“I told those guys, this may have been our only shot. Do I think that? No. Do I believe that? No. However, I know how hard it is to get here. I’m well aware. And it’s gonna be twice as hard to get back to this point next year than it was this year. That’s the reality. And if we don’t have the same hunger and the same work — which is a whole ‘nother thing once we get to the offseason — then we’ve got no shot of getting back here.
“I don’t care how much better we get, or what we add, or [who] we draft. It’s irrelevant. It’s gonna be tough. Everybody in our division’s gonna be loaded back up. And, you know, you’re not hiding from anybody anymore. Everybody’s gonna want a piece of you. Which is fine, you know.
“So it’s hard. You wanna make the most of every opportunity. We had an opportunity and we couldn’t close it out.”
That’s what Lions head coach Dan Campbell advised the media after his staff blew a 24-7 first half result in the San Francisco 49ers within the 2023 NFC Championship sport. That 34-31 loss was adopted by the Lions’ 15-2 regular-season document in 2024, and their subsequent 45-31 wild-card spherical bollixing by the hands of Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders.
After final season’s 9-8 document and postseason miss, Campbell’s phrases resonated extra clearly than ever. Actually, accidents had quite a bit to do with the dropoff…
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…however because the Lions head into the 2026 season, what is anticipated of them?
They’ve the quarterback in Jared Goff. Jahmyr Gibbs is likely one of the NFL’s most constantly explosive working backs. There’s a receiver trio in Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Isaac TeSlaa that’s able to shredding any protection, and tight finish Sam LaPorta isn’t any slouch, both. The offensive line must be ok. Issues are a bit dodgier on protection, because the damage information tells us, however Campbell and his coaches are abruptly coping with a franchise on the precipice of a “competitive window” dialogue earlier than lots of people imagined.
If these Lions are to transcend the doubts, they’ll want the extent greatest from all people on the roster — superstars and lesser-known gamers alike. To that finish, I’ve recognized three Hidden Gems for the 2026 Lions — one underrated veteran, one underrated free agent. and one underrated draft choose.
Underrated veteran: CB Rock Ya-Sin
DETROIT, MICHIGAN – DECEMBER 4: Rock Ya-Sin #23 of the Detroit Lions reacts throughout an NFL soccer sport in opposition to the Dallas Cowboys at Ford Area on December 04, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photograph by Michael Owens/Getty Photos) Getty Photos
A Lions secondary that regarded like the category of the NFL not too way back has every kind of query marks round it now. Brian Department’s and Kerby Joseph’s accidents of late have been their very own points, and people points usually are not but resolved. What cornerback Terrion Arnold did to get himself launched from the staff on June 29 was a completely totally different stage of problematic; when one’s off-field life intervenes to the tune of 4 counts of kidnapping and 4 counts of armed theft, soccer actually isn’t the purpose anymore.
Nonetheless, defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard has to place a defensive backfield on the market, which is the place veteran cornerback Rock Ya-Sin is available in as he did final season. Arnold missed 9 video games in 2025 to concussion and shoulder points, and fellow cornerback D.J. Reed missed six video games with a hamstring damage. The Lions had signed Ya-Sin to a $1.17 million contract earlier than the season, and it wasn’t a giant deal within the public eye. It was additionally Ya-Sin’s fifth staff within the final 5 seasons — the 2019 second-round choose of the Indianapolis Colts out of Temple had drifted from Indy to Las Vegas to Baltimore to San Francisco to Detroit since 2021.
However with Arnold and Reed unable to take the sphere, it was the journeyman Ya-Sin’s time to shine, and he did for probably the most half,
In Weeks 1-9, Ya-Sin had simply 98 protection snaps, and he allowed 10 catches on 19 targets for 94 yards, 10 yards after the catch, 4 go breakups, and an opponent passer score of 84.1.
Particularly with Arnold out, Ya-Sin’s participation elevated dramatically. In Weeks 10-18, he had 284 protection snaps (solely Amik Robertson had extra amongst Detroit’s cornerbacks with 287), and Ya-Sin gave up 17 catches on 31 targets for 193 yards, 70 yards after the catch, 5 go breakups, and an opponent passer score of 73.7. Ya-Sin didn’t have an interception final season, however he additionally allowed just one landing on all these targets.
“I want to take the ball away more this season,” Ya-Sin mentioned in March concerning his plans for 2026. “I really thought I left some [plays] on the field last year — some interceptions, some forced fumbles. I want to do a better job of that this year. I want to take the ball away.
“Last year, I was proud that I stepped up when I got the opportunity. I got to do a lot of cool things last year. Match up against a lot of really good receivers, and do things in my career up to that point I hadn’t done yet. That was really cool stepping up when guys got hurt, and [we didn’t take] a step back, or [miss] a beat. I was proud of that.”
It helps that Ya-Sin is a pure press cornerback. Final season, the Lions had not less than one cornerback in press protection on 70% of their snaps, the sixth-highest fee within the NFL. Sheppard had two cornerbacks in press 28% of the time, the league’s fourth-highest fee, and the Lions tied with the Buffalo Payments and the Chicago Bears for the NFL’s highest fee of three cornerbacks in press on a play at 11%.
It’s why Ya-Sin needed to return. He did so on a one-year, $3.2 million contract, with $1 million assured.
“I was ready to go from those four or five teams I had been on,” he mentioned in March. “Like, when it was time to go, I was happy to go. But this was the first time I really wanted to come back, and I let my agent know that before the season had ended. I’m just glad to be back.
“Certain guys fit better with certain teams, and I feel like I fit better here than I fit with those previous teams.”
Is Ya-Sin the perfect No. 1 cornerback for any NFL protection? Most likely not, however beggars can’t be choosers, as they are saying, and with a secondary in a lot doubt, it’s good to have anyone who has excelled of late in Sheppard’s protection.
Underrated free agent: WR Greg Dortch
Detroit Lions large receiver Greg Dortch (8) practices throughout coaching camp at Meijer Efficiency Heart in Allen Park on Wednesday, July 29, 2026. USA TODAY Community by way of Reuters Co
The Lions dropped from third in Offensive DVOA beneath Ben Johnson in 2023 to seventh in 2025 beneath John Morton, and in 2026, former Arizona Cardinals OC Drew Petzing shall be accountable for Detroit’s offense. The one man Petzing clearly needed from his Arizona days was receiver/returner Greg Dortch, who signed a $1,402,500 contract to play within the Motor Metropolis.
”It was a giant purpose,” Dortch mentioned of his familiarity with Petzing. “Obviously, just the comfort factor. The trust and the success that I’ve had with him being my OC the three years together. Drew is very smart, and knows exactly how to get people the ball.”
Final season, for the Cardinals, Petzing obtained the 5-foot-7, 175-pound Dortch the ball for 29 catches on 33 targets for 206 yards and three touchdowns, 15 yards and a landing on seven speeding makes an attempt, and Dortch himself took the ball on 30 kick returns for 796 yards (26.5 yards per return), and 16 punt returns for 185 yards (11.6 yards per return). The return sport is the place Dortch’s addition may repay probably the most.
“Did you see some of those returns yesterday?” Campbell requested a reporter on July 31 when queried about how Dortch will assist the Lions. “Those drills we had, I love [Lions Special Teams Coordinator Dave] Fipp’s. Man, his return ability really showed up. Certainly, we know what he’s able to do from afar just on tape.
“And so, for him, it’s, where do you fit in at? We’re going to need to be able to use you, rely on you. We feel pretty good so far about the return stuff, but there again, we have got a whole camp to go. We also have three pretty good receivers at the top of this thing that we feel really good about. So, his is finding, ‘Where do I fit into that, and where can I make my mark?’
“I mean, look, we have got plenty of guys that we can give a gadget to. I mean, [Amon-Ra St. Brown] Saint, we can give a gadget. We can give [Jameson Williams] Jamo a gadget. We can give [Jahmyr] Gibbs a gadget. So his is, where is that? What do I do best? Where can I fit into this? And just play receiver. So, we think of him that way. He can play Z, he can play F, and go to work.”
Dortch has the flexibility to take a display screen or a sweep a number of yards in the correct path, and although he’s not a main receiver at his dimension, the Lions don’t want that. As Campbell intimated, they have already got a number of primetime targets for Jared Goff. However Dortch has confirmed the flexibility to be a sneaky worth addition in the correct offense, and Petzing has confirmed the flexibility to make that occur.
Underrated draft choose: CB Keith Abney II
TEMPE, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 15: Cornerback Keith Abney II #1 of the Arizona State Solar Devils celebrates with Javan Robinson #12 of the Arizona State Solar Devils after making the game-winning interception throughout the second half of the NCAAF sport in opposition to the West Virginia Mountaineers at Mountain America Stadium on November 15, 2025 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photograph by Jeremy Chen/Getty Photos) Getty Photos
Talking of cornerbacks as we have been earlier, there’s the addition of Arizona State’s Keith Abney II, the 5-foot-9, 190-pound go defender the Lions took with the 157th general choose within the fifth spherical of the 2026 draft.
GM Brad Holmes was fairly pleased about that one.
“He was just a simple one because we had him ranked a couple rounds higher than where he was,” Holmes mentioned after the draft. “So that was a no-brainer for us.”
What’s fascinating is that the Lions could challenge Abney as an inside cornerback, even supposing in three seasons with the Solar Devils, Abney had simply 26 slot snaps.
“I think he can do both,” Holmes mentioned. “I’m not pigeon-holing him or putting him in a box that he’s a nickel only. He’s got enough good tape out there, versus some really good wide receivers, of him playing on the outside But I do think from a projection standpoint, I do think he can play inside as well. I just think that’s a bonus.”
I fully perceive why the Lions had Abney set a pair rounds increased than the fifth, as a result of final yr’s tape was fairly spectacular. In 2025, Abney allowed 32 catches on 72 targets for 321 yards, 79 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, two interceptions, 9 go breakups, and an opponent passer score of 46.1. As a press cornerback, he confirmed that he can get proper up in a receiver’s face, path the receiver by means of the route, and make fast passes a factor of the previous. Quick closure on these performs has turn out to be an Abney hallmark.
Proper now, the Lions have Ya-Sin and D.J. Reed because the beginning exterior cornerbacks of their “Legion of Whom” protection, and although that might and will work fairly nicely, Abney has the instruments to be an early asset with the correct reps and alternatives — particularly within the secondary the place you don’t actually know what’s going to occur from minute to minute.
