The Detroit Lions had some historic production out of their rookie draft class in 2023. Which player from that class will take the biggest jump in Year 2?
The 2023 NFL Draft was a huge success for the Detroit Lions , who got major contributors at multiple positions and proved a lot of doubters wrong with some picks that may have been a bit questionable at the time, depending on who you ask. It turns out that general manager Brad Holmes is pretty good at his job and might know a little more about how to acquire talent than most people. Who would have thought?
Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta, Brian Branch and Jack Campbell all had impressive rookie campaigns last year and look to build upon that in 2024. And with a year under their belt, the Lions could see some massive improvements from guys that didn’t contribute as much, but might see a lot more looks in Year 2, like Brodric Martin or Antoine Green. We’re already starting to hear some sound bites from coaches that are really looking forward to seeing some of these players make a leap in Year 2.
On Jack Campbell becoming a better play caller and a better leader this offseason:
“I’m telling you it’s at another level,” Sheppard said. “This guy here’s operating like an eight-year vet as far as making the calls, how he sets the standard of how we practice as a defense, and I think other guys are starting to look towards him now.”
When talking on the First Pick podcast, Chris Spielman singled out Brian Branch when naming some of Holmes’ good draft picks:
“With Brian, alls you had to do was watch the film,” Spielman said. “The dude was maybe one of the best tacklers that I’ve seen. As far as if a guy did catch the ball, he’d eliminate yards after the catch. His coverage, his movement skills, his instincts were off the charts. He’s just a great football player. Nobody cared what he ran. We just knew what we saw against the best competition that was out there in the SEC, playing against some of those receivers.”
“I really think that that may go down—now, I could be wrong—but that might go down as one of Brad’s (Holmes) best draft picks, if you start evaluating… obviously he had some good ones.”
Running backs coach Scottie Montgomery spoke with the media about Gibbs growing up quickly in Year 1, and how he expects to see him grow some more in Year 2 :
“Now what we need him to do from a passing game standpoint is go to the next level,” Montgomery said. “I do think there’s a certain difference between route running from the backfield and being a really, really efficient and efficient check down versus it is to be a great route runner, a guy that can run all types of choice. We know we’ve seen him do those things. But now can you go into the slot and a little bit more down the field? Some intermediate stuff? Can we continue to grow him there? And that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Today’s Question of the Day is…
Which 2023 Lions rookie will have the biggest Year 2 leap?
My answer: Jack Campbell.
I think you can argue that any meaningful production coming from Brodric Martin or Antoine Green this year could turn out to be the biggest leap since they didn’t see a whole lot of action in 2023, but even with that being said, I still like Campbell as the guy that will take the biggest step forward in 2024.
Campbell had a pretty rough start to his rookie year, often looking out of place especially in coverage. But he really turned things around about halfway through the year, and sometimes we just need to remember that not all rookies are going to step in Day 1 and look like a Sam LaPorta. Linebacker is a very tough position to learn coming from college into the NFL, and now that Campbell has gotten more comfortable in Aaron Glenn’s defense, I think we’re going to see some big things from him this year.
Your turn.