Pride of Detroit
With NFL football on Thursday (and Friday), and Detroit Lions action a week away, I think it’s officially fair to call this GAME WEEK!
The 2025 NFL season is basically upon us, and that means it’s time to start making our predictions for the year ahead. Every year, our staff makes our best guesses about the Detroit Lions—from who will be their standout players to where they’ll finish in the division, to our favorite picks to win the Super Bowl.
This year’s predictions start with a toughie. The Lions’ offense finished first in the NFL last year, and despite some moving pieces this offseason, they’re expected to be in the top conversation again in 2025. But who will lead the pack? Who will be the team’s Offensive Player of the Year?
Here are our predictions.
Max Gerber: Penei Sewell
I know it’s next to impossible to have an offensive lineman win MVP, but I’m pretty sure Penei Sewell, the league’s best offensive tackle, should be crowned with the title. With some new pass rushers in the division this year, Sewell will have his hands full keeping a clean pocket for Jared Goff. His play will decide whether or not the rest of the offense will be successful, so he literally is the most valuable player for Detroit’s offense right now.
Erik Schlitt: Amon-Ra St. Brown
The only wide receiver in the NFL to be named first-team All-Pro in each of the last two seasons, St. Brown has been sensational in training camp and seems poised to take another step in his development. The joint practices with the Dolphins were just a preview of what’s to come for St. Brown in 2025.
Ryan Mathews: Jahmyr Gibbs
Since Jahmy Gibbs could make a real case to be the league’s AP Offensive Player of the Year in 2025, that would likely win him this award, too.
Al Karsten: Jared Goff
Part of me wanted to go glamorous and hand Jahmyr Gibbs the keys to the Lions’ offensive MVP in Year 3—but when you look under the hood, the true engine of the Motor City’s muscle car is Jared Goff.
Goff, who finished fifth in MVP voting last season, enters Year 5 in Detroit still in the middle of a career renaissance. Over the past two seasons, he’s been running as smooth and powerful as any quarterback in football, ranking in the top four in passer rating, success rate, yards per attempt, and touchdown rate. Now, with one of the NFL’s most finely tuned offensive rosters and a new pit crew of offensive architects—John Morton, David Shaw, and others—the Lions will look to keep the motor humming in the wake of Ben Johnson’s departure. It’ll be fascinating to see how the offense evolves, and what new levers Detroit’s offensive brain trusts design for Goff and his growing young core.
Brandon Knapp: Jahmyr Gibbs
It was a toss-up between Jamo and Gibbs for me,...
