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When the Detroit Lions set course on the 2023 NFL draft, they will no doubt hear the chorus of analysts pleading for them to draft for defense.
It’s a good idea, too. After all, the Lions did finish 32nd in total defense in the NFL during the 2022 season. Improvements on that side of the ball in multiple spots will be a must for the team to help them take the next steps forward in 2023.
But what if there was another spot on the other side of the field where the need was quietly just as big? Would the Lions be motivated to take a bigger swing to help their fourth-rated offense remain even more lethal?
Pro Football Focus took a look at naming top team needs from a fantasy football perspective for each team. In terms of the Lions, analyst Ian Hartitz opined that Detroit should seek out an upgrade at the tight end spot this offseason in the form of another “knee-biting” player at the position for Dan Campbell.
“No disrespect to Brock Wright or Shane Zylstra, but both are exclusive rights free agents and also not exactly overly proven commodities. Overall, nobody has fewer 2023 dollars devoted to the position. The team needs to address the T.J. Hockenson loss and seemingly has enough cap room to do so. Credit to the league’s reigning fifth-ranked scoring offense for staying productive without Hockenson, but at a minimum, work needs to be done,” Hartitz wrote in the piece.
Detroit could certainly look to the position in the draft, but could also decide upon a free agency addition. This year, there is certainly no shortage of talented pass catchers at the spot, headlined by Miami’s Mike Gesicki, who put up 316 yards and five touchdowns this season.
Others, such as Cincinnati’s Hayden Hurst, Tennessee’s Austin Hooper and Dallas’s Dalton Schultz could command attention on the market. That trio combined for 1,518 yards and nine touchdowns on the season, pointing to their production value.
Detroit dealt T.J. Hockenson away to Minnesota for a 2023 second-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick on November 1, 2022. To some, it may have signaled that the team wasn’t serious about paying for a top tight end. Offensively, the team managed to thrive without Hockenson.
Still, that might not do anything to cure the perceived need at the position for the team moving forward into the future, leading some to project it as a major need.
Lions’ Tight Ends Stepped up in 2022
On their own roster, the Lions have options at the tight end position, given how well the team’s players performed down the stretch. The group managed to achieve a franchise record for touchdown catches in a season with their collective play.
Against the Chicago Bears, the Lions needed a big game to keep their offense hot, and Jared Goff and Brock Wright got their combination hot in order to do so. Wright himself caught a pair of scores, both of which brought Detroit’s seasonal total at tight end to 12.
As the team’s public relation account pointed out on January 1, 2023, the Lions managed to set the franchise record with both of the passes in the game.
“With Brock Wright’s 2nd TD of the game, his first multi-TD game, Lions tight ends have now produced 12 TDs this season. This establishes a new team record for the most TDs in a season by tight ends,” the site tweeted.
It’s fair to point out that Hockenson did contribute three of those touchdowns earlier last season, so it’s not exactly if he wasn’t a part of the equation. Notable, however, is the fact that the Lions have been able to carry on with the cast they have at the position.
Between Shane Zylstra, James Mitchell and Wright, this group picked up the slack well in order to produce for the team down the stretch. It could be a bit surprising that they were able to set this record after dealing away Hockenson for draft picks, but it could point to their value for the team.
The Lions will have to weight whether or not they want to stick with this group, or bring another player into the mix.
Draft Options for Lions at Tight End
If indeed the Lions think that they need to make additions at tight end, there will be plenty of options available to them in the impending draft, both early on and later on.
Perhaps the top option the Lions could target is Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer. With the Fighting Irish, Mayer put up a total of 2,099 yards and 18 career touchdowns. He also had 180 total receptions in school, which makes him the Fighting Irish’s all-time receptions leader at the spot historically. He earned consensus All-American honors for his work in 2022.
From there, the team could choose to look at another talented prospect such as Luke Musgrave out of Oregon State. Musgrave didn’t have major production and only posted 47 receptions and 633 yards along with two scores in his career. In spite of that, many see him as a rising option thanks to his ability to show speed on the field.
Further down the draft board, others such as Michigan’s Luke Schoonmaker, Iowa’s Sam LaPorta, Georgia’s Darnell Washington and Utah’s Dalton Kincaid could also make sense for Detroit if they wish to address the position further.
Regardless, some see the need for another pass catcher as an important need for the Lions.
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