The Detroit Lions have one of the most talent-loaded offenses in the NFL, as evidended by being the No. 1 scoring offense in the NFL for the 2024 season. New offensive coordinator John Morton will be tasked with maintaining, and finding ways to put his stamp on, what Ben Johnson started (and Morton himself had some hand in, as a Lions' assistant in 2022).
The Lions arguably (and maybe inarguably) have the best running back duo in the NFL in Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. They even have a fun nickname ("Sonic and Knuckles"). If Montgomery hadn't missed time this past season, they may have joined exclusive company as a pair of 1,000-yard rushers on the same team in the same season. Maybe Year 3 together will be the charm in 2025,
Of course we know that Amon-Ra St. Brown has become one of the best (and highest-paid) wide receivers in the league. The question over the last couple years has been if anyone could emerge as a legit second fiddle, and the hope heading into 2024 was Jameson Williams would.
And Williams did put it all together and have a breakthrough third season, topping 1,000 yards for the first time and finishing second in the league in yards per catch (17.3) along with seven touchdowns. Looking a little deeper, 41 of his 58 receptions resulted in a first down.
Deeper data point helps show Lions now also have a top WR duo
An easy correlation to being a top-notch offense is third down proficiency, and to that end the Lions were fourth in the league in third down conversion rate in 2024 (47.6 percent). That's a credit to everyone involved, and the overall execution of the offense when it mattered the most.
The 33rd Team listed out the wide receivers who had the highest EPA (Expected Points Added) on third down last season. St. Brown led the way with a +42.7 EPA on third down, far ahead of second place Terry McLaurin at +29.1.
St. Brown had 31 receptions for 412 yards and five touchdowns on third down. He was part of a seven-way tie for the most touchdowns on third down, while only Wan’Dale Robinson (New York Giants) had more catches (34) and only Courtland Sutton (Denver Broncos) had more yards (452).
Rounding out the list at No. 10 is Williams, with a +19.2 EPA on third down last season. On a more basic level, four of his seven touchdowns came on third down and all 14 of his third down catches moved the chains.
St. Brown gets a lot of credit (rightfully so) for being so clutch, and he's the guy Jared Goff most often looks for in critical "have to have it" situations. But within his emergence last season, Williams showed he is also one of most clutch receivers in the league.
