Week 1 of the regular season is upon us and with that comes the selection of this year's Detroit Lions captains.
Detroit announced quarterback Jared Goff, left tackle Penei Sewell and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown as the offensive captains.
Goff is a sixth-year Lions captain who led the NFL's No. 4 scoring offense, No. 5 total offense and No. 3 passing attack last season while ranking second in passing yards (4,564), second in passing touchdowns (34), third in passer rating (105.5) and fifth in completion percentage (68.0).
Through the first five seasons of a player's Lions career, St. Brown ranks first in receptions (547), receiving yards (6,252) and 100-yard games (24) and is also second in receiving touchdowns (44). He arguably had the best training camp of his career over the last month. This is St. Brown's fourth year in a row serving as a team captain.
It's also Sewell's fourth year as a captain. He earned his fourth Pro Bowl and third straight All-Pro nod last season after allowing just one sack in 16 starts. He moves over from right tackle to left tackle this season to be Goff's blind side protector.
On defense, linebacker Jack Campbell, edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson and defensive lineman Alim McNeill were named captains. Both Campbell and McNeill are first-year captains.
Campbell earned his first All-Pro nod last year. He's the prototypical MIKE linebacker who handles the green dot for the defense. He was second in the NFL with 176 tackles last season. Campbell was the only NFL player to produce at least 165 tackles, 5.0 sacks and three forced fumbles last season.
McNeill had a terrific training camp, and looks back to his explosive and productive self again now more than a year and a half removed from ACL surgery. He has recorded 9.5 sacks, 30 quarterback hits and 15 tackles for loss over his last 37 games the last three seasons.
Hutchinson is serving his third season as a team captain. He ranked top five in the NFL last season in total pressures (100), QB hits (35), sacks (14.5), hurries (64) and forced fumbles (4).
Seventh-year punter Jack Fox is the captain on special teams. Fox continues to be one of the top punters in the NFL. He has the highest gross (48.4) and net (43.1) punting average in team history, and ranked seventh in the NFL last season pinning opponents inside their own 20-yard line. This is his first year representing the Lions as a captain.
