Most people seem to be pretty high on the Detroit Lions going into the 2023 season. There's a lot of talking heads out there that are predicting this team goes out and wins the NFC North. Not everyone feels this way though. 

Former Dolphins and Saints general manager Randy Mueller put down his top concerns on each team in the the NFC North for The Athletic over the weekend. He has some concerns that he thinks could hold the Lions back in 2023. 

Let's take a look at what Mueller has to say and see if maybe we can alleviate some of those mistakes.

Concern One 

"I don’t love the D’Andre Swift running back swap-out for rookie Jahmyr Gibbs, who rotated mostly in college and did not gain 1,000 yards in any one season. I think Swift is really good and could have a giant year with the Eagles. I do understand there may have been frustration with his inconsistent availability due to injury. But youth and unproven players always cause a bit of anxiety. Lions fans should enjoy Gibbs’ skill set as a receiver right away, so I get it."

This a good place to start. It's been very odd to watch D'Andre Swifts status rise the moment the Lions traded him. There's an idea out there of what Swift was in Detroit and it's just not true. 

Swift had moments where he looked very good over his three seasons in Detroit. Most of the time he was a bit frustrating to watch. That's probably why he only started 16 of the 40 games he played or the Lions. 

Swift should be fine in Philadelphia. He'll mix in nicely as part of a group. The Lions upgraded with Jahmyr Gibbs here. Gibbs can just bring so much more to the Lions offense than what Swift was able to bring. If Gibbs can stay healthy, then it's even more of an upgrade. 

 Concern Two

"This won’t be a surprise to anyone, least of all to Lions fans, but the biggest concerns I have for this team are on defense. Per TruMedia, the Lions ranked 28th in scoring defense and 30th in getting off the field on third downs (allowing a 45 percent conversion rate). They allowed 5.2 yards per rush; only the Chargers were worse. All despite blitzing 33 percent of the time, which was sixth-highest in the league, in all likelihood to try and stop the bleeding. After Week 7 (when the Lions were 1-6), Dan Campbell fired defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant, and other internal changes were contemplated. Credit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn for blocking out the noise and temporarily propping up this side of the ball with an even-keeled personality and improved execution.

Signing free-agent defensive backs Emmanuel Moseley and C.J. Gardner-Johnson to one-year deals doesn’t solve the issues long-term but it does get things back to even par. The Lions have $22 million in cap space left for 2023 but three times that for 2024. I know Detroit used a first-round pick on a linebacker (Iowa’s Jack Campbell), but I still worry about it being able to stop anyone in the near future — run or pass. At least it will be fun watching them try to outscore people, especially in this division."

Mueller is right here. The Lions defense was the worst defense in the league last season. No team allowed more total yards and only two other teams allowed more points. Did they do enough to prevent that from happening again? 

They may have on one side of things. I think the Lions will have a much better go against the pass this season, but I don't think they did enough to make sure they can stop the run. As a matter of fact, they really didn't do anything outside of draft Brodric Martin in the third round. We don't really know what he can do yet. 

The Lions defense did get better in the second half of the 2023 season and they were even able to better against the run. Hopefully for them, they can keep that going. Until we see it, it's a concern. 

Did the Lions do enough to stop the run in 2023?

The run game was a real issue for the Lions defense last year. Did they fix that issue?

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