NFL Today: Are the Detroit Lions Good Again?
The Jets have given Aaron Rodgers tons of familiar weapons. (Seth Wenig/AP)
Wow, did the SEC and Big 10 ever dominate the first two days of the NFL Draft, huh?; Patrick Mahomes‘ younger brother is in some serious criminal trouble; and now that we know that rampant speculation has ended and Aaron Rodgers is finally a member of the New York Jets, the team continues to reshape itself as Green Bay East by providing him with his old buddies to play with — now the Jets are reportedly about to sign wide receiver Randall Cobb (see video below).
Can the Detroit Lions Take the Next Step?
The Detroit Lions had a tremendous turnaround season in 2022, posting their first winning record since 2017 while finished second in the NFC North. It was a good enough improvement that the team currently sits at +2200 to win the Super Bowl according to Fanduel.
In an effort to take the next step and become a playoff team, the Lions have added a ton of new faces since the start of the draft, including eight picks plus 14 undrafted free agents. Clearly, they’re not all going to wind up on the final 53-man roster, but there should a ton of competition for jobs come training camp.
In fact, this team has the type of depth now that we could easily see some players that don’t make the final squad winding up getting jobs elsewhere.
Detroit’s rebuild seems to be over; this club is ready to win now and have the talent to be a playoff contender for the next few years. Lion fans have been subjected to a long and frustrating process, but it really seems to be ready to pay off.
At the very least, this team has to be considered the NFC North favourites heading into the 2023 season. When’s the last time that could be said?
Indianapolis Colts Secondary Issues
Now that former Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore is gone (traded to Dallas in March), questions abound about how effective the Indianapolis Colts’ secondary will be next season.
By default, the team’s No. 1 cornerback is Kenny Moore II, who struggled last year and was also rumoured to be on the trade block. He will really need a huge bounce back effort or things might be even worse than anticipated as this secondary gets picked apart relentlessly by opposing offenses.
The Colts addressed this need in the draft by grabbing three cornerbacks (Julius Brents, second round; Darius Rush, fifth round; and Jaylon Jones, seventh round), and while that adds long-term depth and potential, it may not provide the immediate boost needed. Brents, has tremendous upside, and he’ll start right away, but there will likely be growing pains.
Indy also has Isaiah Rodgers Sr. as an expected starter, while sophomore Dallis Flowers will also be in the cornerback mix with the other two 2023 draft picks.
Fantasy owners will be wise to start their fringe wide receivers against the Colts in 2023. Just sayin’…
RotoRob Tune of the Day
Daft Punk hit it big when French house really took off in the late ’90s alongside artists like Cassius and criminally underrated Etienne de Crecy. Here’s another track from Daft Punk’s debut album, Homework, this time with “Teachers,” which was apparently written as a riff to the 1995 song “Ghetto Shout Out!!” by Parris Mitchell.
