2023 NFL Power Rankings: Detroit Lions

Throughout the 2023 NFL season, we will compile a consensus NFL Power Rankings that averages the rankings of all 32 NFL teams.

Below you will find a Week 3 roundup for the Detroit Lions in our consensus 2023 NFL Power Rankings.

ESPN -- Rank: 8

Player: QB Jared Goff
Current contract situation: Under contract through the 2024 season

Goff is playing out the four-year, $134 million contract extension he signed with the Rams in 2019. He is scheduled to make $26.975 million in 2024. But Goff could position himself for a long-term extension if the Lions have a big year. Once considered a bridge quarterback, the soon-to-be 29-year-old is playing some of the best football of his career. Goff has multiple touchdown passes in six straight home games going back to Week 9 of last season, which is the longest active streak in the NFL, and he threw 383 consecutive passes before throwing an interception on Sunday, which is the third-longest streak in league history. -- Eric Woodyard

NFL.com -- Rank: 8

After all the feel-good stories in Week 1, the Lions were served a dish of Week 2 "humble pie," as Dan Campbell said, and I won't lull you to sleep with the narrative that the loss to the Seahawks will be good for them. I'm a believer that losses should be avoided at all costs, although I understand the sentiment. If the Lions watch the game tape and feel the same way I do -- that the loss to Seattle hit too close to home, vis-a-vis the Lions that started last season 1-6 -- then maybe it will serve its purpose. But as prepared as the Lions looked for the Chiefs in Week 1, they looked just that unprepared in key moments against Seattle. The fight was there, but crisp execution wasn't. And now it appears they'll have to regroup without C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who is out indefinitely with a potentially torn pectoral, per NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo.

Continue reading Detroit Lions NFL Power Rankings Roundup

2023 NFL Predictions: NFC North

KEVIN HANSON (@EDSFootball)
Updated: Thursday, September 7th

Before the start of the season, I will post my NFL division-by-division predictions for the 2023 NFL regular season and postseason.

Instead of projecting an outright winner and loser in all 272 regular-season games, I've assigned a win probability to each team in every game and totalled them up.

With that said, here are our early NFC North projections for each team including their win total.

1. Detroit Lions - Projected Wins: 9.53

Ben Johnson is a future head coach in this league, and he helped Jared Goff and the Lions operate the fourth-ranked offense (380.0 YPG) and fifth-best scoring offense (26.6) in 2022. Other than slot receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, there are question marks at receiver. Jameson Williams was drafted to be a difference maker, but he had two touches as a rookie and will miss the first six games in 2023 due to suspension. That said, the Lions have one of the league's best offensive lines and their 1-2 punch of rookie Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery is an upgrade over D'Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams.

The Lions ranked last in the NFL in scoring defense (392.4 YPG), and only the Cardinals (26.4) and Bears (27.2) allowed more points per game (25.1). Aidan Hutchinson is a future star, and they have a new-look secondary. In fact, one of the biggest values in the entire draft was defensive back Brian Branch. The Lions may be the favorites to win the NFC North, but their defense could ultimately be what keeps them from going deep in the postseason.

Continue reading our 2023 NFL Predictions: NFC North

2023 Fantasy Football Projections: Detroit Lions

Our Fantasy Football Projections will be viewable by both position and team.

Below you will find our 2023 fantasy football projections for the Detroit Lions.

MORE: Fantasy football projections for more NFL teams

QUARTERBACKS

Player	Att.	Comp.	Yards	TD	INT	Rush	Yards	TD	Points
Jared Goff	549.9	365.7	4041.8	24.75	7.7	28.4	78.1	0.5	256.08
Teddy Bridgewater	35.1	23.2	252.7	1.37	0.7	4.6	15	0.14	16.53

Jared Goff: The Lions finished top five in the NFL in both scoring and total offense in 2022, and Goff was much better in his second season with the Lions than he was in his first. Throwing for 4,438 yards, 29 touchdowns and only seven interceptions, Goff finished as fantasy's QB10. Perhaps he'll push for a second consecutive top-12 campaign and he benefits from playing behind one of the league's better offensive lines and with a talented group of pass catchers, but he's better drafted as a QB2.

MORE: Continue reading our 2023 Fantasy Football Projections: Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions: 2023 NFL Schedule

Below you will find the weekly NFL regular-season schedule for the Detroit Lions in 2023.

MORE: 2023 NFL Strength of Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Time (ET) / Tickets
Week 1	Thu., Sep. 7	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 21-20
Week 2	Sun., Sep. 17	vs. Seattle Seahawks	L 31-37 (OT)
Week 3	Sun., Sep. 24	vs. Atlanta Falcons	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 4	Thu., Sep. 28	at Green Bay Packers	8:15 PM / Tickets
Week 5	Sun., Oct. 8	vs. Carolina Panthers	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 6	Sun., Oct. 15	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 7	Sun., Oct. 22	at Baltimore Ravens	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 8	Mon., Oct. 30	vs. Las Vegas Raiders	8:15 PM / Tickets
Week 9		BYE
Week 10	Sun., Nov. 12	at Los Angeles Chargers	4:05 PM / Tickets
Week 11	Sun., Nov. 19	vs. Chicago Bears	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 12	Thu., Nov. 23	vs. Green Bay Packers	12:30 PM / Tickets
Week 13	Sun., Dec. 3	at New Orleans Saints	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 14	Sun., Dec. 10	at Chicago Bears	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 15	Sun., Dec. 17	vs. Denver Broncos	TBD / Tickets
Week 16	Sun., Dec. 24	at Minnesota Vikings	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 17	Sat., Dec. 30	at Dallas Cowboys	8:15 PM / Tickets
Week 18	Sun., Jan. 7	vs. Minnesota Vikings	TBD / Tickets

MORE: Detroit Lions historical W-L records - Detroit Lions historical head-to-head records

Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule (SOS)

How easy or difficult is the fantasy football schedule for Detroit Lions players?

Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule by position:

Detroit Lions Mock Draft Roundup 1.0

Throughout the year and leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft, we will update our Detroit Lions Mock Draft Roundup showing picks for the Detroit Lions from several prominent sites and draft analysts.

The following are picks in recent mock drafts for the Detroit Lions:

EDSFootball - Kevin Hanson (5/9)

21. Jer'Zhan Newton, IDL, Illinois

The Lions used a top-100 pick on massive nose tackle Brodric Martin (96th) in 2023, but Newton would provide a disruptive presence on the interior of Detroit's defense. Newton finished 2022 with 14 TFLs, 5.5 sacks and 11 quarterback hurries, all of which led the Illini.

CBS Sports - Josh Edwards (5/8)

24. Kalen King, CB, Penn State

After declining to address the position in the first-round this year, Detroit brings the local cornerback home.

ESPN - Todd McShay (5/4)

22. Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas

Worthy has some wheels, but his lean frame might concern some scouts. At 6-foot-1 and 163 pounds, he's the receiver version of cornerback Emmanuel Forbes, who was just drafted at No. 16 last Thursday night. Even so, Worthy went for 760 yards and nine TDs last season, and he could fit nicely alongside Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams to give Jared Goff and/or Hendon Hooker a solid trio of wideouts. With Jahmyr Gibbs also there, that offense has a chance to be a lot of fun. Alternatively, Detroit could go defense and continue adding to the defensive line.

The Athletic - Dane Brugler (5/2)

25. Michael Hall Jr., IDL, Ohio State

Injuries were an issue for him last season, but when on the field, he lived in the backfield. I'm expecting Hall's speed-and-quickness testing numbers to be outstanding during the draft process.

MORE: Continue reading our 2024 Detroit Lions Mock Draft Roundup

Detroit Lions - 2023 Draft Results

The table below are all of the 2023 NFL Draft picks selected by the Detroit Lions.

Round	Overall	Player	Position	School
1	12	Jahmyr Gibbs	RB	Alabama
1	18	Jack Campbell	LB	Iowa
2	34	Sam LaPorta	TE	Iowa
2	45	Brian Branch	DB	Alabama
3	68	Hendon Hooker	QB	Tennessee
3	96	Brodic Martin	DT	Western Kentucky
5	152	Colby Sorsdal	OT	William & Mary
7	219	Antoine Green	WR	North Carolina

More: 2023 NFL Draft Results - Detroit Lions Draft History