If you've followed the Detroit Lions at any point since the start of the 21st century, you've likely had feelings that can best be described as confusion or pity. If you're a fan of the NFL team in Michigan, these feelings may fall closer to anger or depression.

Dating back to the '00 season, the Lions have finished all but 5 seasons under .500, earning a trip to the postseason on only 3 occasions. During the midst of this timeframe, Detroit joined the '76 Buccaneers and '82 [Baltimore] Colts on the list of teams to end a regular season winless in the Super Bowl era. This was done in 2008, finishing with a 0-16 record under head coach Rod Marinelli.

With all the negativity surrounding the organization, it's easy to dismiss this team before the season even begins. However, things may start turning around in Detroit.

Despite logging only 3 wins last year, the Lions come into 2022 with some serious potential. In order for Detroit to scratch that potential, though, some key players are going to have to step up and play major rolls. That said, let's get into who those players are, and what they need to do.

Lions need these 2 players to step up in 2022

2. Jeff Okudah

The Lions are trusting Okudah to lead the secondary. For that to happen, the former Buckeye has to improve.

Drafted 3rd in the 2020 NFL Draft, the expectations for Okudah were huge out of the gate. To this moment in time, the Lion entering his third-season has been nothing short of disappointing.

During his rookie year, Odukah gave up a completion percentage of 77.4%, with an opposing quarterback rating of 118.0. The Lions' cornerback missed week-1 of his rookie campaign, but saw his first action in the NFL the following week. After playing in 10 consecutive contests, the third-overall pick missed the rest of the season following surgery.

The next year, in 2021, Odukah ruptured his Achilles tendon, effectively ending his season 48 snaps in. During this one game, there was little improvement – In fact, the opposite. The Ohio State alum allowed 75% of passes his way to be completed, with an opposing quarterback rating of 156.2. To really get a grasp of this number, a perfect quarterback rating is 158.3; 2.1 shy of Okudah's logged rating.

While diving into these horrific percentages, you might've noticed an arguably bigger problem: Okudah has appeared in only 11 contests during his two-year career, missing a total of 22 games. What this means is, for every one game Okudah suits up for, he misses two.

It's not just that the 23-year-old has to perform better, but he has to be on the field more. The Lions' secondary ranked 30th last season without Okudah, and dead last when he totaled 460 defensive snaps in 2020. There's still hope for for former OSU stud, but things have to change, and they have to change now – For both his, and Detroit's sake.

1. Jared Goff

It seems fairly obvious that the quarterback needs to step up for a team to have the best chances of succeeding, but for Goff and the Lions, this rings especially true.

Goff was Detroit's QB1 last season, leading the Lions to a 3-13-1 record. While Goff made his fair share of questionable throws in '21, he wasn't Detroit's only problem offensively.

One major setback for the Lions last year was when Tyrell Williams, the team's WR1, suffered a season-ending injury on the opening week. While the receiver duo of Kalif Raymond and Quintez Cephus stepped up, there was no real star power from the unit. Eventually, at the latter half of the year, Amon-Ra St. Brown rose to a full-time starter, and things changed.

St. Brown earned his spot as a full-time starter after 10 contests, where Detroit recorded a 0-9-1 record. Now a staple in the lineup, St. Brown and the Lions finished their remaining 7 matchups with a record of 3-4; A massive improvement from the winless start 11-weeks into the season.

The introduction of St. Brown aside, the receiver room in Detroit took a complete 180 this off-season. After signing Pro Bowl wideout DJ Chark to a 1-year deal worth upwards of $10M, the Lions  entered the 2022 NFL Draft, waiting to strike. The team took Aidan Hutchinson with the second-overall pick, who many titled the best player in the '22 draft. Still, Detroit wasn't satisfied yet, as they waited to make their move.

Then, it happened.

Minnesota made a trade with their divisional rivals in Michigan, putting the Lions on the clock with the 12th-overall pick. With this pick, Detroit welcomed Alabama's stud wideout, Jameson Williams, to the team.

With a completely revamped receiver unit, in addition to Pro Bowler T.J. Hockenson playing tight end and young stud D'Andre Swift at running back, Goff should have all the help he needs to succeed. To take it a step further, the Lions offensive line ranked no.13 last season, per PFF, and retained all its starters.

The pieces around Goff are now there, and that's been made evident. However, what we haven't touched on is why it's especially important for Goff to step up.

Detroit's QB1 in 2022 will be Jared Goff, to start the season at the very least. The problem lies in Goff's backups; The Lions' QB2 and QB3.

Tim Boyle is the QB2 in Detroit, and if you're a Lions fan, the thought of Boyle taking over should scare you. As is, Boyle started in three contests last season, losing all three matchups. Detroit's backup quarterback finished the season throwing 3 touchdowns and 6 interceptions, also logging a fumble.

His 63.5 quarterback rating was nothing to hang on the fridge, either.

Behind Boyle is David Blough, who's thrown 4 touchdowns and 7 interceptions throughout his three-year career. Blough recorded a quarterback rating of 64.0 in 2019, dropping to an embarrassing 32.9 the following year. For perspective, if you were to throw the ball into the ground on every throw, you'd get a quarterback rating of 39.6 – Virtually 5 higher than Blough in 2020.

Needless to say, if Goff doesn't step up in 2022, the Lions can kiss their season goodbye. Again.