Many sports writers, analysts, and media pundits were pessimistic about the Detroit Lions’ chances in the 2023 NFL season, but ESPN’s Louis Riddick was not one of them.
Riddick’s eight years of experience as a former NFL safety, combined with stints as a pro scout and director of pro personnel for teams such as the then-Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles, has earned him the respect of his peers and fans as a brilliant football mind. That’s why his name keeps coming up 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.”
