Getty Kyler Fackrell rushes David Blough.
The Detroit Lions fight the Green Bay Packers in one of football’s best rivalries, and through the years, the teams haven’t made a habit of swapping that many players.
In Detroit, T.J. Lang and Bill Schroeder are a few notable exceptions to this rule, but the fact that those cases might not have worked out so well should hardly prevent the Lions from trying to look Green Bay’s way to snatch a few more players, especially in 2020.
With a decent crop of free agents, who should the Lions look to swipe from the Packers? Here’s some names that could make sense if the team wants to convert a few from one side of Lake Michigan to the other.
Blake Martinez, Packers Linebacker
Martinez has been rock solid since the Packers picked him up in the draft and developed him into a steady linebacker. Martinez has become a tackling machine at the next level, piling up 512 so far in his short career. The Lions have been lacking at linebacker and pilfering someone like Martinez for their own team would be a huge win at this point in time. Biggest here would be his subtraction from the Green Bay group, who has gotten better in recent years with his addition.
Kyler Fackrell, Packers Linebacker
With 16.5 career sacks, Fackrell has been a solid pass rusher at linebacker and the type of combo player the Lions could use within their defense. Detroit’s linebacker group lacks depth and they lack players who can make the type of impact Fackrell does on the field. Stealing him and getting him to Detroit would be a major win for a Lions team that needs to rush the passer much better and pressure the pocket.
Geronimo Allison, Packers Wide Receiver
Allison has been helped into becoming a star player by Aaron Rodgers, but getting him away from Rodgers and to Detroit would be very interesting. Allison would be a nice complementary receiver for the Lions who could stretch the field and give Matthew Stafford another big bodied weapon to move the ball down the field. The Lions would love to take Allison away simply to eliminate a weapon from Rodgers, as he has developed the wideout and done a decent job getting him to become a solid player.
Brian Bulaga, Packers Offensive Tackle
The Lions have struggled with continuity at tackle for years. They have decisions to make with regards to Taylor Decker and Rick Wagner. If the team decided to move on from Wagner in the hopes of addressing the position either in free agency or the draft, someone like Bulaga would make sense. He’s aging a bit, but is still one of the better tackles in football when he is on.
Allen Lazard, Packers Wide Receiver
Lazard is an exclusive rights free agent, so file this under the long shot category given how much the Packers seem to have relied on the wideout in key moments. Like Allison, Lazard has given Green Bay some good depth at the receiver spot, and that’s what the Lions might need most of all, especially young depth. Lazard could provide this in a big way for the team if he did make it to free agency. The expectation is he won’t, but if he did, the Lions should know enough about Lazard to give him a look for their group.
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