Lions Focus on Offense Will Be Becoming 'More Explosive'

Assistant wide receivers coach Seth Ryan explained how the team is focusing on being more explosive on offense.

The Detroit Lions' offense has a solid shot at being more explosive and fun to watch than it was a season ago. 

The sentiment has been echoed by a variety of fans and pundits throughout the course of the offseason, and it most recently was by Lions assistant wide receivers coach Seth Ryan. 

"I think this offense will be a lot more fun to watch," Ryan told Tim Twentyman on the latest edition of the "Twentyman in the Huddle" podcast. "I think we're going to use our guys to their best abilities, what they do best, what are the routes that these guys run best, and use them that way." 

It's expected that Detroit's receivers room will take a step forward in production in 2022, equipped with new pass-catchers DJ Chark and Jameson Williams. 

To Ryan, it should translate to the Lions' offense being "more explosive" than it was a season ago. 

"I think this can be a lot more explosive offense than last year," Ryan expressed. "A lot of the stuff that we were doing, we weren't taking downfield chances. One of our focuses under (new Lions offensive coordinator) Ben (Johnson) this offseason is we've got to be more explosive. We've got to be more explosive if we want to be a top-10 offense. You know, that's what we want to be. Every team in the NFL wants to be in the top five, top 10. You know, I think we have that chance." 

If the Ryan last name sounds familiar, it should. The Ryan family is one of the "first families" in NFL coaching circles, and Seth Ryan, in fact, is the son of former longtime Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator and ex-N.Y. Jets/Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan.

Subsequently, to no surprise, Seth, who played collegiately at Clemson under Dabo Swinney, grew up living and breathing football. 

"To me, it's the only thing I know. So, this (coaching in the NFL) is normal to me," Ryan said. "That's not normal to a lot of other people. But, I grew up on the sidelines. I went to my dad's practices all the time. When I was a kid, I was running around as a ball boy for (former Ravens kicker) Matt Stover, (former Ravens punter) Sam Cook when he was a rookie. So, I've just been around, and it comes with a little bit of pressure, because you had to, when you're growing up, everyone expects you to be that guy in football, all that kind of stuff. You're supposed to be the smartest one and all this. So, it added a little bit of pressure. But, to me, I expected to be here. So, this is just what I expected to be, and it's all I know." 

Ryan joined the Lions' coaching staff as the team's assistant receivers coach a season ago, after spending four seasons (2017-20) with the Los Angeles Chargers. He first served as a coaching intern from 2017-18, before moving on to the role of an offensive quality control coach from 2019-20.

Ryan expressed to Twentyman that he believes Detroit laid "the foundation" for a solid offense toward the end of the '21 campaign, and now the unit, led by quarterback Jared Goff, has to pick up where it left off. 

If the Lions are able to carry over the momentum from last season into the upcoming one, the team's improved and much deeper receivers room will play a large part. 

Ryan views the group as being a "complementary" bunch heading into the start of training camp later this month. 

"This is a very complementary room," Ryan expressed. "DJ (Chark), he's got size and speed. Josh (Reynolds) is very fluid, and has some size. (Amon-Ra) St. Brown, I think, is one of the best slots in the league. He's tough, he's physical. Lif (Kalif Raymond), he can do a lot of the deep threat stuff right now, while Jameson (Williams) is hurt. And, he's a real savvy route-runner. And then you have Jameson Williams, whom we haven't seen yet really in the NFL. But, from the scouts' room, is extremely explosive. Tom Kennedy is a veteran slot receiver. Q (Quintez Cephus) is a tough, physical possession receiver. TB (Trinity Benson) has some speed. Every single guy has a certain role that goes in this offense, which makes it very tough for the coaches to make sure we get all these guys the football, because they've all earned it and are doing everything we're asking."