Jared Goff on hype surrounding Lions: ‘I don’t believe there are any favorites to win anything in April’

The Detroit Lions are a team on the rise. They are ones to watch. They have high expectations coming into 2023 and many are expecting them to win their NFC North division this season, but quarterback Jared Goff is not counting his chips before he cashes them.

There is a lot of time left before the Lions play a game that counts this year. Goff addressed the offseason hype, noting that he is confident where his team is now, but says it doesn’t mean it will stay that way.

“I don’t believe there are any favorites to win anything in April. But what do I know?” Goff said (via NFL.com). “A lot can change from now until August or whatever. We like what we’ve done in the offseason and last year, but [there is] plenty of stuff to get better at and work on.”

There is a reason teams play the games and the season is not based on offseason predictions, because the season is never without surprises.

Things are looking good for the Lions’ future, especially with how their division is shaping up this offseason. The Green Bay Packers are set to lose Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets this offseason, the Chicago Bears are in a rebuilding stage and success for the Minnesota Vikings is not a sure bet. 

With so much chatter about the Lions this offseason, they could have a target on their backs, but Goff doesn’t think this is the case. After Detroit missed the playoffs and having a lot of work to do to improve, Goff does not feel that teams should put a spotlight on them.

“I don’t think we have a bullseye,” he said. “We missed the playoffs. Why would we have a bullseye? I mean, we’ve played better. We played better last year and have a lot of work to do still. But yeah, we’re a better team. We’ll get teams’ better shots, maybe. But we certainly have done a lot of things that have improved our chances and hopefully can give us a better chance this year.”

The Lions have the recipe for a great year, coming off a solid 2022 that not only proved they can compete with the rest of the league, but also will give them confidence heading into the next season. They have also added some key pieces to reach the next level, like signing cornerback Cam Sutton, safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson and running back David Montgomery. 

“You see it up top, just the moves they [Lions front office] made in the offseason. It’s slightly more aggressive this year,” Goff said. “This is my third offseason here now, and you can see the aggressiveness in them and it trickles into us. We see everything. We know what’s going on. In a couple weeks, the draft will come and there will be more of that there. But [there is] the aggressiveness of taking our shot and knowing that we have a team that can compete with anybody and really try to go make some noise this year.”

The Lions finished 9-8 after winning eight of their last 10 games, with the final win coming in the regular-season finale against the division-rival Packers to bump them out of the playoffs.