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It’s a long way to the top for the Detroit Lions. The new-look Lions saw an exodus of talent this offseason, from longtime franchise QB Matthew Stafford to future Hall of Fame RB Adrian Peterson to the team’s top four wide receivers in 2020. And that’s not even getting to the 32nd-ranked defense in both points and yards allowed a year ago.
The Lions are starting from the NFL’s basement in 2021. They are just one step above the dirt floor that is the tumultuous Houston Texans in Pro Football Focus’s preseason roster rankings.
The graphic from PFF illustrates how far the Lions have to climb up from the ashes of the Bob Quinn/Matt Patricia era.
While it’s not broken down by position group, the radical overhaul in several areas of the roster (QB, WR, DL, RB, CB, K) reflects a Lions team that is at the very beginning of a major rebuild under new GM Brad Holmes. The massive change isn’t likely to achieve instant success, not even with a fresh coaching attitude under energetic new headman Dan Campbell.
PFF isn’t the only outlet that will project the Lions to be among the very worst teams in the NFL in 2021. Detroit sits in the 30-32 range in nearly every contemporary NFL power poll entering training camp season. It’s something long-suffering (and there is no other kind) Lions fans will need to get used to in the coming weeks.
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