The Detroit Lions have stacked their roster with several talented, gritty young NFL players who fit the culture head coach Dan Campbell and the front office is seeking to fill the locker room with.

In a recent ESPN ranking of each NFL teams’ under-25 talent, the Lions came in No. 2, only behind the Houston Texans.

Brad Holmes’ roster was the only NFL team listed that included five “blue-chip” players under the age of 25, including Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta, Penei Sewell, and Aidan Hutchinson.

“As you can tell by their placement on this list, the Lions aced the top of the past few drafts. We can certainly have some interesting arguments about positional value with the picks that Detroit made, but it’s hard to argue with the results,” writes Aaron Schatz. “Sewell was a first-team All-Pro last season and is 23 years old. LaPorta is also 23 and set an NFL record for catches by a rookie tight end (86). Gibbs and Brian Branch are just 22, while first-round rookie Terrion Arnold is likely to be an NFL starter at 21.”

Last week at the PGA Tour’s Rocket Mortgage Classic, Hutchinson expressed he feels this is the season the team puts it all together and wins a Lombardi Trophy.

“I feel with every fiber of my body, I feel like it’s the year,” Hutchinson told Brad Galli of WXYZ. Honestly, from this year on, every year is the year. With the guys that we have, I hope that we’re going to sustain the success for a long time.”

Detroit is also counting on other talented players to take strides forward in 2024, including Jameson Williams, Brian Branch, Jack Campbell and Arnold.

Additional reading

1.) ‘It’s All Football’: Aidan Hutchinson Discusses Offseason Goals, Plans

2.) Lions Should Be Featured In Offseason ‘Hard Knocks’

3.) Predicting Lions’ Offensive Breakout Players

4.) Lions ‘Not Interested’ in Signing Wideouts Prior to Training Camp