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The Detroit Lions are showing up near the top of multiple power rankings and looking strong this season, but so far, the team’s offense has been off to a bit of a slow start. The Lions have been 5-of-13 (38.5 %) for scoring touchdowns on red zone chances for their first three games. That’s led to some voices wondering if Detroit needs to shake up their offense and add some additional weapons.
A to Z’s Mike Payton fielded a question about trading Detroit Lions backup quarterback Hendon Hooker, who is second to Jared Goff, for benched Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young in a September 17 “Detroit Lions Mailbag” feature.
Discussing Trading Hendon Hooker for Bryce Young
“This will never happen. But would you trade Hendon and a third for Bryce Young?” one X user asked Payton on the platform.
Payton responded to the question in the A to Z feature, stating, “That’s a big question there. The Panthers may have just benched their first overall pick from last year, but I don’t think they’re done with him yet. He needs a little time to just sit and figure things out. In terms of the player, the only thing I really like about Young over Hooker is that Young is, well, young.”
He added, “Still, Hooker has showed me more than what Young has shown. I think Hooker has the better arm and can scramble a littler better too. Plus he has the size. So I wouldn’t make this move personally. I do wonder what happens with Young though. This is another example of how hard it is to draft a new starting quarterback.”
So, Payton is giving a thumbs down to the trade idea of the Lions swapping Young for Hooker.
Praise for the Detroit Lions in the Press
Heading into Week 4, some NFL analysts and experts are praising the Detroit Lions.
Pro Football Talk has the Lions ranked No. 3 in their power rankings, with Mike Florio saying, “The Lions are capable of suffocating most teams in the NFL.” That’s quite the endorsement.
USA Today has the Lions ranked No. 4 on their power rankings, with Nate Davis writing, “DE Aidan Hutchinson is still on fire, (prematurely) paced toward 37 sacks. His team will need that kind of pressure against this week’s opponent, Seattle, which has beaten the Lions six straight times – the average score of the past three meetings 45-35.”
Yahoo Spots have the Lions at No. 3, with Frank Schwab dropping a truth bomb and saying, “Sunday’s win vs. the Cardinals was costly for the Lions. They lost defensive end Marcus Davenport for the season with an elbow injury and center Frank Ragnow will miss time with a pectoral injury.” He added that, “Ragnow is a huge part of the Lions’ stellar offensive line and Aidan Hutchinson will get more attention without Davenport on the other side.”
The outlier for the Lions in power rankings is CBS Sports, which as the Lions, get this, at No. 10. In the feature, Pete Prisco stating, “After losing to the Bucs, they bounced back against the Cardinals with a victory. But they still don’t quite look like the team we expect to see.”
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