5 key players that will make a difference in the Lions’ season:
Blake Miller: A rookie first-round pick stepping into the shoes of the team’s longest-tenured starting tackle. Decker was past his prime but still a serviceable starting tackle. If Miller can meet that level or improve on it, it will make a big difference in the Lions returning to winning form.
Jahmyr Gibbs: The Lions deciding to move on from David Montgomery puts Gibbs in position to be the bell-cow back. While this move carries tremendous upside, with him being a home-run threat every time he touches the ball, it also carries significant risk, as it places a smaller-framed back into one of the heaviest workloads in the league. Without Gibbs, the Lions’ offense could become very one-dimensional.
Tyliek Williams: Last year’s first-round pick is set to step into a much larger role in Year 2. During his rookie season, he broke from his college reputation by being surprisingly good as a pass rusher while also being surprisingly below average against the run. It’s possible he returns to being the player he was at Ohio State, but it could go either direction. If he develops into a strong player in both areas, it would be a major boost to the Lions’ defensive line. If his pass rush production was an anomaly and he fails to become the run defender he was in college, he could end up being a major disappointment.
Kerby Joseph: Through four years of his career, Joseph has recorded 20 interceptions. His playmaking in the secondary has been a key asset for the defense and has masked some of its weak points at times. He is battling a chronic degenerative knee condition that limited him to six games last season. If he is able to rehabilitate and return to the field as the player he has been in the past, it would be a major boost to a defense that will already struggle to replace other major playmakers lost from last year.
Alim McNeill: McNeill returned in Week 7 last year after an ACL injury and had the worst performance of his career. Prior to the injury, he had put together multiple seasons as a top-10 interior defensive lineman and earned a four-year contract extension. If he can return to the player he was before the injury, it would go a long way toward helping the Lions’ defense become one of the top units in the league. If he performs at the same level he did last year, however, it could end up being his final season in Detroit.