In what is yet another sign that the 2024 season is almost here, the Detroit Lions will begin training camp this week. While rookies reported on Saturday, July 20, the rest of the team is set to report on Tuesday, July 23.
Once everyone is in the building, the first practice of training camp is slated for the next day on Wednesday, July 24, and it won't be long after that when the pads come on and the true evaluations begin.
Following a 2023 campaign in which the Lions finished with a 12-5 record, won the NFC North and made a run to the NFC Championship Game, expectations are high. In fact, the Lions are considered among the favorites to win a Super Bowl.
However, they'll be battling history to do it, as no team has won a Super Bowl after a loss in the NFC title game the previous year since the Green Bay Packers in 1995-96, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
But the Lions have a good shot to buck that trend given the fact that they have much of the same roster as last season, plus what figure to be some key upgrades on defense, which was the weaker side of the ball in 2023.
Are experts as high on the Lions as we are? Let's find out as we take a look at the pre-training camp NFL power rankings of experts.
NFL power rankings for Lions
The Lions have won more games since Nov. 6, 2022, (22) than they did in the previous 1,769 days (18). These are giddy times in Detroit, and the Lions have responded by throwing cash around, extending quarterback Jared Goff, offensive lineman Penei Sewell and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown to big-money deals this offseason. Maybe just as importantly, Detroit retained offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who led the Lions to the fifth-best offense in the league last season based on EPA (expected points added) per play, according to TruMedia.
It's the end of the world as we know it—and fans of the Detroit Lions feel fine.
After decades of futility, the Detroit Lions won the NFC North for the first time ever in 2023. The team came within one game of the franchise's first Super Bowl last year.
As star edge-rusher Aidan Hutchinson told reporters, for him the goal this season isn't just to win two more games than 2023. It's to "Restore the Roar" in the long-term—to lift the Lions to heights the franchise hasn't seen since the 1950s
Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk: 3
3. Lions: The hard part is getting to a 17-point halftime lead in the NFC Championship. The easy part is holding it.
The Lions is the top trending team, and with good reason. They are solid (and sometimes elite) at each position group. Detroit is a team that can put up points and hurt you on defense. Jared Goff has proven that he can win (especially at home) with talent around him. Is it enough to win it all?
Curt Popejoy, Steelers Wire: 5
The Lions were so close last season, we want to see how they rebound.
MORE: Lions fans won't like USA TODAY's record predictions
