Pride of Detroit
After a thrilling day of Saturday Wild Card playoff football, the NFL continues on Sunday with a tripleheader of games that can hopefully live up to that hype.
For Detroit Lions fans, though, it’s the offseason, and the team needs to improve if they want to be playing deep into January next year. So as you’re watching Sunday’s games, here are 12 players to keep an eye on, as they are currently heading toward free agency in March.
G/C Connor McGovern (#66) – Arguably the second-best center set to hit the free agent market after Baltimore’s Tyler Linderbaum, McGovern has been the Bills’ starting center for the past two years and hasn’t given up a single sack over that period. He’s also logged starts at both guard positions in the NFL. At 28 years old, he likely won’t be cheap, but he’ll be a relatively long-term solution at either guard or center while also providing some much-needed experience.
LG David Edwards (#76) – If the Lions plan on moving Tate Ratledge to center, Edwards would make a great veteran left guard, allowing Christian Mahogany to move back to right guard (his college position). Edwards is a former Brad Holmes draft pick when he was director of college scouting for the Rams (2019 fifth-round pick), and the Bills guard has built out a nice career since then. His play has been consistently solid but not outstanding, which could mean the 28-year-old could come at a relatively affordable price—he signed a two-year, $6 million extension with the Bills in 2024.
LB Devin Lloyd (#0) – If the Lions aren’t willing to pay Alex Anzalone, I’d be shocked if they’d shell out the cost it would take to sign Lloyd, who is having a career season on the final year of his rookie deal. The 27-year-old linebacker has five interceptions, six tackles for loss, and the third-best PFF grade among all linebackers. If Detroit wants to improve their coverage from their linebackers, Lloyd is the best option, but he will be pricey.
S Andrew Wingard (#42) – Wingard is a quintessential “Dan Campbell guy” who has fought against the odds to work his way into the starting lineup several times over the course of his career despite being labeled as a special teams ace and entering the league as an undrafted player. He’s a menace in the run game, posting an 81.0 PFF grade against the run, and while coverage has been a liability, he did post a career-high nine passes defended this year. He’d be a relatively cheap player to help if Brian Branch’s Achilles injury bleeds into the regular season, and he’d be one of Dave Fipp’s favorite players
RB Brian Robinson (#3) – The Knuckles to Christian McCaffrey’s Sonic, Robinson is coming off his rookie contract looking to...
