Both Jason and Travis Kelce are impressed at what the Detroit Lions are doing overall, in free agency, and think they got a “steal” in C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

This week has been a whirlwind for Detroit Lions fans. National analysts are waiting in line to praise everything the Lions have done since November. Whether it is the team’s 8-2 run to finish the season, the nationally-televised gutsy win over the Packers in the season finale, or their calculated aggression in free agency, Lions fever is sweeping the nation.

Hearing it from analysts and pundits is one thing. Hearing it from players still in the league is a completely different beast. Detroit has long been a team that has not been feared or respected by their peers, but it appears even that is starting to change.

On their highly entertaining “New Heights” podcast, brothers Jason and Travis Kelce recapped the first week of free agency, and the Lions came up when Jason was talking about the Eagles losing cornerback C.J. Gardner-Johnson to Detroit.

The Lions signed Gardner-Johnson to a one-year, $6.5 million deal that is reportedly worth up to $8 million with incentives. Jason thinks the Lions got away with a heck of a deal.

“I know that C.J. is worth a lot more than $8 million a year as a player,” Jason said. “Dude’s a baller.”

After that, though, the conversation quickly turned to how good of a situation Gardner-Johnson will be stepping into.

“He’s a great football player, and he’s going up into Detroit where they’ve got a great team, a defense that flies around,” Travis added. “He’s not going into a bad scenario.”

“No, he’s going into a great scenario,” Jason concurred. “They got better this offseason. Detroit was really, really good at the end of the year. They finished on a pretty dang good note. I think there’s a very bright future up there in Detroit, and you guys just got an unbelievable player there for a steal, if you just look at his playing ability. No question about it.”

That’s high praise from two All-Pro players. To see the Lions get that sort of recognition and respect from peers truly shows we’ve entered uncharted territories with this franchise right now.

You can watch the clip below. The conversation on the Lions and Gardner-Johnson begins at the 26:25 mark: