3. Detroit Lions

The Lions were awful last year and have not been true competitors in this division for quite a while. The good news for Detroit is that they cannot get much worse than they were in 2019. And with a solid draft and active free-agent spending, the Lions made enough upgrades to get out of the cellar of the NFC North.

The Lions have put a focus on improving their defense over the last few years and this is the year that the pieces fit together and create a credible unit. Detroit was hoping to see their spending pay off last season with the pieces not blending the way they were hoping. Now with some old pieces and a healthy influx of talent this will be their strength.

On offense, if Matthew Stafford can return to the high level of play that he showed in 2019 before he got injured, this team has a chance to really elevate their play.

The team will likely be run-heavy with the deep stable of running backs that are on the squad which should help to slow down the pace of play and let their defense do their job. While the Lions are not ready to compete at the top of the NFC North, they should finally get out of the bottom this year.