Lions' Midseason Grades: Offense Needs Reinforcements

Nine games down for the Lions, and eight more games to go in the 2022 season.

And, with that said, it's time to provide our midseason grades at All Lions.

Quarterback: B-

Jared Goff has had an uneven start to his 2022 season.

He started off the campaign on a torrid pace. Through the Lions' first four games, the veteran signal-caller threw for 1,126 yards and 11 touchdowns, while tossing just three interceptions.

Meanwhile, in five games since then, the 28-year-old has thrown for 1,151 yards, to go along with as many touchdowns as interceptions (four each). In the same span, he's fumbled four times (lost three of them), and has had two games with no touchdown passes and another two with only one TD pass.

His most recent one-TD performance came Sunday against the Chicago Bears. Although his stats were not that prolific in the NFC North divisional tilt, he did lead the Lions on an eight-play, 91-yard game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter.

While the seventh-year passer hasn't been consistently productive in 2022, he's had his moments (like on Sunday), and for that reason, I'm willing to give him a "B-" grade for his play through Detroit's first nine games this season.

Running backs: B

Jamaal Williams and D'Andre Swift have handled the bulk of the carries for the Lions' backs so far in 2022.

Swift started off his season in a huge fashion, rushing for a career-best 144 yards, on 15 carries, in Detroit's season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles. It was good for an impressive 9.6 yards per carry. He also contributed 31 yards as a pass-catcher in the Week 1 tilt.

The versatile back has battled the injury bug since, and subsequently has played in just five games since Week 1. And, in those contests, he's logged a total of just 25 carries for 109 yards and a single touchdown. He also hasn't rushed for more than 31 yards in his last four games.

The third-year back has noticeably been limited by the Lions' coaching effort in an effort to preserve his health for the season. And, as a result, Williams has emerged as the team's No. 1 back in recent weeks, and he's made the most of the opportunity.

The sixth-year back is on pace for the first 1,000-yard rushing season of his NFL career. In nine games, he's rushed 142 times for 604 yards and nine touchdowns.

Williams' biggest game of the season came in Week 4 against the Seattle Seahawks, when he produced 108 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

Justin Jackson and Craig Reynolds have also contributed to the Lions' 2022 run game.

Through nine games, I'm willing to give the position group a "B" grade.

Wide receivers: C

Amon-Ra St. Brown has clearly been the best performer of this position group all season. The second-year pass-catcher has amassed two 100-plus-yard receiving games on the year. Additionally, in eight games this year, the USC product has produced a team-leading 49 catches for a team-best 518 yards.

Meanwhile, the rest of the position group has either battled the injury bug (DJ Chark and Josh Reynolds) or been inconsistent thus far this year (Tom Kennedy and Kalif Raymond).

Through nine games, I'm willing to give this group of receivers a "C" mark.

Tight ends: C+

T.J. Hockenson served as a more-than-capable leader of this position group, before being traded off to the Minnesota Vikings at the Nov. 1 NFL trade deadline. In seven games with the Lions, he served as one of Goff's most trusted targets, and logged 26 catches for 395 yards and three touchdowns.

Since his departure, reserve tight ends James Mitchell, Shane Zylstra and Brock Wright have each been the recipient of touchdown passes. However, none of the three aforementioned individuals have recorded more than two receptions in a game since Hockenson was dealt.

This is a position group that specifically could use reinforcements. But, with the trade deadline having already passed, don't expect any to come until the offseason.

For its efforts so far this season, I'm willing to give this tight ends group a "C+" mark.

Offensive line: B

Overall wise, the Lions' offensive line has produced a solid campaign through the first half of the year.

Of the team's five projected starters entering the 2022 season, only left guard Jonah Jackson and right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai, who has yet to play a single snap this year, have missed multiple games. Meanwhile, Penei Sewell is quickly growing into one of the best right tackles in the entire league.

Additionally, Sewell and his teammates have done a nice job of creating holes for Detroit's backfield. In nine games this season, the Lions have accumulated 1,168 yards on 245 carries, good for an average of about 4.8 yards per rushing attempt.

Sewell and his O-line counterparts haven't done as great of a job in keeping Goff upright. The Lions' starting passer has been sacked 15 times. However, you can also argue that number has been inflated by two games: a five-sack game against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 7 and a three-sack game against the Washington Commanders in Week 2.

However, as a whole, Detroit's offensive line has still done a solid job thus far this season. For its efforts through the team's first nine games, I'm giving the position group a "B" grade.