The Lions have been one of the better offensive teams over the last four years. That’s why a recent debate between two respected analysts over Detroit’s standing among the best offenses in the NFC.

During The Athletic Football Show this week, analysts Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen ranked NFC offenses based solely on supporting casts, removing quarterbacks from the equation.

“I think we are significantly overcorrecting on how ‘bad’ last year was,” Klassen said. “Think about all the negative air we spent talking about the Lions, they were still a top-10 offense by any metric.”

While both agreed on the rankings for most NFC offenses, the Lions' placement created a big disagreement. Klassen ranked Detroit third, while Mays ranked the Lions all the way down at ninth.

The crux of their disagreement was their opinion on the new Lions offensive coordinator, Drew Petzing. Mays pointed out that the coaching continuity had played a large role in his ranking of the Lions.

“Part of this is the fact that I have them clumped in this group of teams where you’re swapping out their play-caller,” the analyst said.

Klassen admitted that he was skeptical about Petzing's coaching potential. The analyst factored in the OC's performance with the Arizona Cardinals in 2024, admitting it wasn't what he would have preferred.

"The problem was the down-to-down efficiency. A lot of that, to me, was some of the new play-calling—and we had questions about that going into the season—and just health with the offensive line, changing new pieces," Klassen elaborated.

Nevertheless, he believes Petzing could improve the new Detroit Lions' offense and play-calling.

NFL Analyst Believes That Lions Could Be Top Five Offense

While talking about the Lions offense on The Athletic Football Show, Klassen called the Detroit Lions one of the most explosive teams last season. He discussed how the franchise signed players who are known for their physical power and athleticism.

“Think about what we know of the ceiling of the offense with Jahmyr Gibbs being as explosive as anybody, Amon-Ra St. Brown being a really good wide receiver,” said Klassen. “Sam LaPort being one of the most explosive tight ends in the league, Jameson Williams being about as good as an ancillary piece you can get in terms of explosive players.”

According to Klassen, the Lions have the players to become "the fifth-best offense" in the league again.

Klassen’s reasoning seemed to have convinced Mays, who followed up on X on Wednesday. The analyst said that he was starting to see Klassen’s point and decided to move Detroit up to fourth place, right after Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco.

Where would you rank the Lions offense among the teams in the NFC? Let us know in the comments!

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Written by

Dhruv Vishnu Nair

Edited by

Arundhoti Palit