While all the attention is on the Detroit Lions’ elite offense, the team has a chance to have one of the better defensive units in the NFL in 2025.
And that’s something coaches and executives around the league agree with. In an article from The Athletic’s Jeff Howe, “rival coaches and executives” are high on Detroit’s defense this season.
Howe adds that the belief is that Detroit will have a tougher time this year overall after having to hire two new coordinators, but not to the point that the Lions miss the playoffs.
Rival coaches and executives are forecasting a more challenging season for the Lions after losing coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, though not to the point that they miss the playoffs; they’ll likely face more adversity than they did in 2024. Still, the league seems to be higher on the defense, noting the players on that side still take on coach Dan Campbell’s identity, and it always helps to have someone like Aidan Hutchinson attacking quarterbacks. Linebacker Alex Anzalone had an impressive summer, too, league sources said.
Despite the fact that the Lions were absolutely ravaged by injuries on the defensive side of the ball in 2024, the team still finished with the No. 7 scoring defense, surrendering 20.1 points per contest.
Looking ahead to 2025, Aidan Hutchinson is back from a serious injury and the unit is mostly the same. Za’Darius Smith is no longer on the team, but there is a chance he’ll be re-signed, and D.J. Reed takes over for Carlton Davis.
While EDGE remains a concern because of the injury history of Marcus Davenport and lack of depth behind him, the Lions sport elite linebacker and safety units and could have an elite cornerback duo in Reed and Terrion Arnold if the latter takes that next step in his second season, something he looks primed to do.
Detroit’s run defense, which ranked fifth in the NFL last year, might take an early-season hit because of Alim McNeill’s absence as he recovers from a torn ACL, but the Lions are still in good shape there with guys like rookie Tyleik Williams and veteran Roy Lopez helping to fill the void next to DJ Reader.
A lot has been made about the Lions having new coordinators and the impact that’s going to have on both sides of the ball. However, as quarterback Jared Goff noted earlier this offseason, that has been blown out of proportion.
“It’s hard to explain, but I’ll try to explain it in a quick way here. In every offense, there’s formation shifts, motions, routes, run plays, protections,” Goff said. “You know, I can keep going, cadences, ways you get in and out of the huddle. A lot of the stuff we’re doing, in those eight things I just named, it is the same, and some of it’s different. So, it’s hard to answer that question, you know, ‘What’s different?’ Some of it’s the exact same, and some of it is a little bit different. And I’m not going to go into the minutia of what is different, but I think the transition from what we were doing last year to him is a lot lesser than you guys are making it seem.”
Both John Morton and Kelvin Sheppard worked under the previous coordinators, so it’s not like there is zero continuity from Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn.
Morton served as a senior offensive assistant under Johnson in 2022 and was even under consideration for a job on Johnson’s Chicago Bears staff, and Sheppard was outside linebackers coach under Glenn in 2021 and linebackers coach from 2022-2024.
We don’t have to look back far to see a team succeed in the same year in which it replaced both coordinators.
The Philadelphia Eagles did the same thing in 2024 and went on to win the Super Bowl. If you want to take it a step further, Philly also had to replace its starting center.
MORE DETROIT LIONS NEWS
Detroit Lions’ best fantasy football assets, sleepers for 2025 season
Detroit Lions projected to replace Alex Anzalone with 113-tackle, 8-sack LB
Hendon Hooker breaks silence on joining Panthers after being cut by Lions
Detroit Lions’ Brian Branch predicted to achieve career-first, cement himself as elite defender
Detroit Lions rookie not named Isaac TeSlaa get national recognition for standout preseason
