Don't look now, but the Lions are emerging as a sleeper pick in the NFC North. It starts with their sleeper pick for MVP: Matthew Stafford.
The veteran quarterback is healthy after missing the second half of last season with a back injury and has looked terrific in training camp. He reprises his role in an offense in which he put up All-Pro numbers when healthy.
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Multiple analysts this offseason have dubbed Stafford a darkhorse MVP candidate. Peter Schrager of Good Morning Football was one of the first.
"Heck, get rid of the 'darkhorse,'" Schrager said on the show Wednesday. "Maybe he's just an MVP candidate. If the Lions are a team that is competing, don't be shocked if Matthew Stafford is that guy we're talking about come January as having the biggest season, and maybe the biggest comeback we've seen in recent years."
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At this, Schrager's fellow analyst and Stafford's former teammate Nate Burleson chimed in.
"I remember you took Stafford as your darkhorse MVP," Burleson said. "He texted me afterward and said, 'Tell Peter, forget the darkhorse stuff. I'm going for the MVP.'"
Hey now.
You can appreciate Stafford's hunger. He said "it tore me up" to be sidelined last season, in part because of how well he was playing. And all he's done is tear it up since returning to the field.
"Super dialed-in" is how offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell described Stafford last weekend, with the season a couple weeks away.
If the Lions show growth around him, they should have a shot in the NFC North.
"You add in some defensive payers, you add in some rookies, guys like (Jeff) Okudah, DeAndre Swift, guys that are going to make immediate impacts. And then you look at the coach, Matt Patricia, it's now year three," Schrager said. "We went through the first training camp where it was difficult, we went through last year where we had all these heartbreaking injuries.
"Now it's year three and if you've listened to the players, it seems like the Lions are a more cohesive bunch than they've ever been. And that is from ownership down to the general manger, down to the coach, right down to the players."
Will it be enough to contend for a division title? We'll see. But as long as Stafford's healthy, you can't count the Lions out.
