PFF released their “top 25 players under 25 years old” list, with the Detroit Lions having the most representation of any team.
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If there’s one reason to believe the Detroit Lions’ recent success is sustainable, it’s their plethora of youthful talent. It is one thing to have a talented lineup. It’s another when that talent still has a decade of great football ahead of them.
And it isn’t simply our belief that Detroit is extremely skilled and youthful. On Monday, PFF released a list that illustrates how unique this group is. Zoltan Buday produced a list of the NFL’s top 25 players under the age of 25, with a Lions player appearing FIVE times. For the mathematically challenged, that represents 20% of the total list. No other team has more than three representatives on the list (including the Texans).
According to Buday, the Lions have the most players on the list, as well as the greatest player. Penei Sewell, a right tackle, is the top pick.
“His 3,359 regular-season snaps over the past three seasons rank second among all players, and he is on his way to becoming the best offensive lineman in the league,” wrote Buday. “The Oregon product’s 92.8 PFF overall grade and 95.1 PFF run-blocking grade both led all NFL offensive linemen in 2023.”
Aidan Hutchinson (No. 6), Amon-Ra St. Brown (11), Sam LaPorta (19), and Jahmyr Gibbs (21) round out the list.
As if that wasn’t enough, there are two more incredible things to ponder. For starters, Sewell, Hutchinson, LaPorta, and Gibbs are all young enough to be considered for this list again next year.
Furthermore, there are a couple of additional young players on this list who are on their way to perhaps making it in the future. Brian Branch, a 22-year-old cornerback, recently had a successful debut season. Jameson Williams, only 23, demonstrated some of his explosive potential near the end of last season. Don’t forget about first-round picks Jack Campbell (23 years old) and Terrion Arnold (21).
In short, the Lions’ current expectations are lofty, but their future prospects are equally promising.
4. DE Aidan Hutchinson.
Hutchinson is not eligible for a contract renewal until after the next season, his third in the league. The Lions also have the luxury of a fifth-year option, which allows them to push the extension can a little further down the road. But they had the same luxury with Sewell, and they didn’t waste it, exercising his fifth-year option and offering him a big contract extension in one fell swoop.
Hutchinson will have a strong argument to become the league’s highest-paid edge rusher if he continues on his present trajectory. However, this will not preclude the Lions from maintaining one of their key players for the foreseeable future.
3. CB Carlton Davis.
After acquiring Davis from the Buccaneers this summer, the Lions restructured the final year of his current contract, perhaps paving the way for a contract extension. This gave him more money up front by converting nearly half of his original $14 million base salary into a signing bonus.
Davis is a highly capable man-coverage corner, which appears to make him an excellent fit for the Lions’ defensive philosophy. He’ll have to prove it on the field, but an in-season contract extension appears plausible, and Davis has expressed interest in staying in Detroit for a longer period of time since arriving.
2. DT Alim McNeill
McNeill worked hard to alter his physique and broaden his game before his third season, and it paid off with a breakout 2023 season. He missed four games with a knee injury late last season, so there appears to be space for more this year. The rise in financial prominence of defensive tackles across the league bodes well for him as he seeks to build on his breakthrough.
The biggest stumbling block to McNeill signing a long-term contract with the Lions is the cost of continuing to establish himself as one of the league’s greatest defensive tackles this season. If he has another excellent season, he will command a salary of $15-20 million per year, with the higher end or more in play if his output improves (for example, double-digit sacks).
Despite all of the cost-related concerns, McNeill emerged as a key contributor last year, and if he can demonstrate that this was not a fluke, the Lions should find a way to keep him.
1. OT Taylor Decker
After last season finished, the Lions’ longest-tenured player made it abundantly apparent what his future plans are as he approaches the final year of his contract.
“I definitely want to finish my career here,” Decker told MLive. “Ultimately, this is where I want to be. Of course, you desire money, but I enjoy being here. I adore being here. I was able to participate in climbing out of the trenches, and it’s been interesting to see the other side of it over the last year and a half…. But, finally, do I want to stay here forever? One hundred percent. So, we shall see.”
Decker told reporters in April that there had been “entry level” and “base-level” negotiations about extending the deal. At 31 years old (August 23), he is a top-tier offensive tackle in the league (No. 9 overall grade from Pro Football Focus last year) and is certainly worth keeping around for a few more years to form one of the league’s best tackle tandems with Sewell.
Decker is the most likely next Lions player to receive a contract extension, even if simply to lessen his $19.1 million cap hit this year. It may even occur shortly.
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