The Detroit Lions are heralded as one of the most improved teams in the NFL after the 2023 NFL Draft and free agency.
Now that the dust has settled and the Detroit Lions have a full roster of 90 players, some NFL analysts are looking around the league to see which teams are placing themselves in the best positions this offseason. The Lions have high expectations in 2023, and several pundits credit general manager Brad Holmes with a remarkably executed offseason. In fact, a few outlets say the Lions have the best league-wide offseason.
First, let’s look at CBS Sports. Cody Benjamin ranked the offseasons of all 32 teams and he placed the Detroit Lions first overall. The Lions shared Tier A with seven other teams (Jets, Panthers, Bears, Eagles, Steelers, Broncos, Giants).
“They tackled glaring side holes both aggressively and sparingly, adding a trio of physical starters in CB Cameron Sutton, CB Emmanuel Moseley and S CJ Gardner-Johnson for less than $50 million combined,” Benjamin wrote. “David Montgomery is a great fullback for Jamaal Williams in the backfield. And retaining John Cominsky and Alex Anzalone ensures the rest of their ‘D’ fights. They drafted in an unorthodox fashion, prioritizing devalued positions early, but RB Jahmyr Gibbs adds plenty of electricity, and S Brian Branch and LB Jack Campbell should bring even more range to the defense.
Then there is PFF. Although the publication is vocally against the Lions’ strategy of drafting low-value positions early in the draft, PFF’s Sam Monson and Brad Spielberger gave Detroit one of the highest marks of the offseason in the “PFF NFL Show” Tuesday afternoon. Overall, they gave Detroit an A-, but Monson thinks it’s a straight A.
“Overall, I think the Detroit Lions had one of the best offseasons in the NFL,” Monson said. “They did exactly what you’re supposed to do, which was, ‘Let’s protect this thing in free agency. Let’s make sure we don’t have to force these (draft) choices. So we’re bringing these guys into the secondary, so now we don’t have to spend No. 6 overall on a corner just because we need a starting corner. We can play on the board. We can take the players we want to take. We don’t have to force the choice of needs.
And while Monson has addressed concerns about the Lions draft, he still thinks they came away with a loot.
“Did they play properly? Even though I think they had this weird streak of targeting the NFL’s least valuable positions with running back, linebacker, tight end and safety in their top four picks, the only one I would quibble with really is Jahmyr Gibbs just because at No. 12 overall I just don’t think they can create a role for him that will warrant this selection especially when it comes to passing on a guy like Calijah Kancey .
Monson later concludes, “Generally I like this class.”
You can watch PFF’s discussion of the Lions’ offseason here, with the section on Detroit starting at 55:50.
To top it off, Sporting News ranked the Lions’ offseason fourth.
On to the rest of today’s notes:
- Monday was a great day for the Lions rookies as they were able to visit Ford Field for the first time since joining the team:
- The entire Lions secondary may have a chip on their shoulder after seeing these cornerback rankings from ESPN’s Mike Clay:
- Rookie Minicamp Highlights!
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