Looking at some of the futures, the oddsmakers have given the Lions the longest odds to win the division, but I'd argue that they may be the only team that dramatically improved in the offseason.
The biggest problem last season was their defense but they acquired corner Desmond Trufant to replace the departed Slay, and drafted Okudah from Ohio State to man the other side. Julian Okwara in the 3rd round could boost their pass rush and they also brought in former Patriots from all three levels of the defense in safety Duron Harmon, LB Jamie Collins, and DT Danny Shelton.
On the offensive side, Stafford missed half the season last year and his replacements were garbage. Obviously he needs to stay healthy and he'll have some decent targets in Marvin Jones, Golladay, and Hockenson who's entering his sophomore season at TE. Adding D'Andre Swift in the draft gives them some explosion and pass catching chops in the backfield, not to mention insurance for Kerryon Johnson who's always dinged up.
The Packers stayed relatively the same, and didn't manage to give Rodgers another viable target to pair with Adams. The Vikings lost Diggs, and the rookie Jefferson can't realistically be expected to immediately pick up the slack. Plus the Vikes' defense should regress imo, they suffered additional key losses on that side of the ball. The Bears are still trash offensively until they shore up their OL and kick Trubisky to the curb. And their offensive ineptitude took its toll on the defense last year, making them look average at times.
I think the payout on this ticket is worth a stab. Lions will take a big step forward while these other paper tigers rest on their laurels.
The biggest problem last season was their defense but they acquired corner Desmond Trufant to replace the departed Slay, and drafted Okudah from Ohio State to man the other side. Julian Okwara in the 3rd round could boost their pass rush and they also brought in former Patriots from all three levels of the defense in safety Duron Harmon, LB Jamie Collins, and DT Danny Shelton.
On the offensive side, Stafford missed half the season last year and his replacements were garbage. Obviously he needs to stay healthy and he'll have some decent targets in Marvin Jones, Golladay, and Hockenson who's entering his sophomore season at TE. Adding D'Andre Swift in the draft gives them some explosion and pass catching chops in the backfield, not to mention insurance for Kerryon Johnson who's always dinged up.
The Packers stayed relatively the same, and didn't manage to give Rodgers another viable target to pair with Adams. The Vikings lost Diggs, and the rookie Jefferson can't realistically be expected to immediately pick up the slack. Plus the Vikes' defense should regress imo, they suffered additional key losses on that side of the ball. The Bears are still trash offensively until they shore up their OL and kick Trubisky to the curb. And their offensive ineptitude took its toll on the defense last year, making them look average at times.
I think the payout on this ticket is worth a stab. Lions will take a big step forward while these other paper tigers rest on their laurels.
