Even though the Lions aren't one of the two teams gearing up to play in Super Bowl LII, there's still reason to pay attention to the news coming out of Minneapolis.
From commissioner Roger Goodell's press conference, to former players and analysts on Radio Row, the Lions came up more than once.
Former Lions WRs Herman Moore and Nate Burleson had high praise for Detroit's wide receivers. Moore commended Marvin Jones Jr. and Golden Tate for their 1,000-yard receiving seasons.
View photos of the Detroit Lions wide receivers in 2017.
"It gives you balance with your quarterback because he knows he has options," Moore told detroitlions.com this week. "We had that same rapport with myself and Brett Perriman with Scott Mitchell, because you feel like you can pick a side and win and you don't have to worry about, 'when I get in trouble I need to go to one specific guy.'
"It provides a level of confidence throughout the playing field for a guy like (Matthew) Stafford that will allow him to not have to make ill-advised decisions on where to put the football because he feels stressed."
Add Kenny Gollday, who showed promise as a rookie, into the mix, and the Lions could have a very potent passing attack in 2018.
"It's the perfect position to be in," Burleson said of Golladay. "You have two guys ahead of you that are taking all the attention and teams are game planning for. Golladay can go in and really shock the world if he can just stay healthy, be patient, take advantage, don't rock the boat."
Tate was on hand in Minneapolis this week, and when he spoke to reporters, he confirmed he believes this team is ready to compete.
"I get real jealous in the postseason when I'm looking at these other teams play that we had beaten and should beat," he said. "It's time to win now and that's the plan.
"The good thing is we have a great, great foundation. We have great players. We have what we need. We just need to put it all together."
OTHER NOTEWORTHY ITEMS:
- Mock Draft watch: Tim Twentyman takes a look at who the experts have the Lions selecting with the 20th overall pick.
- This week's Monday Countdown analyzes how teams fared with the 20th overall draft pick in the last 10 years.
- Read why former NFL linebacker Tedy Bruschi says not to worry about linebacker Jarrad Davis' cover skills.
- View the best candid Lions photos from the 2017 season.
