Who is the best breakout candidate for the Detroit Lions?

By: Jake Rajala

It’s safe to say that passion couldn’t save the Detroit Lions in 2021, but they surely should feel noticeably more optimistic about their 2022 season. Dan Campbell’s team added a few quality free agent profiles and they drafted two players in Aidan Hutchinson and Jameson Williams that should help them aim to upset more NFC contenders next season. With that said, I’m going to untwine a few breakout players that should help DET in 2022.

Jeffery Okudah

The 2020 Lions high draft pick Jeffery Okudah hasn’t quite lived up to the hype. He showed glimpses in his rookie season and it was planned for him to be in sync and put it all together in his sophomore season. Unfortunately, he suffered a season-ending injury after one game in 2021. Per Lions Wire, he looks quite impressive in his latest injury rehab video. Per FansNation, he is hungry to return and I expect him to be a quality CB2 in essentially his second season.

Aidan Hutchinson

Aidan Hutchinson, alongside Kavyon Thibodeaux, is one of the biggest DROY favorites. Hutch was a popular first overall candidate, but the ceiling of Travon Walker was more pleasing in the eyes of Jacksonville. Nonetheless, Hutch should immediately harass the Davante Adams-less Packers offense and make training camp sessions against Penei Sewell more attractive than the last Transformers movie.

D’Andre Swift

It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that D’Andre Swift might be the Lions most hyped-up player this off-season. Peter Schrager named Swift a Top-5 RB under the age of 25. Furthermore, Player Profiler and Fantasy Data have praised his outlook. Swift missed four games last season, but his work slate should continue to improve in his best situation thus far.