Getty Robert Griffin III during the 2023 NFL Pro Bowl.
The Detroit Lions have enjoyed a fantastic start to the offseason, and with every move the franchise makes, more and more folks seem to jump on their bandwagon for 2023.
There’s been plenty starting to hop on that bandwagon from the media, and yet another person has seemingly made the leap in the form of former Heisman Trophy winner and ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III.
Following Detroit signing free agent wideout Marvin Jones this week, Griffin hopped on Twitter to share his opinion about the team. As he said, it’s time for the league to watch out for the Lions relative to all they have added to the roster.
WATCH OUT for the @Lions next year. Knew their secondary was a weakness so they signed CJGJ, Cam Sutton and Emmanuel Mosely. The sneaky good signings of WR Marvin Jones Jr and RB David Montgomery joining Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Deandre Swift has Jared Goff SMILING
“WATCH OUT for the Lions next year. Knew their secondary was a weakness so they signed CJGJ, Cam Sutton and Emmanuel Moseley. The sneaky good signings of WR Marvin Jones Jr and RB David Montgomery joining Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Deandre Swift has Jared Goff SMILING,” Griffin tweeted.
As Griffin points out, there is more than one good reason to be enthusiastic about the future of the Lions this year. The team has made some bold moves, including the signing of Cameron Sutton and C.J. Gardner-Johnson as well as David Montgomery. Getting those elite players to their already stacked roster could help them over the top.
Typically, the Lions haven’t been a team that others in the league have to worry about, but with what’s gone on this offseason, those days might be over. Griffin is sounding the alarm now, but he’s far from the first to point out the brilliance of what Detroit could be constructing.
Analyst Explains Brilliance of Lions Rebuild
Once again in 2023, the Lions are enjoying what looks to be a very solid offseason. That comes on the heels of decent periods in 2021 and 2022.
That has combined to put the team in a great spot to be contenders for the future, and when looking at how the team has led the rebuild, many folks are downright wowed if not impressed.
Bleacher Report writer Brad Gagnon took a deep dive in breaking down the Detroit rebuild in a piece, and praised the overall approach of Brad Holmes and company. As Gagnon said, the team’s discipline has been impressive in terms of building things the right way in the draft.
“They’ve also remained disciplined while building the trenches and/or complementing Goff and Co. in the draft with prominent selections Penei Sewell, Aidan Hutchinson and Jameson Williams, while later selections Mitchell, Malcolm Rodriguez, Kerby Joseph and Alim McNeill look as though they’ll be key contributors for years to come,” Gagnon wrote in the piece.
By drafting and avoiding major contracts, the Lions had some money to spend in 2023 and managed to do so wisely, putting experience on the field. Gagnon sees those players coming together in a big way to help the Lions.
“Now, with all of that money to spend and draft capital in their back pocket, the Lions have slowly but smartly added experience and proven talent with this month’s icing-on-the-cake free-agent pickups, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Cameron Sutton, Emmanuel Moseley and David Montgomery,” he said.
As a result of what the Lions have done, all of a sudden, their roster is looking stronger as Gagnon writes.
“Just like that, incredibly, it’s hard to find a clear-cut weak spot on a young, balanced and deliberately built roster. It’s also easy to get behind Campbell and his rah-rah staff. And for what it’s worth, Goff is a No. 1 overall pick coming off arguably the best season of his career at age 28,” he wrote.
All of these are good reasons to feel positive about what the Lions are doing. It’s just another reason they are earning some of the hype that they have begun to receive during the offseason outside the building, and could be set to build and sustain a winner.
Lions Deserve Hype After Offseason
As a whole, the 2023 offseason could be the one that jump-starts the team to instant contender status, and gives folks a reason to pay attention as Griffin is hinting.
In past years, the Lions have leaned on bringing back internal free agents first. That’s been an approach that has paid off for them, and could be expected to do so again. All of Alex Anzalone, Isaiah Buggs and John Cominsky represented must-retain free agents in Detroit. Each one of them returned.
With regard to the players coming in from the outside, Sutton seems like a big score for the team’s defensive backfield, and a guy primed to play lots of different roles for the Lions this season. Moseley seems like a quality gamble on a one-year deal, and Montgomery and Graham Glasgow will help Detroit’s offense remain very tough.
Gardner-Johnson was a lucky strike with an elite player that will give the Lions arguably one of the stronger secondaries in the division. It was a brilliant move for Holmes to land him with savvy.
The Lions still have needs along the defensive line and at linebacker, and could look at sprucing up the skill positions during the draft. Fortunately, they have plenty of resources with which to get that done.
In the end, the offseason will likely end up a big reason the Lions are a team to be feared in 2023. As Griffin warns, the team shouldn’t be underestimated this season.