The Detroit News ranks the top 25 Lions in value for 2018

Go through the gallery to see how Justin Rogers ranks the top 25 Lions in terms of value for the 2018 season. (Go here if you have trouble viewing the gallery.)

Allen Park — A professional athlete’s value is determined by some combination of production, his contributions to team success and the difficulty he would be to replace in the lineup.

Of all the major sports in North America, football is the one where individual talent is most de-emphasized for the concept of team. Given the amount of injuries that accumulate during the course of the average NFL season, a successful team must be able to count on a number of backups to step up in place of starters with minimal drop-off in performance.

Still, some positions are more valuable than others, and some players have talent or a role-specific skill set that is difficult to replace.

The Detroit Lions, under general manager Bob Quinn, have placed an emphasis on versatility. This strategy is designed to lessen the blows of injury-related lineup losses. But if the team is to have success in 2018, to capture its first NFC North crown since the division’s inception, and bring the first playoff game to Ford Field in the stadium’s history, we’ve ranked the top 25 players to achieving those goals.  

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

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