Getty Dan Campbell gestures for a touchdown in 2022 in Chicago.
The Detroit Lions have taken some big jumps forward in recent years, and a big reason why this is the case has been the play of young players.
Since Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes came on the job, the team has managed to do great work to develop a couple of young classes in 2021 and 2022. Both of those classes look to have put a bedrock down for a bright future moving forward.
Every one of Detroit’s classes has improved and shown great development. That’s by design, and the team is hoping to see more of that out of their already-gifted 2022 class.
Detroit head coach Dan Campbell is expecting that to be the case, and is already fired up about what his team figures to do moving forward in terms of development. Speaking to DetroitLions.com analyst Tim Twentyman on the Twentyman in the Huddle Podcast, Campbell revealed how just a little bit more experience can help everyone to improve.
As Campbell explained, the team can see their players make the needed jump from year one to two, because as a former player, he sees the reality of that playing out given experience even though times have changed a bit.
“I’m very excited about it, and that year one to year two is a real thing. I lived it. Back then though, you still had a full offseason, you had two-a-days, full pads, so there was a lot more. You had more time to develop. But, because you’re in a rhythm, you know the schedule. You know what you’re getting ready to to do. You’ve gone through those drills before, you understand what the coach wants out of it,” Campbell explained to Twentyman.
With such a young team, the Lions will theoretically have lots of players who will grasp what they need to do for the future in order to continue their development. As those players age and more hungry young talent comes in, the team can begin to make their ascent forward.
When Campbell took over, this is exactly the kind of trajectory he was likely hoping for from his roster. As his players grow, it can be expected that the team will continue to show the development that they need to get the roster over the hump in terms of winning on the field.
Dan Campbell Excited About Development in 2023
What leaves the coach so excited for this year? Probably the fact that the Lions have done well to address their major holes while also combined with the understanding that their youngsters will improve.
Campbell told Twentyman the fact that the Lions didn’t lose much off their defense figures to be a huge advantage. When combining that with the way players coming back will reform things and what will be added, it’s a reason for major optimism.
“It’s exciting because we are so young and at a minimum, we re-signed everybody back we had on this defense. Now, all those young guys get better. (Aidan) Hutchinson gets a little better. Alim (McNeill) gets a little bit better. Even though he’s going in year three, he’s going to continue to improve. You just go down the line with (DerricK) Barnes and (Malcolm) Rodriguez and Kirby (Joseph). Then you get some guys back from injury, and we’re not even talking about the draft yet. We haven’t even drafted (and) we’re going to be better,” Campbell said.
The Lions figure to have one of the brightest future of any team in the NFL, and the reason could be not only the fact that they have plenty of improving young players, but another full draft class set to come in.
With four picks in the first two rounds of the draft and eight picks overall this year, the Lions will be able to add to an already-improving team. That will be a huge bonus for the Lions as they continue to try and help a roster turn over early on during a rebuilding process.
Lions’ Rookies Enjoyed Dominant 2022
No matter what happens during this upcoming draft, it’s safe to say that the Lions are in great shape for their future, especially on defense.
Led by Aidan Hutchinson in the trenches, the Lions have seen their rookie class set the tone on the defensive side of the ball. Hutchinson has been phenomenal already, and has been joined by James Houston and Josh Paschal in terms of consistency up front.
At linebacker, Rodriguez has stepped up to look like one of the most important rookies on the team for the future. His toughness and leadership has been downright impressive. In the second level, Joseph has come on strong to look like a star in the making for many reasons.
As a whole, this is great news for the Lions. In addition to these players, they will be backed up by tight end James Mitchell and wideout Jameson Williams. They’ve needed some talent on the defensive side that is young, and these guys will combine with names such as Alim McNeill, Derrick Barnes and others to make the team formidable into the future.
As the class continues to produce on the field, things might only get better for the Lions team as a whole. It figures to be a huge offseason of development that culminates in even more strides made in 2023.