ESPN spent a week and a half ranking the best players at every position in the NFL, and the Detroit Lions showed up on nearly every single list. In fact, no team showed up on these lists more than the Lions. If you ever needed proof that this team is not rebuilding, that Detroit is not starting over, that the Lions’ roster is still loaded with elite talent, ESPN just did the work for you.

Let’s break it down. According to NFL executives, scouts, and coaches surveyed by ESPN, Lions quarterback Jared Goff is a top-10 quarterback. Jahmyr Gibbs is the second-best running back in the league. Sam LaPorta is a top-5 tight end. Amon-Ra St. Brown ranked as the 5th-best receiver, and Jameson Williams landed in the honorable mention section. Penei Sewell was named the No. 1 offensive tackle in the entire NFL. Aidan Hutchinson came in as a top-5 edge rusher, Jack Campbell as a top-5 linebacker, and both Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph landed in the top 10 at safety.

I don’t know what more you need to see.

These players aren’t going anywhere

The best part about all of this is that nearly every one of these guys is under contract or in line for an extension that keeps them in Detroit for years. Goff isn’t going anywhere until 2028 or 2029. Gibbs is probably going to get an extension soon that makes him the highest-paid running back in NFL history, locking him up through 2029 or 2030. LaPorta is in line for a big deal of his own. St. Brown is signed through 2027 or 2028, and the Lions will likely extend him again. Sewell is here until about 2028. Hutchinson and Campbell are both under contract through 2029. Joseph should be around that long, too, and Branch is going to get an extension that locks him up for a long time.

On top of all that, we recently showed the Lions are the 6th-youngest team in the NFL. This is not a roster full of 30-year-olds watching the clock run out.

The 2025 season doesn’t tell the full story

I know what some people are going to say. They had all these guys last year and still finished behind the Minnesota Vikings and JJ McCarthy. You have to understand what happened to this team. Detroit finished 31st in the NFL in adjusted games lost to injury in 2025. That’s not a normal amount of bad luck. They were 25th in 2024. The Lions lost their entire secondary. Most of the players we just talked about on those ESPN lists weren’t even playing by the end of the season.

Look at that offensive line. The Lions were starting Kingsley Ekguakun at center. Trystan Colon played center for a stretch. Christian Mahogany got hurt. Taylor Decker played through injuries all year. Sewell and Tate Ratledge were basically the only two healthy starters up front. That’s why Detroit has a completely different offensive line now.

Even despite all of that, every one of those offensive skill players still put up what ESPN and NFL evaluators consider a top-10-worthy season.

Good teams ride the roller coaster

The team Lions fans want to emulate more than any other is the Philadelphia Eagles. Well, Philadelphia went 9-8 in 2021, made the Super Bowl in 2022, got embarrassed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round in 2023, then came back and won the Super Bowl in 2024. Teams go up, they go down, they go back up again.

Kansas City is another example. The Chiefs have been one of the best teams in the NFL for years. What happened last year? They missed the playoffs. It wasn’t because Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL in Week 15. They just had their turn going down the roller coaster. They’ll be back.

The Lions going 9-8 and missing the playoffs in 2025 was not the end. This team is far from done. The roster is young, the core is locked in, and the talent is verified by people around the league who evaluate players for a living. Health is the No. 1 thing that has to happen. If Detroit can stay healthy, we’ve already seen what this group can do.

Let’s see what happens.

Detroit Lions News

The Detroit Lions’ Year 3 Trust Index uncovered a pattern fans have been missing

Mike Payton 23 hours ago