3 hottest Detroit Lions takes coming out of 2025 minicamp

The Detroit Lions will enter the 2025 NFL season on a mission. Detroit won 15 games in 2024 and secured the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. Unfortunately, they had a dud in the first round of the playoffs and lost to the Commanders in ugly fashion. Now the Lions will be in “Super Bowl or bust” mode heading into the fall.

Detroit has attacked the 2025 offseason with this in mind.

The Lions made a ton of moves during NFL free agency, including re-signing several of their own players like Derrick Barnes. They also made some external hires, most notably bringing in cornerback DJ Reed to replace Carlton Davis III.

Detroit also brought in a talented crop of rookies in the 2025 NFL Draft, including first-rounder Tyleik Williams.

Detroit’s coaching staff has already gotten a chance to look at their new players during rookie minicamp, OTAs, and mandatory minicamp.

Now that training camp is just a month away, it is the perfect time to make some bold predictions about the upcoming season. Especially now that the team is unlikely to make any more big moves before the fall.

Below we will explore three Lions hot takes for the 2025 season following the conclusion of minicamp.

Jameson Williams will have breakout season, catch 10+ touchdown passes

In one sense, Jameson Williams already had his breakout season.

Williams logged 58 receptions for 1,001 yards and seven touchdowns during the 2024 season. This was a huge leap forward for the young speedster, who has dealt with injury and off-field issues during his first two seasons in the NFL.

Now Detroit feels like they can trust Williams with anything they can throw at him (literally). Lions head coach Dan Campbell believes that Williams could be in store for a “huge season” in 2025.

“There’s so much versatility with [Jameson Williams],” Campbell said after an OTA practice session. “He’s gotten so much stronger… He’s exactly where we want him to be right now. He’s been here, he’s grinding, he’s getting better. We expect him to have a huge season. He’s going to be one of those guys that we’re going to lean on this year. All he’s gotta do is keep working like he’s working.”

The Lions clearly plan to lean on Williams more than they have in the past.

So what would another step forward for Jamo look like?

In my opinion, Williams simply needs to score more touchdowns. The threat of his speed alone is enough to keep defenses honest. But if the Lions lean even more into his speed, they could terrify opposing defenses.

I believe that Williams will score more than 10 touchdowns in 2025 and post career highs in all statistical categories.

Aidan Hutchinson picks up where he left off, logs at least 20 sacks in 2025

It is hard not to imagine what could have been for Hutchinson during the 2024 season if he hadn’t gotten hurt.

Hutchinson was playing at an MVP level last fall, posting seven-and-a-half sacks through his first five games. Unfortunately, he suffered a gruesome injury that Lions fans are all too familiar with.

Hutch has been hard at work rehabbing his leg and is on pace to return for Week 1 of the 2025 season.

If Hutchinson truly is back to normal, then I think he will pick up right where he left off from last year.

I am predicting that Hutch will post at least 20 sacks in 2025. If that sounds like a bold prediction, that’s because it is. Hutchinson would join an elite group of 10 pass rusher in NFL history who have logged 20+ sacks in a single season.

When looking back at his production from last season, it is not too far-fetched to imagine Hutchinson making this happen.

If you stretch his production out to a 17-game sample size, Hutchinson was on pace for 25.5 sacks last year.

I don’t think Hutch will have that good of a season, but I would be shocked if he did not get extremely close to 20 sacks.

Lions remain on of the NFL’s best offenses, win the NFC North

One popular narrative this offseason has been the regression of the Detroit Lions.

While it might be a tropey take, there is some compelling evidence that the Lions could take a step back during the 2025 season.

The Lions lost both of their coordinators, Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, to head coaching jobs this offseason. Johnson and Glenn were incredibly important figures on Dan Campbell’s coaching staff. As a result, it is reasonable to assume a new coordinator will need time before they can produce similar results.

Beyond this, the Lions will also be without star center Frank Ragnow, who surprisingly retired from the NFL earlier in June. Ragnow was an important piece of Detroit’s offensive line, one of the team’s superpowers.

But there is still hope.

Detroit still has plenty of the pieces that made them the league’s top scoring offense one year ago. Jared Goff is still at quarterback. Gibbs and Montgomery should be better than ever. Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta are still excellent weapons. And we’ve already sung Jameson Williams’ praises in this article.

The Lions’ offense could look a little different under new OC John Morton. But different is not always bad.

I could see Morton unlocking Detroit’s vertical passing game, opening up an element an offense that was rarely exploited during Johnson’s tenure.

Ultimately, I believe the Lions will still have a top-five offense in the NFL this season. Technically that is regression, but not in an overblown way.

If the Lions can get some solid play from their defense this year, watch out.