Getty Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell walk on the field during Lions training camp in 2021.
The Detroit Lions finished off a wildly successful 2022 season, and as their focus shifts to the offseason, the planning will begin as it relates to how to make improvements.
How aggressive will the team be when the offseason gets underway? Many believe the team could be poised to pounce as they take a look at the offseason as a whole, and see the future as bright in Detroit given plenty of resources and opportunity to improve.
Bleacher Report has begun to take a look at the offseason, and have the Lions as potentially one of the five most active teams in trade talks when the offseason gets underway. Gary Davenport put together the list, and had the Lions as a key team to watch.
As Davenport writes, the reason could be as simple as having a now steady Jared Goff around at quarterback and plenty of cap space at their disposal to help get Goff more talent.
“The future is bright for these Lions. That’s in part because, after what has been arguably the best season of his career, Goff appears to be more than just a temporary answer at quarterback in Motown. It’s in part because the team has over $27 million in cap space and could generate more with an extension for Goff this offseason,” Davenport said in the piece.
Another reason Davenport sees the Lions in the mix for possible trades? The fact that they have plenty of draft picks next year, with four in the first two rounds of the 2023 draft.
“And it’s in part because the Lions (like the aforementioned Seahawks) have a high draft pick from a team that cratered in 2022—in this case the Rams’ (currently) sixth overall pick. Detroit also has an extra second-rounder from Minnesota as part of the T.J. Hockenson deal,” he wrote.
Certainly, in the right situation, the Lions could pounce and offer some picks for proven NFL talent. Brad Holmes has said before that he is committed to building things his way, which seems to involve stockpiling young talent, so the limits of this notion might be stretched a bit.
Regardless, when the offseason gets going, it will be important to watch the Lions when trade talks start happening.
Positions Lions Could Target Within Trades
Detroit has a lot of heavy lifting to do this offseason, and could see the majority of help needed on the defensive side of the ball relative to their struggles there.
The Lions finished 32nd in total defense this past season, and struggled against both the run and the pass. Against the run, they finished 29th with a total of 2,491 yards allowed and 22 touchdowns.
With this in mind, getting help along the defensive line and specifically at defensive tackle would be a good idea for Detroit. Any available defensive tackles in the trade market are sure to generate interest from the team given needs for upgrades there. That’s similar at linebacker given their role against the run.
In the secondary, cornerback could be on the menu for the Lions due to the fact that the team finished 30th in the league in pass defense, allowing 4,179 yards through the air. Any available cornerbacks are sure to attract interest from the team as a result of this.
Offensively, there will be some question what happens at running back with D’Andre Swift. Detroit would seemingly have enough at wide receiver, but it’s possible they could look at another addition there, too.
Lions’ 2023 Offseason Primer
The Lions are going to have a lot to do this offseason, and are going to have some heavy lifting to do on both sides of the ball to improve upon a season which saw them fall just short of the postseason.
As it stands now, the Lions have a top 12 cap space total for 2023 already according to Spotrac, who had the team at around $18 million under the cap this offseason. It could certainly grow with more cuts and trades coming down the pipe, and there’s sure to be action as there is in any offseason.
It could be expected that the Lions use the majority of their assets during the draft to add young talent. It served them well with the 2022 class, which is grading out one of the best in the league.
Between free agency and the draft, the Lions will have plenty of opportunity to help their team. It’s wise for fans not to forget the trade market as well when it comes into focus.