Detroit Lions offensive coordinator John Morton spoke to the media Tuesday as the Lions ramp up the offseason training program with the start of OTA practices in a couple weeks. Here are my 10 biggest takeaways from that media session:
1. Don't expect wholesale changes from what this offense looked like last year under Ben Johnson. Morton said the changes will be more subtle and more about adding some of things he really liked from past stops he knows works in this league.
"I'm not changing much," he said. "I mean, why?"
2. The Lions have begun Phase II of the offseason training program, which means coaches can join the players on the field for individual and group drills. Morton said he feels like a kid in a candy store seeing all the weapons he's inheriting in this offense that led the NFL in scoring (33.2 ppg) and total touchdowns (70) last season. Detroit returns two running backs (Jahmyr Gibbs & David Montgomery) and two receivers (Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams) who all recorded at least 1,000 scrimmage yards last season.
View photos from offseason workouts on Tuesday, May 13, 2025.

Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (0) and Detroit Lions offensive coordinator John Morton during offseason workouts at the Meijer Performance Center on May 13, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)

Detroit Lions Detroit Lions cornerback D.J. Reed (4) during offseason workouts at the Meijer Performance Center on May 13, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) during offseason workouts at the Meijer Performance Center on May 13, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)

Detroit Lions defensive back Brian Branch (32) during offseason workouts at the Meijer Performance Center on May 13, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)

Detroit Lions tackle Dan Skipper (70) during offseason workouts at the Meijer Performance Center on May 13, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)

Detroit Lions run game coordinator/defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers during offseason workouts at the Meijer Performance Center on May 13, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)

Detroit Lions tackle Penei Sewell (58) during offseason workouts at the Meijer Performance Center on May 13, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)

Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87) during offseason workouts at the Meijer Performance Center on May 13, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)

Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold (6) during offseason workouts at the Meijer Performance Center on May 13, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)

Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5) and Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (0) during offseason workouts at the Meijer Performance Center on May 13, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)

Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard during offseason workouts at the Meijer Performance Center on May 13, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)

Detroit Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes (55) during offseason workouts at the Meijer Performance Center on May 13, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)

Detroit Lions running backs coach Tashard Choice during offseason workouts at the Meijer Performance Center on May 13, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)

Detroit Lions defensive lineman Nate Lynn (57) during offseason workouts at the Meijer Performance Center on May 13, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)

Detroit Lions defensive lineman Ahmed Hassanein during offseason workouts at the Meijer Performance Center on May 13, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)

Detroit Lions safety Dan Jackson during offseason workouts at the Meijer Performance Center on May 13, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)

Detroit Lions assistant head coach/wide receivers coach Scottie Montgomery and Detroit Lions wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa during offseason workouts at the Meijer Performance Center on May 13, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)

Detroit Lions tight end Brock Wright (89) during offseason workouts at the Meijer Performance Center on May 13, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell during offseason workouts at the Meijer Performance Center on May 13, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)

Detroit Lions offensive lineman Tate Ratledge during offseason workouts at the Meijer Performance Center on May 13, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)

Detroit Lions assistant head coach/wide receivers coach Scottie Montgomery and Detroit Lions wide receiver Kalif Raymond (11) during offseason workouts at the Meijer Performance Center on May 13, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)

Detroit Lions running back Kye Robichaux during offseason workouts at the Meijer Performance Center on May 13, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)

Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5) and Detroit Lions offensive coordinator John Morton during offseason workouts at the Meijer Performance Center on May 13, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)

Detroit Lions wide receiver Jakobie Keeney-James during offseason workouts at the Meijer Performance Center on May 13, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)

Detroit Lions offensive lineman Mason Miller during offseason workouts at the Meijer Performance Center on May 13, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
3. Speaking of Williams, Morton said he's never been around a player with that kind of speed and explosion. Morton thinks Williams is poised for a breakout 2025 season after seeing how attentive he's been in meetings and the attention to detail he's shown. Morton described himself as an 'aggressive' play caller, and he's excited about getting Williams in space and behind defenses in his offense.
4. The Lions held rookie minicamp last week, and Morton was impressed with the low number of mental errors by the rookies on offense. He said it was a rare rookie camp in that regard. That's certainly a good sign for the potential of rookies like Tate Ratledge (IOL), Isaac TeSlaa (WR) and Miles Frazier (IOL) to make early impacts offensively.
5. Morton is well aware of head coach Dan Campbell's fourth-down aggressiveness. He said that's going to be a fun aspect of his job this year. He said Campbell will communicate with him before every week about the fourth-down strategy for that game. When they reach a certain point in the field, his mentality as a play caller has to change a little bit, knowing fourth down is going to be an option.
6. Morton knows he's following a very successful offensive coordinator and play caller in Johnson, who is now the head coach in Chicago. He said it doesn't add any pressure to his job. Don't forget Morton was on the staff in 2022 when this offense was built, and many of the concepts we've been used to seeing the last three years were installed with his help. He's going to paint his own picture of what this offense is going to be in 2025.
7. Morton was in New Orleans as the wide receivers coach in 2016 when Michael Thomas was a rookie. He said they were able to get the most out of Thomas as a youngster (92 receptions for 1,137 yards and nine touchdowns) because they didn't overload him early on. He said they gave him a few route concepts to master and then built on every year. Expect that to be the approach with the rookie TeSlaa. Find some things he really likes to do and is good at, and go to work maximizing those things in his offense early on.
8. When Morton was talking about the explosion and speed that Williams has and how excited he is to unleash that, he also mentioned Gibbs in the same light. He sees both players as similarly explosive and has never had a running back/receiver duo as explosive as the pair. That has to be fun for a new offensive coordinator to come into a situation where there's that much speed and big-play ability at those two spots.
9. For all the talk about the weapons and explosive potential within this offense, Morton was also clear that everything they do offensively has to first start upfront. He's inheriting one of the best offensive lines in football with three Pro Bowl and All-Pro players returning at the two tackle spots and at center. He said the great thing about being a coordinator and play caller with a line like this is it gives him the ability to attack teams in multiple ways.
One week it might be focusing on the ground game. The next week they might ask quarterback Jared Goff to drop back and throw the ball 40-plus times. There are few teams in the NFL that can be equally effective using both strategies because they don't have the O-line talent the Lions have. That hasn't gone unnoticed by Morton.
10. Morton said it was an unbelievable get by Campbell to hire longtime Stanford head coach David Shaw to join the staff as the passing game coordinator. Morton and Shaw are close friends and go back a lot of years being taught offensive football by Jon Gruden in the late 90s and early 2000s with the Oakland Raiders. The two see football the same way, and Morton thinks that's going to be a great relationship to get the absolute most out of the Lions' passing attack.