The 2022 NFL Draft is in the books and this week, the Detroit Lions held Phase 3 of their offseason program, which was OTAs (Other Team Activities) in Allen Park.
The Lions only won three games in 2021 but their starters on offense and defense will look different in 2022 as GM Brad Holmes has made some additions and there will be some players returning from injury.
So, what will the Lions’ starting offense and defense look like in 2022?
Rather than trying to project which players will be healthy and which ones may need to start on the PUP list, I decided to project what the Lions starting offense and defense will look like if everybody on their roster is healthy and ready to roll. (Yes, this includes rookie WR Jameson Williams.
http://gty.im/1357344761
Detroit Lions starting 22 will look different from a year ago
Note: Bolded players are players that are new to the roster.
| QB Jared Goff | DL Michael Brockers |
| RB D’Andre Swift | DL Alim McNeill |
| WR Jameson Williams | EDGE Aidan Hutchinson |
| WR D.J. Chark Jr. | EDGE Romeo Okwara |
| WR Amon-Ra St. Brown | LB Derrick Barnes |
| TE T.J. Hockenson | LB Alex Anzalone |
| LT Taylor Decker | CB Amani Oruwariye |
| LG Jonah Jackson | CB Jeff Okudah |
| C Frank Ragnow | CB A.J. Parker |
| RG Halapoulivaati Vaitai | S Tracy Walker |
| RT Penei Sewell | S DeShon Elliott |
If the Detroit Lions offense can get healthy (Jameson Williams) and remain healthy (D.J. Chark, D’Andre Swift, T.J. Hockenson, Taylor Decker, and Frank Ragnow), I truly believe they could be a top 10 (or so) offense in the league.
With what should be one of the most dominant offensive lines in the entire NFL, the Lions should be able to give Jared Goff the time he needs to find open receivers and the running game should be solid.
Defensively speaking, there should be some improvement with Aidan Hutchinson in the mix and Romeo Okwara and Jeff Okudah coming back from injury, but I still think they will be ranked around 25-27 or so when all is said and done.
Nation, what do you think of this starting 22 for the Detroit Lions? Would you make any changes?
