Pick 12: WR Jameson Williams, Alabama
• Round 2, Pick 46: DE Josh Paschal, Kentucky
• Round 3, Pick 97: DB Kerby Joseph, Illinois
• Round 5, Pick 177: TE James Mitchell, Virginia Tech
• Round 6, Pick 188: LB Malcolm Rodriguez, Oklahoma St.
• Round 6, Pick 217: LB James Houston, Jackson St.
• Round 7, Pick 237: DB Chase Lucas, Arizona St.

2023 Draft:

• Round 1, Pick 12: RB Jahmyr Gibbs, Alabama
• Round 1, Pick 18: LB Jack Campbell, Iowa
• Round 2, Pick 34: TE Sam LaPorta, Iowa
• Round 2, Pick 45: DB Brian Branch, Alabama
• Round 3, Pick 68: QB Hendon Hooker, Tennessee
• Round 3, Pick 96: DT Brodric Martin, Western Kentucky
• Round 5, Pick 152: OL Colby Sorsdal, William & Mary
• Round 7, Pick 219: WR Antoine Green, North Carolina

    Bottom line is that the Lions are Detroit's best chance of winning a championship in this decade. If the team can repeat the success it had last year, and continue to have the best run-stopping team and a top-5 explosive offense, there is no reason that they can't make it back to the NFC Championship game. This team is going to be fun to watch and I for one can't wait.