Getty Aidan Hutchinson celebrates a sack in 2022 against Dallas.
The Detroit Lions are heading towards Week 8 on the field, and as the middle of the season approaches, there’s been an intriguing shift in terms of the stock watch for the team.
While injuries have opened the door for new players, some usual players have played a starring role for the Lions and managed to do nice work on the field for the team. Many have made the most of their chance and stepped up while others have found some new struggles on the field.
How does Detroit’s stock watch look right now? Here’s a look at who’s up and down as another set of weeks rolls on and the Lions push through the midseason point of their schedule.
Stock up: Jeff Okudah, Cornerback
While the Lions struggled in plenty of ways, once again, cornerback Jeff Okudah was a solid player on the day and managed to have a fantastic game on the field. He’s been playing a very solid role for the team this season quietly.
Okudah had a remarkable day and collect 12 total tackles himself. As a result, he was the clear MVP of the game. Okudah has been locking down whatever wide receivers come his way in addition to stepping up in run defense.
On the whole, it’s been a fantastic season for the cornerback, who continues to surge in a meaningful way.
Stock Down: Jamaal Williams, Running Back
A few weeks ago, Jamaal Williams was on a tear, and on the opposite side of this conversation given the strong running he had shown as well as the production. Suddenly, he’s fallen backwards.
The last two weeks, Williams has put up only 135 yards on the ground with no touchdowns. Worse, he had a critical fumble in the red zone with the Lions driving, which prevented the team from putting a key score on the board to take control of the game.
Williams is still a good player having a great year, but he’s got some things to clean up in a big way.
Stock up: Josh Paschal, Defensive Line
While the final score looks lopsided on defense, it was not because of the play of several players on that side. One of the most impressive players all afternoon was defensive lineman Josh Paschal.
Almost himself, Paschal managed to change the narrative about Detroit’s run defense. He’s aggressive and sets the edge well. With a total of two tackles, Paschal wasn’t a stat sheet stuffer in game one, but he showed up more than once with smart plays.
A big reason the Lions’ defense may have gotten off to a poor start is the lack of a player like Paschal to help in the trenches. It will be fun to see where things can go with him moving forward now, and he is trending in the right direction.
Stock Down: T.J. Hockenson, Tight End
After posting an impressive 179 yard, two touchdown performance in Week 4, T.J. Hockenson has been ghosting the Lions once again as his inconsistent season rolls on.
While Hockenson has offered the Lions hopes of elite play, he’s also been frustrating in his inability to produce big games. Following the 179 yard game, Hockenson has five receptions for 54 yards and no touchdowns in the next two.
The Lions have to get more out of Hockenson for the offense to thrive without big-name weapons out. The hope is that Hockenson can be this solution, but he is going to step up to have to make it happen.
Stock up: Aidan Hutchinson, Defensive Line
After going missing in action for a few weeks, Aidan Hutchinson has come screaming back and is once again beginning to look like the player the Lions were lucky to land with the second-overall pick.
Hutchinson had a huge game against Dallas, posting a solid 1.5 sacks and two tackles on the day. As the tape shows, Hutchinson was all around the quarterback, and getting in the face of Dak Prescott:
Another multi-sack game for @aidanhutch97!
An active Hutchinson is a good Hutchinson for the Lions, which means the Detroit defense could be set to do some serious winning up front in the future. All-told, Hutchinson has had a good start to the season, but him coming on would be even better news.
Stock Down: Jared Goff, Quarterback
There’s just no other way to say it. Jared Goff is starting to look like he’s a liability for an otherwise solid Detroit offense.
Not only are the Lions not running the ball as efficiently as they had been, Goff’s play has regressed in a big way in terms of the pass. He is struggling to push the ball deep down the field. In the last two weeks, he is a combined 40-61 for 457 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions. That’s far from the player who looked like a sneaky MVP candidate after Week 4.
Worse than that, Goff has become a turnover machine for the Lions lately. He’s been fumbling the ball in addition to throwing the aforementioned interceptions. It hasn’t been a good development for the Lions, and their quarterback is trending in the wrong direction very quickly.
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Lions Stock Watch: Aidan Hutchinson Surging Once Again After Big Week