After a record-shattering 2024 regular season, one that saw the Detroit Lions go 15-2 and claim their first-ever No. 1 seed in the NFC, expectations heading into the playoffs were understandably high. But despite their dominant regular season showing, the Lions’ campaign ended with a gut punch: a Divisional home playoff loss to the Washington Commanders, led by rookie QB Jayden Daniels in his postseason debut.
Now, as the Lions reload for another run, the truth is becoming harder to ignore: that this 2025 team is built on shakier ground. Between critical coaching departures, injury questions, inexperience at key positions, and a significantly tougher schedule, Detroit appears more like a team ready to take a step back than one ready to advance forward.
Hutchinson’s Injury and a Glaring Lack of Edge Depth
Aidan Hutchinson has been the face of the Lions’ defense ever since he was drafted 2nd overall in 2023, right out here in Ann Arbor. However, as all Lions fans know, last year he sustained his first major injury of his football career, a broken left tibia and fibula, which ended his season early. After his injury, Detroit’s pass rush (and whole defense) was noticeably weaker almost every down, especially as other injuries piled up.
And yet, the Lions made almost no moves to reinforce the position behind him. They added only a sixth-round pick at EDGE (Boise State’s Ahmed Hassanein), and continue to count on Marcus Davenport, whose once-promising career has been riddled with injuries. Davenport has played just 6 games over the last two seasons, and trusting him as a consistent rotational piece is more hope than strategy.
If Hutchinson were to reaggravate his injury or even play at diminished effectiveness, Detroit would be left scrambling for production. In today’s NFL, where quarterbacks get rid of the ball in under 2.8 seconds, you can’t afford to have a nonexistent pass rush.
Life Without Ben Johnson
Few coordinators in the NFL meant as much to their team as Ben Johnson did to the Lions. From 2022 to 2024, Johnson’s playcalling transformed Detroit from a bottom-tier offense into a dynamic, balanced machine. Jared Goff’s career turnaround, from being tossed away by the Los Angeles Rams to being a playoff-caliber signal caller, coincided directly with Johnson’s promotion.
With Johnson now in Chicago, the Lions have hired John Morton, an inexperienced first-time NFL offensive coordinator who most recently served as the passing game coordinator for the Denver Broncos. While continuity exists in the staff, Morton has massive shoes to fill. Johnson wasn’t just a tactician, as he had an elite feel for situational football and routinely schemed receivers open on key downs. While one of his last trick playcalls in Detroit may leave a sour taste in fans’ mouths, many of his bold and creative calls were the difference between close wins and close losses.
Without that, the Lions may revert to an offense that moves the ball well between the 20s but struggles with consistency, either in the red zone or in high-leverage moments.
Replacing Frank Ragnow
The retirement of Frank Ragnow leaves a massive void, physically, mentally, and culturally. One of the most respected offensive linemen in football, Ragnow was the brain of Detroit’s offensive line, setting protections and anchoring the run game.
In 2025, the front office hopes that rookie Tate Ratledge, a 2nd round pick from Georgia, can step into that role. Ratledge, who played right guard in college, has been publicly declared to have the inside track to start at center and has already been doing so in training camp. But Ratledge seldom snapped the ball in college, and asking a rookie to switch positions while immediately calling out NFL protections is no small task.
If Ratledge struggles, the fallback is veteran Graham Glasgow, a solid and reliable piece, but that reshuffles the line and potentially weakens the guard spot Ratledge was initially projected to gradually move into. Either way, the Lions will field a downgraded interior to begin the year.
D-Line Depth Is Already Strained
Things are just as uncertain on the other side of the trenches.
Alim McNeill, Detroit’s best interior defender, is expected to miss the early part of the 2025 season due to an ACL injury he suffered late in the 2024 season. Levi Onwuzurike, projected to take on a larger role in 2025, is now out for the year with an ACL tear.
This means rookie 1st round pick Tyleik Williams, out of Ohio State, is being thrust into a starting role earlier than planned. That wouldn’t be a problem if his college tape didn’t raise some red flags. Over the years at OSU, he had plenty of lowlights. And I went back to rewatch one of my favorite games of all time: one I was personally in the stands for, and where Williams’ weaknesses were on full display.
Against Michigan in 2023, Williams had one of his worst performances: just 2 tackles on 37 defensive snaps, with no TFLs or stats of note. He struggled with pad level, failed to anchor against double teams when they came, and was regularly neutralized by the Wolverines’ offensive line. Despite his size and athleticism, Williams lacked consistency, often relying on raw power rather than refined technique, a habit that will be punished even more harshly in the NFL.
If injuries continue to pile up on the line, the Lions could end up with a nightmare scenario up front that no contender would envy.
Secondary Shuffle
One of the quieter yet more questionable decisions this offseason was letting Carlton Davis walk in free agency, just one year after trading for him. He signed with the New England Patriots, and in his place, Detroit brought in D.J. Reed from the Jets.
Reed is a solid player, experienced, disciplined, and tough despite his smaller frame, but he’s often been cited as being best suited as a complementary corner, not a CB1. The new CB1 role likely falls to Terrion Arnold, who enters his second NFL season after an up-and-down rookie campaign.
Arnold had flashes of brilliance, including a stellar Week 7 game against the Vikings. In that game, he was able to lock up Justin Jefferson, one of the league’s best pass catchers, who was only able to produce when switching off to other defenders. However, he was often flagged for pass interference in big moments and was responsible for 167 penalty yards across the season. His development is crucial to the secondary’s success, but expecting lockdown play from a second-year corner while only upgrading marginally on the other side doesn’t bode well for a team with their upcoming schedule. Speaking of which…
A Much Tougher Schedule
In 2024, Detroit enjoyed one of the league’s softest schedules, facing multiple backup quarterbacks and subpar offenses. That’s not the case in 2025.
This year, the Lions will face:
- Elite road matchups: at Kansas City, at Philadelphia, at Baltimore, at Cincinnati, at Los Angeles Rams. All teams that have made it deep into the playoffs within the past 2 years.
- Few below-average home games: VS Tampa Bay, VS Pittsburgh, VS Dallas. Opponents that aren’t as challenging as the previous matchups, but are still tougher than the light part of Detroit’s 2024 schedule (including a full slate of underachieving AFC South teams, such as Jacksonville).
- A vastly improved NFC North: where the Packers are ascending, the Bears spent more money than any other team in free agency to complement their young talent, and the Vikings (the lone team expected to regress) will be starting a familiar face: renowned Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
Last year’s 15 wins were impressive, but repeating that against this schedule seems highly unlikely, even if it was the exact same roster as in 2024.
Reality Is Closing In
I want to be clear: the Lions are not doomed. They are talented. They are proud. And they are coming off one of the most magical seasons in franchise history.
But they are not immune to regression. Not without Ben Johnson. Not without Frank Ragnow. Not with rookies starting on the interior defensive line and at center. Not with continued questions about defensive depth. And certainly not with this schedule.
This is not criticism born from cynicism. It is a concern born from observation.
The NFL is ruthless. The margin between contenders and pretenders is razor-thin. And Detroit, for all it has built, may have stood still when it needed to take one more step.
The Lions have given this city hope. But hope, if not fortified, becomes a fragile thing. The kind of thing that can vanish with a single misstep. A single injury. A single busted protection call on 3rd and long.
They must prove that last year was not the peak, but the beginning. Otherwise, they may find themselves right back where they started: watching someone else’s dream unfold, from the wrong side of the scoreboard.
