With preseason about to kick off around the NFL, it’s time for a lot of outlets to update the league power rankings. The latest update from The Athletic shows no respect to the Detroit Lions.
Even after all the upgrades on the defense, including adding premium starters Trey Flowers and Mike Daniels, the Lions actually fell in the rankings from the end of last season. Detroit sits at No. 27, down a few spots from their 23rd finish a year ago.
The explanation of the fall doesn’t even mention the defense.
We’ve heard so much about the new Lions culture and offensive overhaul this offseason that we can’t wait to see if anything will actually be different on the field. You diehard Lions fans are optimistic; our voters are unanimously more cautious.
That last sentence is a pretty common theme, but this is the lowest we’ve seen the Lions ranked in some time. Most polls place the Lions somewhere between 16 and 23.
It is worth noting that The Athletic’s Lions writer, Chris Burke, did not have anything to do with the poll.
