Many sports journalists, analysts, and media pundits were bearish on the Detroit Lions’ outlook for the 2023 NFL season, but not ESPN’s Louis Riddick.
With his eight years of experience as a former NFL safety, along with his several stints as a pro scout and director of pro personnel for teams such as the then Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles, Riddick has accumulated a wealth of football knowledge that’s earned him the respect of his peers and fans as a brilliant football mind. It’s largely why his name continues to surface whenever there are NFL general manager vacancies at the end of each season.
Early this spring, Riddick predicted that the Lions would not only be a force in the NFC but also a potential Super Bowl contender. Fast forward to now, the Lions are currently 10-4 with an opportunity to seal their first division crown in 30 years on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings. Along with that, a shot at moving up to the No. 2 seed in the NFC is still in play.
While anything can happen in the coming weeks, it’s safe to surmise that at least for now, Riddick’s prediction was somewhat spot-on. And because of that, Riddick isn’t backing down on his claims regarding the Lions. In fact, one could say he’s doubling down. When speaking with MLive, Riddick shared the Lions are a team that can control its own destiny over their final three games, two of which will be against the Minnesota Vikings and one against the Dallas Cowboys.
Riddick stated he loves how the Lions’ offense is put together and is thrilled that center Frank Ragnow has returned quickly from meniscus surgery. But in the same breath, he voiced what he’s looking to see from Jared Goff as Detroit enters uncharted waters.
“I want to see Jared, in particular, on the road here the next two weeks really assert his control over this offense in all environments,” Riddick said. “Meaning you rip people on the road the same way you rip ‘em when you’re at home. You just have that same kind of mentality, and he’s played long enough that he knows how to get that done.”
Defensively, Riddick isn’t without his concerns for Detroit in the postseason. Specifically, he questions how Detroit will address its pass rush issues and wonders how they’ll respond in the event opposing teams get a lead on them and decide to take the air out of the football.
However, with the way the Lions are currently constructed on offense, Riddick feels that they have enough big-time playmakers and firepower to keep things interesting, citing their ability to score quickly. Along with Goff under center, the Lions have Amon-Ra St. Brown, rookie Sam LaPorta — a tight end Riddick said is one of the best he’s seen in a long time — Jameson Williams, and the backfield duo of David Montgomery and rookie Jahmyr Gibbs, a player Riddick feels has MVP potential. Should the Lions’ defense be fortunate enough to gain an occasional opportunistic turnover, Riddick feels the Lions can beat any team in the NFL.
“They’ve already proved they can beat anybody in the NFL, but this is a team that has not to be messed around with,” Riddick said. “This is a team that people need to take seriously and don’t start falling into their old stupid trash stuff thinking this is the ‘Same old Lions’ (or) ‘They’ve never been there before. They don’t understand what it takes.’ I don’t buy into those kinds of stupid narratives, man. And don’t try to hold anything that’s happened between the teams in the past against them here when we’re talking about the future.”
Additional highlights from Riddick’s interview with MLive:
On why he tweeted that Jahmyr Gibbs can be a future MVP: “I think what he’s starting to show you now, and he showed this too at Alabama. I mean, I’m not saying this is something new, but he is just showing you how (expletive) tough he is. He will slash and bang it up in there and run with the kind of violence that you wouldn’t expect from a guy who can really do a lot of damage on the edges and in space. You wouldn’t expect him to run with that kind of violence down in and down out.”
“Combined with the fact that when you get him in space, whether it’s catching the ball out of the backfield or winding up as a receiver—however it is that you get him in open space—it just makes him all the more versatile now. You can’t pin him into one specific, limited role. He’s a do-it-all, everything-type of back, a three-down type of back. If he got more touches, and I understand why Dan (Campbell) wants to make sure that he and David (Montgomery) share the workload so they don’t get worn down because they want to play a certain way. But if you expand his role and give him even more touches, there’s nothing that he can’t do.”
On Detroit Lions fans that still wished Jalen Carter was drafted instead moving down to take Gibbs: “I’d say get over it. I think maybe people are kind of looking ahead in the same way I like to look ahead, and they’re looking at it in this regard: What team in the NFC—what teams in the NFL, I guess I should say—really, what teams in the NFC in particular are you going to have to deal with at some point in time in order to get to where ultimately we want to get to, which is the Super Bowl? That’s San Francisco. San Francisco beats down everybody with their physicality, especially when you’re talking about offense. And again, we’re talking about running backs, the way Christopher (McCaffrey) runs the football, the way San Francisco’s offensive line runs the ball. So you need guys, big bodies, and not just big bodies, but big-body playmakers to be able to deal with the kind of intensity San Francisco brings on the offensive side of the ball. And do they have enough of those guys? No, they don’t on the defensive line.”
“So I can understand why you want to build your football team inside out, you want to build it front to back. They’ve kind of done that on the offensive side of the football. This offensive line in Detroit would help you to match up with anyone in the NFL, but on the defensive line, they need more, they need more fire.”
“And I think that’s probably what people are a little worried about with Detroit. I’m a little worried about it too, but you have to score points to win in the NFL. You need to be able to rip off explosive plays at the drop of a hat, and Jahmyr Gibbs does that. He can change games for you in one play, whether it’s a run or pass. So, you cannot fault management for making the selection that they did. And I think anybody who watches Detroit’s offense would feel the same way.”
On Dan Campbell growth as a coach: “I think he’s still a guy who comes off very intense in his meetings with the media. I don’t think he is, for lack of a better word, ashamed or apologetic for being who he is. I mean, that’s kind of what makes him as good as he is—Hollywood. He’s authentic, true to himself. He is a gritty, hardworking, blue-collar type of tight end, the type that I’m very, very familiar with from my playing days. That’s how that position is, and that’s how he kind of embodies the ‘80s, ‘90s type of tight end. And I love that (expletive). I absolutely love it.”
On Dan Campbell changing the Detroit Lions’ culture:
“Without being there every day and seeing how he moves and how he works, from the outside looking in, it just looks like he has a very good idea of what he wants, how he wants it to continue to grow, how he wants to communicate with everyone, how he wants his team to play, and how he handles both prosperity and adversity in terms of the message he gives his teams. And it seems as though everybody, again, from top to bottom, buys into that. That’s why he’s making these jumps on the (team) record because you don’t win in the NFL by accident. You know that; it’s hard as hell.”
On if Brad Holmes’ success as the Lions’ general manager creates opportunities for more Black head coaches and GMs in the NFL: “I don’t know if anything will ever make it easier because we understand that some of the things that affect decision-making as far as hiring black men as general managers or coaches have nothing to do with your competency. It has to do with the comfort level of the people who are making the hires, which is overwhelmingly comprised of men who are not black. People just gravitate towards things that they’re comfortable with.”
“Now, it’s not to say that the NFL isn’t doing everything that they can seemingly to kind of change that. But yeah, I think Brad has brought to light some much-needed, let’s just say, positive attention in terms of, ‘Look, don’t judge me on what I look like. Just judge me on my competency, judge me on my merit.’ And that’s the way you want it, man. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. When guys like him have success, he’s having, yeah, it’s making those who want to kind of open their eyes and really have it be a meritocracy take notice and say, ‘Hey, look, I just want the best people. That’s all I want.’”
“What Brad’s doing, is it going to help? Well, it damn sure ain’t going to hurt. So you’re hoping it just helps one owner or two owners look at things a little bit differently or consider someone who maybe they wouldn’t consider before because he’s killing the game right now, and that’s nothing but good.”