Lions Bets Making Noise at Sportsbooks
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Training camp opens up across the league next week, and to no surprise, the bets are flying in.
The gambling industry has become an unstoppable, behemoth-sized entity in the United States, and especially in the NFL with its fans.
It's no different with Detroit Lions fans, and many have jumped on the bandwagon that the team will make a jump in wins in 2022.
Remember, Detroit finished a dismal 3-13-1 and in last place in the NFC North a season ago. However, there is a variety of fans and pundits that are believers in Lions head man Dan Campbell and in the culture that he is building within the organization.
This has become the case so much so that the most popular NFL wager by handle in July at Caesars Sportsbook has been the Lions winning over six games this upcoming season. It means that the total amount of money being bet on the Lions winning greater than six games has been larger than the total amount of money being wagered on any other NFL team this month.
SI Sportsbook presently has the Lions' odds of winning both over and under 6.5 games at -120.
Detroit did beef up its receivers room this offseason, adding veteran deep threat DJ Chark and rookie speedster Jameson Williams. And, it also added some much-needed help to its pass-rushing department, drafting Michigan EDGE Aidan Hutchinson and Kentucky EDGE Josh Paschal with two of its first three picks.
The Lions also enter the season with the fifth-easiest schedule, based on the combined record of their opponents from a season ago (135–154; .467). So, there is a bit of optimism growing that the organization can surpass six wins in Campbell's second season on the job.
Speaking of Campbell, it's also true that he has drawn the most money overall at Caesars Sportsbook to win NFL Coach of the Year in 2022. SI Sportsbook has given him the 10th-best odds to win the award, placing his odds at +1800. In case you were wondering, the Los Angeles Chargers' Brandon Staley has been given the best odds to capture the end-of-the-season honor (+1200).
Meanwhile, third-year running back D'Andre Swift, the team's leading rusher in 2021, has drawn the most money overall at Caesars to lead the league in rushing yards.
Kirthmon F. Dozier, USA TODAY NETWORK
Swift rushed for 617 yards and five touchdowns, on 151 carries, a year ago, and could be in store for an even better campaign, perhaps a career-best year, if he and Detroit's offensive line do a better job of staying healthy in 2022.
Going into his junior campaign as a pro, the Georgia product has played in no more than 13 games a season, and Lions running backs coach Duce Staley believes that Swift needs to do a better job of playing through the pain moving forward.
"Injuries happen, but one of the things Swift and I had a conversation about is you’ve got to be able to play through some of these injuries as a running back. We all know there’s a difference between being injured and hurt," Staley expressed to reporters during OTAs. "As soon as you step in this building as a running back, Day 1 of training camp, you’re not going to feel the same. There will be some things you have to fight through."
Through his first two NFL seasons, Swift has amassed 1,947 yards from scrimmage, and has produced 17 total touchdowns (13 on the ground).
