Finally, the most important training camp in the history of the most hyped 9-8 NFL team kicks off in just a few short days.
This is it, folks. This is when we get to see the Detroit Lions finally deliver on all that promise they showed during last season’s amazing 1-6 finish.
Oops! Sorry about that. I mean their 4-7 start. No, wait, I believe it was an 8-2 finish. I think I heard that once or twice. Or was it a final two-game winning streak? Or maybe a 5-1 finish.
Parse it any way you want, even if most of you want to view this season’s outlook in the most favorable way, preferably while doing Honolulu Blue Kool-Aid keg stands and wearing silver-tinted glasses.
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Look, I get it. You finally feel not too stupid or too gullible to actually believe in this team. Jared Goff! Amon-Ra St. Brown! Aidan Hutchinson! Jahmyr Gibbs! And that young receiver who likes gambling on his phone — and with his fingers on the Fourth of July!
First, let’s get something out of the way. Like the rest of you, I’ve purchased my ticket aboard the Lions Hype Train. Actually, there isn’t enough room on the train. They had to move everyone over to the U.S.S. Dan Campbell, an impressive vessel that runs on 40 ounces of Starbucks jet fuel and two shots of grit. Let’s just hope it doesn’t turn into a submersible.
Let me also get my expectations for this team out of the way, since camp is all about expectations. I’ll state mine as simply as I can: I expect the Lions to win their first division title since 1993. And yes, I know I probably just jinxed it.
That all begins with camp. Ah, the position battles! The coaches doing up-downs! That weird little hill near Rotunda Drive that’s a leftover from the Matt Patricia era. There’s at least a 10% chance Jimmy Hoffa is buried underneath it.
But before they dig up old ol’ James Riddle, let’s dig up a few story lines I’m looking forward to at camp:
Goff vs. Goff
There are two quarterback battles brewing here. The first is the battle over Jared Goff’s future. His 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions amounted to his first Pro Bowl season since 2018 and a whole lot of redemption. But should it be good enough for the Lions to jump the gun and sign Goff to an extension this year, even though he’s signed through 2024?
I vote no. I’d like to see him back it up this season. But I’m not general manager Brad Holmes, who’s been pushing the “Jared Goff is really good” narrative for a while, most notably dropping the idea right after the season ended that it’s a lot easier to get worse at QB than it is to get better.
True. But isn’t that true of basically everything in life? Feel free to ruminate on this ontological quandary at a later time. We’ve gotta keep this thing moving.
Goff has everything he needs to be successful this year, especially offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. If I were the Lions, I would be concerned about Goff’s production in 2024, when Johnson will have likely departed for a head coaching job.
The only thing Goff really needs to do in camp is to stay healthy, continue to build his chemistry with his receivers, work with his new running backs on protections and bring along his new tight end, Sam LaPorta.
Hooker vs. ACL
The second QB battle is over Hendon Hooker and how much the Lions let him do as he recovers from the ACL he tore in November. He’s a third-round pick the Lions are surely hoping turns into their draft-steal version of Russell Wilson, which means he might end up being the most-watched quarterback in camp.
At the end of minicamp in June, Hooker took a big step in his recovery when he threw routes on air for the first time and said he “felt pretty good to get back out here moving.”
Campbell said this could be a redshirt year for Hooker. Health is certainly a big reason behind this thinking, but so are the political realities of keeping Goff happy and keeping the lid on a QB controversy.
That kind of distraction is the last thing Campbell and Holmes want as they make a push for the playoffs. They must walk a fine line of bringing along a potential starting QB while keeping their current starter happy.
Because of that, I don’t imagine Hooker will do much beyond glorified drills. But if he gets to show off his arm or unleash just a little of his speed, watch out.
Jack Campbell
Quick! Who was the Lions’ last linebacker to make the Pro Bowl and what year was it?
You got it! Stephen Boyd in 2000. Good job, Alexa!
So the bar ain’t exactly high for the position. Still, my prediction is that linebacker Jack Campbell, the No. 18 overall pick (Really? An off-ball linebacker at 18?) from Iowa, will be one of the defensive standouts in camp. He drew rave reviews in the spring for his size, range and playmaking.
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Linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard says they’re going to play the best players. I assume he thinks all reporters live in their parents’ basements and just got dropped off by their mommies that morning for their first day on the job.
Sorry, not buying it. Campbell is starting and he’ll flash in camp because linebackers always flash in camp by virtue of being in the thick of so much action.
Running backs
Here’s an unknown, and therefore a concern. It’s not just that the top tandem is entirely new, and features a rookie — but the guy who made the rushing attack work well is also gone. So good-bye, Duce Staley, Jamaal Williams and D’Andre Swift. Hello, Scottie Montgomery, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery (no relation).
We won’t be able to tell much about the running backs, because nothing counts for running backs until the hitting is real in a game. We’ll still get the usual breathless accounts of their speed and elusiveness. But what the Lions really need is the continuation of Williams’ hard-nosed running and short-yardage excellence, and Swift’s shiftiness out of the backfield.
It’s a lot to ask for all that to come together in one year.
Jameson Williams
All he needs is a drama-free camp, which should be easy, since players have curfews during their stay in a team hotel. As long as he curbs his late-night Instagram sessions and avoids retaliating from any possible gambling chiding, there shouldn’t be a problem.
There will be a lot of eyes on Williams, including those of the franchise, as he tries to get in as much work as he can before he serves his six-game suspension. It will be interesting to see if the Lions give Williams more playing time than usual for a starter in the three preseason games, since he’ll have a nearly two-month break before he returns.
What will be most important is how the Lions prepare Williams, a 22-year-old fun-loving millionaire who’s about to have way a lot of time on his hands, for his hiatus. After all, there’s only so much time in a day a player can train and prepare. This camp will be as much about Williams’ own approach as it will be about the Lions’ approach to setting up a budding star for success.
Contact Carlos Monarrez: cmonarrez@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.