Getty Image / Scott W Grau
Last season, the Detroit Lions had one of their most successful seasons in years.
They went 9-8, finishing 2nd in the NFC North and barely missing out on a spot in the NFL playoffs.
Last year’s success has led to some big expectations and the Lions have been doing everything they can this offseason to live up to those expectations.
The franchise has made a few big signings to bolster what was already a pretty strong defense at the end of the 2022 season.
They’ve added CJ Gardner-Johnson, Emmanuel Moseley, and Cam Sutton.
Yesterday, the Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett asked Lions defensive lineman Alim McNeil about his thoughts on the team’s signings.
He was pretty excited about the moves and said that it’s like the team is playing Madden.
How good are Detroit Lions' defensive upgrades? 'It's almost like we're playing Madden' https://t.co/Wt2gMU97qM via @freep
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) April 18, 2023
“Yeah, 100%,” McNeil said. “It’s almost like we’re playing Madden, we adding some pieces for sure. I’m excited to see what we can do.”
At the end of last season, the Lions’ defense became extremely reliable, holding 6 of their last 10 opponents under 20 points as the team went 8-2 to close out the year. The additions they’ve made should make the unit even stronger as will the development of some of the young talent they featured last season.
The Detroit Lions are currently the favorites to win the NFC North and they aren’t even done adding pieces this offseason. They still have a pair of 1st round picks to continue to bolster their roster, including the 6th overall pick from the Rams.
The Lions finally started trending in the right direction last season and now they have themselves in position to make a run at their first division title since 1993.
They’ve given ALim McNeil and Lions fans plenty of reason to be excited about the moves they’ve been this offseason.