Pride of Detroit
As the Lions turn their attention toward the offseason, here are their four biggest positions of need—ranked.
Each offseason has a distinct feeling, and that’s been especially true since Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes assumed their respective roles with the Detroit Lions in the 2021 offseason.
That initial offseason was the one where they traded the franchise’s most prolific quarterback, Matthew Stafford, tearing the roster down to its studs and starting from square one. The second offseason was when Holmes had the draft resources to get aggressive. With the No. 2 overall pick. he could make a play for not only one of the draft’s top pass rushers in Aidan Hutchinson, but also move up for arguably the draft’s best receiver, Jameson Williams, at a grab-n-stash discount because of his injury in the National Championship game. The next offseason, it was another year of flexibility in the draft, moving all over the board to find difference makers like Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta, and Brian Branch, but we also saw Holmes get his most aggressive in free agency, attempting to bolster the secondary with the likes of Cam Sutton, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Emmanuel Moseley. Holmes continued to maneuver his way around the draft board the next offseason, but took his second swing at revamping the secondary after striking out last spring—this time in a much more youthful approach by drafting Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw with his first two picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, bringing in Amik Robertson through free agency, and making a trade for a proven No. 1 corner in Carlton Davis.
And for yet another offseason, it’s a different feeling. Detroit is trying to pick up the pieces after an all-too-early exit in the Divisional Round, and that includes rebuilding both the roster and the coaching staff. For more on the coaching staff, check out Erik Schlitt’s breakdowns of potential candidates for both offensive and defensive coordinator.
Over here it’s about the roster, though. Here’s to a third time being the charm for Detroit figuring out the cornerback position. However, instead of having to completely reimagine it, they have a group of familiar faces—but what are their places? How about the defensive line? Who’s lining up opposite Aidan Hutchinson? Is Brodric Martin going to play at all? On the other side of the ball, what’s the plan for the interior of Detroit’s offensive line?
The Lions have some glaring needs this offseason beyond just shoring up the depth at various positions, but here are the four biggest positions of need for Detroit ahead of the offseason—ranked.
It feels like it’s about that time for Holmes to heavily reinvest in the defensive line. Levi Onwuzurike is a pending free agent, and it’s hard to see him returning on the kind of deal that would work for Detroit considering what a team might be willing to offer him in free agency. He had some great games in his third season removed from the University...
