Getty Jared Goff hugs Dan Campbell after the Lions' 2021 win over Minnesota.
With plenty of important players coming down the line for an important 2022 season, there are options abound when it comes to the players that could end up being the MVP for the Detroit Lions.
Defensively and offensively, there are potential current and future stars everywhere on the team, which sets up for a potentially fun race for the team MVP. With multiple players who could make a case for the award in 2022, figuring out who will actually take it home can be a difficult process.
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It’s not hard to figure out who’s going to be the star if you’re Adam Rank from NFL.com. Recently, Rank took a look at picking out some outcomes for the 2022 season for the Lions. When it came time to name the team’s MVP, Rank admitted the decision to go with quarterback Jared Goff was a pretty straightforward one for him.
As he wrote, “it’s clear that Goff’s improvement tied directly to the Lions’ success at the end of the 2021 season. I am going to write about other members of the Lions organization in this piece, but if Goff doesn’t deliver this season, it’s all moot.”
Indeed it’s a big year for Goff, but already, it sounds as if he is making all the right moves in terms of getting himself on the right track for 2022. The playmaking and confidence seem to be at record highs for Goff coming into the year, which could set him up for a solid season on the field.
Potentially, it will be an MVP season within the Detroit locker room if Rank is to be believed. If that happens, it could set Goff up to stick around longer than many might think.
Goff’s 2021 Finish Could Trend to 2022 Success
The reason Goff could be a great bet to trend as the most important player on the Lions? He looked so in command late last season. Regardless of any narratives about him, Detroit has a quarterback they can seemingly count on for the future in Goff under center. In spite of all the early struggles and injury trouble late in the year, Goff found a way to finish the 2021 season strong on the field. Since Thanksgiving, Goff was on relative fire as statistics go at quarterback. He threw 11 touchdowns to just 2 interceptions while going off for 1,136 passing yards. Goff has also claimed elusive awards for a Lions quarterback such as NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors as well as FedEx Air Player of the Week award.
Perhaps the game that showed Lions fans the most was his impressive 3 touchdown performance against Arizona in Week 15:
All of this cemented Goff’s future with the team. The Lions didn’t draft another quarterback or sign one outside the building, and that should give Goff all the confidence he needs to attack the year the best way possible and have a potentially elite year.
Other Players Who Could Become Lions’ 2022 MVP
The Lions should be expected to get a big season from Goff, given the fact that he’s the team’s quarterback as well as a good bet to have his shot to impact the game a ton this season. Still, there are some others that could end up making big waves for the Lions otherwise. Offensively, Amon-Ra St. Brown looked like a potential team MVP in waiting late last year, so the arrow could be pointed in that direction for his career the rest of the way and he could make enough plays to be the team’s top player. If T.J. Hockenson or D’Andre Swift both stay healthy, either could make a case to be the star and the MVP.
Defensively, the team could get a breakout season from Aidan Hutchinson as a rookie. It would be shocking to see a first-year player claim this award, but on a defense that lacks impact players, Hutchinson could trend toward being the best of the best. Amani Oruwariye had 6 interceptions in 2021, and may have already been the MVP of the Lions last year. He could trend in that direction once again.
Most see Goff as Detroit’s MVP for the coming season, and if that’s the case, it would mean he likely had a big year to help in the resurgence of the roster.