Detroit Lions top ESPN's NFL playmaker groups ranking

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Under Dan Campbell, the Detroit Lions have morphed into one of the NFL's most explosive offenses.

In each of the past four regular seasons, the Lions have ranked inside the NFL's top five scoring offenses. That includes the 2024 season when the Lions led the league, averaging 33.2 points per game.

Great coaches help make that happen, but it's not possible without top-tier offensive talent.

In ESPN's annual look at the NFL's top playmaker groups, the Lions rank tops in the NFL entering the 2026 season.

Here's some of what ESPN's Bill Barnwell had to say about Detroit:

I'm not sure we learned anything dramatically new about Detroit's personnel in 2025. Jahmyr Gibbs did end the season as a true lead back, but his workload was only marginally larger than it had been as a rotational player in 2024. Gibbs was able to maintain elite efficiency as a rusher and a receiver despite a struggling offensive line, with the former first-round pick averaging more than 5 yards per carry for the third consecutive season. The only other back to do that on three consecutive 150-plus-carry seasons to begin a career is Nick Chubb. Good company.

While Amon-Ra St. Brown managed 1,401 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in yet another high-end campaign, the star wide receiver will look back and rue a very unexpected problem: drops. After dropping a total of five passes across his first four seasons in the league, St. Brown had five drops in 2025 alone, including one on fourth-and-2 against the Chiefs. St. Brown's track record suggests the issue was an outlier, and even with the drops, he was still wildly productive in 2025.

Jameson Williams solidified his status as one of the league's best No. 2 wideouts, racking up a career-high 1,117 receiving yards while playing a full season for the first time as a pro. And there were some bright spots from rookie wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa, who seemed to only be targeted on jump balls in the end zone. In reality, TeSlaa caught 16 passes for 239 yards and six touchdowns, and he profiles as a potential breakout candidate if there are enough footballs to go around in the offense this season.

The only player Lions fans might want more from is Sam LaPorta, who hasn't been able to build on his impressive rookie campaign. The fourth-year tight end was off to a solid start last season, averaging more yards per route run (2.0) than he did as a rookie (1.8). A herniated disc in his back ended LaPorta's season in early November, though...

There are small downgrades on the margins: The Lions don't have as much wide receiver depth as they've had in years past, and Isiah Pacheco doesn't profile to be as productive or explosive as David Montgomery was in Detroit. But this core also validated it could be among the most productive in the NFL, even without Ben Johnson in the mix. And while 2025 might have been disappointing for the Lions as a whole, it was the season that proved Detroit has the best playmakers in all of football.

With receivers like St. Brown, Williams and TeSlaa, LaPorta at tight end and Gibbs in the backfield, it's easy to see what Barnwell and others love about Detroit.

As Barnwell mentioned, the Lions showed last season that their offensive numbers will still be among the league's best even after Ben Johnson moved on to become the Chicago Bears' head coach.

During a 2025 season in which Detroit stripped its offensive coordinator of play-calling duties midway through, the Lions still managed to rank tied-fourth in scoring offense (28.3 points per game), fifth in total offense (373.2 yards per game), third in passing offense (253.1 passing yards per game) and 14th in rushing offense (120.1 rushing yards per game).

The Lions also put those numbers up behind an offensive line that took a step backwards. All of it is a strong statement on why Detroit earned the No. 1 playmaker billing heading into 2026.

In the past two seasons, ESPN ranked the Lions' playmakers as its No. 7 group entering 2024 and as the No. 2 group in the NFL heading into 2025.

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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Detroit Lions top ESPN's NFL playmaker groups ranking

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