Lions have obvious breakout candidate for 2023 season
When you talk about the most important players and pieces for the Detroit Lions, many people cite the offense or defensive players like Aidan Hutchinson. It makes sense. Offense is king in the modern NFL and the Lions had one of the best offenses in the league last season, and Hutchinson is one of the […]
When you talk about the most important players and pieces for the Detroit Lions, many people cite the offense or defensive players like Aidan Hutchinson.
It makes sense. Offense is king in the modern NFL and the Lions had one of the best offenses in the league last season, and Hutchinson is one of the bright young faces of the franchise to build around for years to come.
However, it feels unlikely that the offense and Hutchinson are the true determinants of how far this Lions team will go in 2023. Both did well in 2022. Short of something catastrophic, both will do well again in 2023. The tipping point is reached by someone that is less expected.
The player with the greatest ability to tip the scales for the Lions in their upcoming season is second-year linebacker James Houston.
Houston was an absolute monster for Detroit in the seven games he played last year, and a look at the numbers shows why so many people are so excited for his potential in 2023.
Despite only playing in seven games (two starts), Houston accounted for eight sacks, a forced fumble, seven tackles for loss, and 11 quarterback hits.
The production relative to time on the field for Houston was downright insane, and one has to think that a full season at anything close to that level would give the Lions one of the best pass-rushing attacks in the NFL.
Straight extrapolation of numbers is hardly the best way to go about something like this, but such high production over a sample size such as seven games is a lot to ignore. The Lions essentially have no choice but to put Houston back on the field to start this season to see if that play was replicable, and Houston should get the chance to prove that he can do it over the long run and dominate alongside a growing defense.
There are going to be a lot of eyes on the Lions this season as the NFL world tries to see if they can live up to their lofty expectations, and players like James Houston balling out are going to be the true defining pieces of this roster if it makes the run that many think it can.
