Longtime NFL reporter Peter King has been buying stock in the Lions ahead of the 2022 season.
In May, he called them 'one of the most interesting teams in football.' In June, he named rookie Aidan Hutchinson one of the most influential people in the NFL. In July, he cast the Lions as a darkhorse to watch.
"I'm higher on them than most," King wrote in May, noting that they played hard in year one under Dan Campbell and "outperformed expectations" by going 11-6 against the spread and that they have have a forgiving schedule in 2022.
And in his column published this week in which he predicted the playoff field and eventual Super Bowl champ (Bills over Packers), King picked the Lions to post one of the NFL's 'surprise records' -- along with the Patriots and Jaguars.
King has the Lions going 7-10. (Ditto the Pats and Jags).
Whether this would qualify as a 'surprise' is up for debate. The Lions' win total is set at 6.5 in Vegas, so 7-10 would only be a minor overachievement. Sure, it would also more than double their win total from last season when they went 3-13-1, but a significant step forward is expected for a team that brought back all its key players and added two top-12 picks in the draft.
King has Hutchinson, the No. 2 overall pick, finishing second for Defensive Rookie of the Year to Jets CB and No. 4 overall pick Sauce Gardner.
[shortcode-inline-related expand="1" link="/971theticket/sports/detroit-lions/jared-goff-sets-big-goal-for-detroit-lions-win-the-division" headline="Goff's goals for Lions: "Win the division and compete for a championship"" image="/media-library/image.jpg?id=63576537"]Listen live to 97.1 The Ticket via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker
