Green Bay Packers: Where they rank in the NFC North

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ALLEN PARK, MI – FEBRUARY 07: Matt Patricia speaks at a press conference after being hired as the head coach of the Detroit Lions at the Detroit Lions Practice Facility on February 7, 2018 in Allen Park, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

4. Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are this years weakest NFC North team. Outside of a proven quarterback, the talent takes a bit of a dip.

Matthew Stafford has proven he is a franchise quarterback, but long gone are the days of Calvin Johnson being able to catch passes over multiple defenders. The wide receiver corp for the Lions, as it stands, is mediocre. There is no true superstar catching the ball but they have several deep threats.

Golden Tate can provide the big time catches when needed. At his position, Tate has forced more missed tackles than anyone in the league since arriving in Detroit. The thing is he also disappears for big stretches. If he can be consistent for the Lions, it would benefit their offense greatly.

On each side of Tate, the Lions have some deep threats in Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones. Jones is coming off his first 1,000-yard season where he led the NFL in yards per catch at 18. Golladay would have ranked fourth in the league in that same regard, 17 yards per catch, had he played enough games to qualify in his rookie season.

Their defense itself is a bit of a question mark. The biggest outliers you have are Ezekiel Ansah up front, with Devon Kennard (signed from the New York Giants) and Christian Jones (signed from the Chicago Bears) helping at the linebacker position. Not to say the Lions’ defense is bad, but it just isn’t good.

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