New York Jets’ owner Woody Johnson did his darndest to keep the NFLPA’s annual report card from hitting the internet. He, along with the NFL, even won a ruling where an independent arbitrator agreed that those report cards violate the collective bargaining agreement, ultimately issuing an order to prevent the disclosure of any future report cards.
Less than two weeks later, ESPN secured the grades of all 32 NFL teams in the 2026 report card and made them public on Tuesday. According to data obtained by ESPN, this year’s report cards reflect feedback from 1,759 players, all of whom were on a 2025 roster at the time the survey took place between November 2 and December 11.
This year’s report card is the most comprehensive assessment to date, grading teams in 17 different areas—up from just 11 categories a year ago—and for a third consecutive season, the Detroit Lions improved their ranking amongst the rest of the league. Detroit ranked 15th in the inaugural rankings in 2023, moved up to 13th in 2024, and has now cracked the top 10 in 2025, placing ninth.
Here’s how the Lions fared across the board:
Treatment of Families: B+
Home Game Field: B-
Food/Dining Area: B
Nutritionist/Dietician: A-
Locker Room: A
Training Room: A-
Training Staff: B+
Weight Room: A
Strength Coaches: A
Position Coaches: A-
Offensive Coordinator: C-
Defensive Coordinator: B
Special Teams Coordinator: A
Team Travel: B
Head Coach: A
General Manager: A-
Team Ownership: A
Overall Rank: 9
John Morton, earning a C- as the team’s offensive coordinator, was Detroit’s lowest grade. He has since been replaced by Drew Petzing, who scored a B- in his final season with the Arizona Cardinals. Detroit next lowest grade, a B- for home game field, was actually tied for the 12th-best grade in the NFL. 11 teams graded their head coach as an A or better, including the Lions—and both the Chicago Bears and New York Jets—and only two teams earned higher marks than Detroit for their treatment of families: the Las Vegas Raiders and the Minnesota Vikings.
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