Detroit Lions

John Morton Finally Has All the Toys He Could Ever Want In Detroit

Oct 20, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (26) reacts with wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) after running for an 8 yard touchdown during the second quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

By Shane Mickle on February 1, 2025


The Detroit Lions knew replacing an offensive coordinator like Ben Johnson was going to be tough, but now that they have found their guy in John Morton, there should be some excitement about how he’s going to continue to drive this Lions squad.

Now, let’s not beat around the bush: Johnson is one of the brightest minds in all of football, and it’s unreasonable to think the offense won’t skip a beat. There are going to be new concepts, and it might take some time for everything to mesh. Still, Morton has shown enough during his coaching career — a lot of times with underwhelming talent — that he can get the best out of his players. 

Morton was hired from his role as passing game coordinator for the Denver Broncos, and he was a huge reason that Bo Nix was able to find so much success in 2024. Scouts were mixed about Nix’s potential coming out of the draft, but under Morton and Sean Payton, the rookie was able to pass for 3,375 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.

What Nix was able to accomplish was impressive at face value, but when you consider the type of weapons Nix had at his disposal, Morton’s work is even more stunning. Sure, Courtland Sutton is a top-tier wide receiver who is underrated from being on an underwhelming team, but outside of him, the talent was lacking. Marvin Mims hasn’t quite lived up to expectations after being drafted in the second round of the 2023 draft, and although he came on a bit late in the 2024 season, he still only finished with 505 yards total. Their top tight end, Adam Trautman, only caught 13 passes all season. Despite all this, Denver finished the season ranked 10th in points per game (25.0).

Something tells us that Morton is drooling over getting to work with a group like Detroit’s offense. On paper, the Lions are better situated at quarterback, with Jared Goff finishing 2024 with 4,629 yards, 37 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. 

While the Broncos had Sutton and Mims, the Lions have Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, one of the top wide receiver duos in the NFL. The Lions had four players who had more receiving yards than Mims, including running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who finished with 517 yards and four touchdowns. Heck, Gibbs’ receiving yards alone would have put him fifth on the Broncos in terms of yards from scrimmage, and just around 60 yards shy of third place. Tim Patrick and Kalif Raymond were afterthoughts in the Lions’ offense, but each could have competed for WR2 in Denver.

One thing that made Johnson so impressive in Detroit was the way he schemed players open, and just taking a quick peek at some of the plays Morton had his hands in, that should be a major strength of his, as well. Lions fans should be licking their chops.

Especially around the goal line, he did an excellent job of running play-action with Nix to spring wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs wide open. The Lions scored a touchdown on 68.0% percent of their red zone possessions in 2024, which was third-best in the NFL. There shouldn’t be a concern about that number falling off too much, even without Johnson calling the plays. 

Morton also has experience working with Goff and some of the other key players of the Lions’ offense, as he was an offensive analyst with the organization back in 2022. He already understands the players well, and the offense is expected to be similar, with just his own little wrinkles. 

“The system was kind of built from the ground up, and it was to help [Goff] and for him to be a part of,” Campbell said. “And so, yeah, that’s huge, he’ll have a lot of input. What he says is going to [say] a lot to me. Now, is it going to be the ultimate decision? No, it’s not, but what he says is going to mean a lot to me.”

If Morton was able to help lead the Broncos to so much success this season despite a lack of talent, Lions fans should be excited about how the offense will continue to progress forward with Morton.  There are a ton of question marks about the Lions after a disappointing exit in the playoffs, but fans should be excited because at least the offense shouldn’t take a significant step back heading into 2025.


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