2022 Detroit Lions Awards: Offensive Player of the Year

Which Detroit Lions player was their best offensive weapon in 2022?

The Detroit Lions offense was electric in 2022. They scored 453 points, the second most in franchise history, and they finished the season ranked fifth in offensive DVOA.

Of course, when an offense is firing on all cylinders like that, there are several reasons for it. The offensive coordinator deserves a share of the praise. The quarterback will always get a huge chunk of recognition. As will will the offensive line and certain playmakers.

For the Lions, there are plenty of players who seemed to be key to Detroit’s success on offense, making this year’s Offensive Player of the Year a tricky award to hand out.

Here’s a look at our nominees for the award. Make sure you vote in the poll at the bottom to decide the winner.

Previously:

• Breakout Player of the Year
• Special Teams Player of the Year
• Rookie of the Year
• Coach of the Year
• Game of the Year

Alex Reno

Amon-Ra St. Brown

This is a tough one for me and I think there are a few options to choose from. You could make a case for Goff, St. Brown or maybe Jamaal Williams, but if you ask me, no player on the Lions offense had a better year than St. Brown. After a stellar rookie season, he set out to have an even better sophomore year catching 106 passes (seventh in the NFL) for 1,161 receiving yards (11th). Pro Football Focus had St. Brown as the No. 2 graded receiver in the NFL behind only Tyreek Hill. I believe that St. Brown was robbed of his first ever All-Pro selection this year, but that’s okay, he’ll get it next year.

Mike Payton

Jared Goff

Jared Goff balled out this season. He was sixth in passing yards, fifth in passing touchdowns, seventh in yards per attempt, seventh in rating and so on and so forth. Plus he didn’t turn the ball over for nine straight games.The Lions just don’t perform as well if Goff doesn’t step up the way that he did. He earned the job as the Lions quarterback of the future.

Erik Schlitt

Penei Sewell

On a down-to-down basis, Sewell is an impressive technician. But every time he gets out in space, it’s a buckle your seatbelt moment. Sewell moves in ways 335-pound men should not be able to move, and if a defender gets in his way, get ready for him to get relocated without prejudice. His contributions as a pass catcher add another element to his game that surely keeps defenders awake at night.

Sewell entered the league with as much promise as anyone in his draft class. A potential generational talent. Now, after two seasons in Detroit, he already looks like one of the top offensive tackles in the game. And he’s only 22 years old.

Morgan Cannon

Jared Goff

The talent has always been there with Goff, but it seems like he got over some mental hurdles in 2022. He took better care of the football, took less unnecessary sacks, and pushed the ball down the field with more authority than he ever did during the 2021 season.

Ryan Mathews

Jared Goff

He played some of the best football in his career and helped lead this offense to a place where, before the season, I could have only described as “the best possible scenario if everything plays out just right.” Goff’s even-keeled performance helped this team exceed its expectations, and his mistake-free football down the stretch kept this team playing for something into January for the first time in almost a decade.

Jeremy Reisman

Jared Goff

Short of maybe Penei Sewell and Frank Ragnow, no player on offense finished better at their respective position on offense than Jared Goff. He finished sixth in yards, sixth in yards per attempt, seventh in passer rating and fifth in QBR. And because his position matters more than Sewell and Ragnow, he gets the nod.

One of my biggest concerns about Goff was whether he was the type of quarterback you could trust with the ball in his hands late in the game, needing to score. Well, three game-winning, fourth-quarter comeback drives in 2022 certainly helped shut me up.

Hamza Baccouche

Amon-Ra St. Brown

He’s not flashy, and I’m afraid we’ve gotten so used to how good he is to give it its due credit. However, this offense starts and ends with him. He truly can do it all, whether it’s catch-and-run, contested catches, or anything in between. The only thing missing this year was his Deebo Samuel-esque snaps out of the backfield that we saw late in 2021. This offense doesn’t do nearly what it did in 2022 without St. Brown being the consistent, reliable target that he is.

John Whiticar

Amon-Ra St. Brown

There are so many directions I could go with this pick. Yet the player that stood out on a weekly basis was Amon-Ra St. Brown. His rookie season was stellar to begin with, but he has cemented himself as an elite wide receiver in the NFL. He is one of the most reliable receivers out there, a safety blanket that can do damage every time he touches the ball. He isn’t a byproduct of volume either – on a talented Lions offense, he is the guy consistently making plays. The one criticism of his season was the lack of deep balls, yet with the production we got, can you really complain? If St. Brown can get you 8 or so yards a play, why wouldn’t you take advantage?