The Detroit Lions will clearly need to lean on the offense most of the year if they hope to be competitive through December and into January, but picking up at least one more playmaking defender feels crucial if the team hopes to meet its ceiling.
A handful of options could come available as the trade deadline nears, as some teams fall out of contention early and become sellers. One group in grave danger of that, despite its obvious plans to the contrary, is the Los Angeles Chargers.
L.A. is 0-2 with losses to the Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders, both of which won just three games last season and tied for the worst record in the NFL. The Chargers’ schedule now gets brutal with matchups against the Seattle Seahawks (road), Denver Broncos (home), Kansas City Chiefs (road) and Los Angeles Rams (road) — and that’s just the next four weeks.
If things keep heading south for Los Angeles, pass-rusher Khalil Mack should become a strong trade chip. The 35-year-old edge defender returned to the Chargers on a one-year deal worth $18 million this offseason, but should prove more valuable in terms of his potential trade return if/when team’s playoff hopes begin to fall out of reach.
Khalil Mack Still Has Pass-Rushing Juice in 13th NFL Season
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report named Mack as part of his top-10 list of Week 3 trade candidates around the league and dubbed the Lions as a top suitor for his services.
“Mack will be a logical trade chip if the Chargers slide out of contention. He’s 35, is playing on a one-year deal, and is still valuable as a rotational pass-rusher,” Knox wrote. “Mack has recorded a sack, two tackles for loss, and four quarterback pressures this season.”
Mack is a former Defensive Player of the Year winner (2016) as well as a four-time All-Pro and a nine-time Pro Bowler over the course of his first 12 seasons in the league. He has tallied six sacks and 5.5 sacks in the last two years, respectively. He has a total of 114 sacks across 181 games played (179 starts).
Lions Can Improve Defense Most Efficiently by Adding Pass-Rusher Alongside Aidan Hutchinson
While Mack is not the player he once was — he has not earned a Pro Bowl nod since 2023 — he could add juice to the Lions’ pass rush opposite superstar Aidan Hutchinson.
Detroit’s defense has surrendered 71 points over two games against the New Orleans Saints and Buffalo Bills (35.5 points per game).
A big part of the Lions’ problems are a secondary decimated by injury, but given the depth of that unit’s issues it is unlikely that Detroit can plug all the holes in its defense’s third level.
A potentially more economical, and certainly more singular, solution is to trade for an edge defender like Mack who can help Hutchinson get regular pressure from the front-four without bringing a blitz, allowing seven defenders to remain in coverage on the majority of passing downs.
Knox projected Mack’s trade value at a conditional fourth-round pick, which seems worth the swing for a Lions team that needs to be aggressive improving its defensive roster before the November 10 trade deadline passes and their chances to do so dry up.
Lions Trade Pitch Secures $18 Million Edge-Rusher to Bolster Ailing Defense