Golden Tate has exceeded expectations on his five-year, $31 million deal with the Lions and is entering his walk year.

Full List of Essential 50

50. Drew Brees

49. Larry Fitzgerald

48. DeForest Buckner

47. Adam Thielen

46. Eric Berry

45. Corey Davis

44. Ali Marpet

43. Sam Darnold

42. Golden Tate

41. Geno Atkins

40. Mitchell Trubisky

39. C.J. Mosley

38. Jameis Winston

37. Landon Collins

36. Vic Beasley Jr.

35. Ryan Tannehill

34. Amari Cooper 

33. Malcolm Jenkins

32. Christian McCaffrey

31. LeSean McCoy

30. Patrick Mahomes

29. Bradley Roby

28. Dalvin Cook

27. DeMarcus Lawrence

26. Russell Wilson

25. Cam Newton

24. Joey Bosa

23. Alex Smith

22. Alvin Kamara

21. Jadeveon Clowney

20. Jarvis Landry

19. David Johnson

18. Ezekiel Elliott 

17. Khalil Mack

16. Myles Garrett

15. Deshaun Watson

14. Carson Wentz

13. Todd Gurley

12. Rob Gronkowski

11. Jalen Ramsey

10. Aaron Rodgers

9. Earl Thomas

8. Aaron Donald

7. Odell Beckham Jr.

6. Ryan Shazier

5. Tom Brady

4. Julio Jones

3. Andrew Luck

2. Jimmy Garoppolo

1. Le'Veon Bell

Beyond strictly looking at wins and losses, DVOA by Football Outsiders gives a clear picture of team performance.

The following Infographic shows the past 10 years of DVOA rankings (2008-2017) for the Detroit Lions.

Following their 0-16 season in 2008 and 2-14 in 2009, the Lions have firmly been a middle of the pack team, reaching the playoffs three times, even in 2016 when they ranked 27th in DVOA.

Ten-Year DVOA Rankings: Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, New York Jets, Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins