The Detroit Lions bolstered their already strong roster during the 2024 NFL Draft, but the team did not address one very major need during the three-day event, nor have they addressed it since.
Edge rusher was among the Lions biggest weaknesses going into this offseason. Thankfully, Detroit made at least some effort to address it by signing Marcus Davenport, who will hopefully give some help to Aidan Hutchinson.
However, Davenport is on a one-year deal and the 27-year-old is coming off a season in which he played in just four games due to injury. And, injury issues have been a concern his whole career.
Davenport and Hutchinson have the potential to make up a potent one-two punch, but if either player misses time, the Lions are going to have a problem, which is why it was so important for Detroit to add multiple impact edge rushers.
While Pro Football Network’s Dakota Randall was a fan of the Lions bolstering their secondary, he rightly points out that EDGE remains the Lions’ biggest need.
The Detroit Lions couldn’t have done a better job of filling their cornerback holes during the draft. But Dan Campbell and company came up empty at edge rusher.
Detroit ranked 23rd in the league with 41 sacks last season. The Lions need more explosiveness on the edge opposite Aidan Hutchinson, who’s a phenomenal player but likely will draw many double teams in 2024.
Who will step up if opposing teams neutralize Hutchinson?
Unless general manager Brad Holmes has something up his sleeve with a major trade, the Lions will have to look into free agency if they want to add more help — and they have the cap space to do that, with Detroit having $23.4 million in effective cap space, per Over The Cap.
Although not as big of a question mark considering the level of importance of the position itself, the Lions still have a big question mark at safety, with the duo of Ifeatu Melifonwu and Kerby Joseph set to start there.
Joseph is coming off offseason surgery and Melifonwu has limited starting experience and an injury history.
Perhaps the Lions will feel good about moving Brian Branch to safety now that they’ve drafted two cornerbacks, but if not they should consider making a move there as well.
Wide receiver remains another concern, as the Lions could use more depth behind Jameson Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Truth be told, Detroit has the money to bolster all three spots, and it’s something Holmes should seriously consider, which I’m sure he has and will continue to do.
