Saturday morning, Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia noted there was going to be a significant change in the way the Lions handle captain responsibilities in 2018. Instead of doing week-to-week captain designations—like they did under Jim Caldwell—the Lions will be going with season-long captains this year.

Later that day, the Lions officially announced the seven players that will be representing the team for the next four (or more) months:

#Lions announce 7⃣ captains for the 2018 season.



Don Muhlbach, Matthew Stafford, Marvin Jones Jr., T.J. Lang, Jarrad Davis, Devon Kennard and Glover Quin pic.twitter.com/6TfaWeuimK — Detroit Lions (@Lions) September 8, 2018

Matthew Stafford, Don Muhlbach and Glover Quin aren’t surprising choices. They have been some of the longest-tenured players on the team, and they are all pretty important to their respective units

However, it’s very interesting to see their other choices. They didn’t go with All-Pro Darius Slay, but chose Jarrad Davis and Devon Kennard—two players who will play key roles in 2018, but have yet to prove themselves.

Extremely honored that my teammates voted me to be captain this year! Let’s go this year fellas! — DK (@DevonKennard) September 8, 2018

T.J. Lang makes sense on offense because of his veteran presence among a pretty young offensive line, but Marvin Jones Jr. is a somewhat surprising pick among the skill players. He doesn’t have the experience that Golden Tate does, but he does seem to be growing into a true No. 1 receiver role.

Who they didn’t choose is almost as surprising as those who they did choose. No Slay, no Tate, no Ezekiel Ansah. Tate and Slay are probably the most surprising given their respective locker room status as some of the most boisterous personalities on the team.

What are your thoughts on the Lions’ seven new captains for the 2018 season?