Getty Lions general manager Brad Holmes on the field during training camp in 2021.
The Detroit Lions are zeroing in on trying to improve themselves this offseason, and when it comes to how they can get that done, the draft and free agency are the two obvious ways the team will help themselves in 2022.
How prepared are the Lions for both periods, though, and how poised are they to be able to have a good start to the offseason? Pro Football Focus recently took a look at identifying this for all NFL teams by looking at draft capitol and cap space and weighting things out, and their exercise found the Lions in very good shape.
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Detroit doesn’t maintain a ton of cap space, but when balanced out with their draft capitol, it boosts their chances of having a great offseason. Recently, PFF writer Arjun Menon took an analytic look at how the Lions stack up this offseason, and it’s obvious they are positioned pretty well. Detroit places in the sixth position when compared with the whole league in terms of the piece’s offseason resource composite table. Between their cap percentile (48%), their draft percentile (83.87%) and their prorated percentile (48.39%), Detroit has an overall offseason score of 83.9.
Obviously, what helps the Lions out the most is having a pair of first-round picks. It will be exceedingly important to see how the team uses them. The Lions also figure to gain a few compensatory picks for last year as well, which could add to their coffers.
All in all, the team has some cash to spend and plenty of picks to use. They’re in great shape heading toward the offseason at this point in time.
Lions’ Updated 2022 Cap Space
After it was revealed that the NFL salary cap would be $208.2 million for 2022, a fresh look at the numbers was provided from Spotrac and Over The Cap courtesy of user Lions Royalty on Twitter. As it shows, the Lions are expected to start with just under $40 million in cap space next offseason.
Detroit, of course, could free up even more cap space with some cuts. There are multiple players who could be on the block for that, including key veteran names such as defensive lineman like Trey Flowers and Nick Williams, or an offensive lineman like Halapoulivaati Vaitai. Vaitai, however, enjoyed a solid bounce-back season in 2021, so he is probably off this list for now.
Overall, this isn’t a bad place for the Lions to start whatsoever when it comes to the money situation.
Lions Offseason Primer for 2022
What will the Lions need to do with the money? For starters, the team will have to think about adding some offensive weapons to the mix. Detroit’s wideout group has lagged behind because of a lack of depth most of all in 2021, so making sure a top-flight wideout comes into the mix via trade or signing to help Jared Goff might be the top priority for the team. From there, the Lions need to think about bolstering the defense. Help could be needed up front and on the back end and potentially at linebacker as well.
In his first offseason, Lions general manager Brad Holmes shied away from big deals, focusing instead on smaller deals to help supplement his roster. Several of those deals have panned out, from names like Kalif Raymond to Charles Harris. The same approach could be expected this offseason, so the Lions might make one bigger splash while choosing to focus on multiple other smaller splashes to help supplement things.
During the draft, the Lions can be expected to want to patch holes that they have not addressed capably in free agency. These include the defensive line, wide receiver and perhaps linebacker, safety and quarterback. The extra first-round pick will give them some wiggle room as it relates to what to do.
Regardless of this, however, the are in great shape heading toward the offseason. It will be important for them to keep the momentum going off late last season and build off it with some quality moves.
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