Depending on who you ask, the Detroit Lions' offense will be impacted greatly by the change from Ben Johnson to John Morton as the play caller or it won't matter at all. Until meaningful games are played we just won't know for sure, and we're a long way from that. Morton will surely put his stamp on things, but he also won't deviate too far from the foundation of what has been working.
What we do know is the pieces the Lions have on offense. Many are also core pieces of the team, and not going anywhere anytime soon. A succession plan for some offensive lineman that are getting up in age may be on the docket, but one of the league's best offensive lines is likely to stay that way as a priority is placed on keeping it that way.
The Lions have the league's best running back duo in Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. With Jameson Williams' third-year emergence alongside Amon-Ra St. Brown, they also now have one of the better wide receiver duos in the NFL by many measures.
And whatever anyone thinks of Jared Goff, and the flaws he occasionally shows, he's a top-10 quarterback in the league.
Ranking proves how good the Lions offensive core is, and will be
Maurice Moton of Bleacher Report recently ranked every NFL team's offensive building blocks heading into the 2025 offseason. Having multiple players who fit that bill helped in some cases, but based on quantity and quality the Lions came in at No. 1.
Building Blocks: QB Jared Goff, RB Jahmyr Gibbs, WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, OT Penei Sewell, TE Sam LaPorta
"The Detroit Lions might have lost offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to the Chicago Bears, but they still have the best offensive core in place."
After praising each of those five offensive building blocks for the Lions, Moton got down to the bottom line of why he ranked the group where he did.
"The Lions took the No. 1 spot over the Philadelphia Eagles because all five of their building-block players earned Pro Bowl or All-Pro recognition in the last two years. The core unit's collective accolades clearly set it apart from the other groups."
Other than Goff, Gibbs (23 in March), St. Brown (25, 26 in October), Sewell (24, 25 in October) and LaPorta (24) will all be 25 or younger at the start of next season. And Williams (24 in March) didn't even make Moton's list of "building blocks." So as good as the Lions' offensive core is now, it isn't going anywhere anytime soon as the best (or at least one of the best) in the league.
