The 2023 NBA Draft concluded earlier this week and after the Pistons selected Ausar Thompson, a slew of memes about Pistons "core four" went flying around. It got me wondering who the Detroit Lions core four could be? 

Obviously you have to hope the Lions core four doesn't turn out like the Pistons original core four of Isaiah Stewart, Sadiq Bey, Killian Hayes and Saben Lee did. Oh boy, the Pistons really got out ahead of their skis on that one. Two of those players are gone now. 

The NBA is a different game when it comes to stuff like this. It's just constantly changing. The NFL is a little different. It's more of slower game and you see more of teams trying to build around players long term. Who are the guys that the Lions are building around? Who's their four core? Let's talk it out player by player. 

Amon-Ra St. Brown

You can't have a core four without the best player on the team. That's what Amon-Ra St. Brown is. He's the guy on this team. Not only is he the best overall player on this team, he's one of the best in the league at his position. 

In just two years, he came in and racked up 196 catches for 2,073 yards and 11 touchdowns. How good is that? Take a look at Calvin Johnson's first two seasons. 126 catches for 2,087 yards and 16 touchdowns. Calvin holds an edge, but you get the picture here right.? St. Brown is that good. He did do one thing that Calvin didn't do. St. Brown had 1,000 yards receiving in each of his first two seasons. Calvin had 756 in his rookie year. 

The Pro Bowl receiver should continue to get better. That's crazy to even think about. Have we not seen this guys best yet? What's that going to look like? 

Aidan Hutchinson

There's a chance that it could be too early to put Aidan Hutchinson on this list. He's only played one year. It's a young team though, so it makes sense to me that young players should be a part of this teams core four. 

Hutchinson just had a huge rookie year. He put up 9.5 sacks and snatched three interceptions. He's a defensive end by the way. IT's crazy that he had more interceptions than the corner who won the rookie of the year award over him. I won't dispute that though. Sauce had one of the most impressive rookie seasons I've ever seen. 

Like St. Brown, Hutchinson should continue to get better as his career rolls out. He was already the best player on the teams defense in 2022, betting he will do that again in 2023 is bet I'd take. 

Penei Sewell

Adding an offensive lineman here might not have been the way you expected things to go here. The reason I do it is because there is just no other player on this team that represents everything this franchise wants to be more than Sewell. 

He is just a damn football player out there. The guy plays mean and he's not scared of any man across from him. You might remember when a rookie Sewell had no problems getting in the face of Aaron Donald in 2021. Sewell also isn't afraid to go make a catch on third and long in one of the biggest games of the year. 

The thing that makes Sewell so scary is that he is only 22 years old. He's so young. There's still so much time for him to get even better. Seems to be a theme here right? We haven't seen the best of most of this teams core. 

Jared Goff

There's going to be some disagreements here and I don't care. I'm not sure what more you need to see from this guy. He finished near the top of the league in every good category, he's proficient in throwing deep, he's been the best in the league in ball security for quite a while now and he has all the confidence and tools around him keep this going. He's their quarterback. I don't know what else to tell you. 

That's great for the Lions. They don't have to go out and find a guy to fill the most important role in football, because they already have that guy. Have we seen Goff's best? Maybe. If this is his best, you can win this for sure. If he gets even better, the Lions might be winning big in 2023. 

Featured image by David Reginek-USA TODAY Sports