The Detroit Lions still have time and resources to get their hands on talented players. These four players should be their targets.
The Detroit Lions took all sorts of swings at liberty this month. They added three very good secondaries, the best running backs on the market, and they even added a long snapper. All of this they did on top of some key pieces from last year’s team.
What now? Are the lions done? Some of the things they’ve been doing lately show that they may still be in the gamer market. On Monday, they renegotiated Romeo Okwara’s contract to open about $9 million in Cap Space. This comes after Charles Harris, Tracy Walker and Jack Fox’s contracts were also revised.
If the Lions are still planning on making some moves, here are four players I think are worth making those moves:
WR DJ Char
Let’s start by bringing home another Lion. Chark has been flirting with the Panthers a lot lately, but no moves have been made. These two parties are still just friends zoning each other out. There’s still time for the ex to get back in the picture and win over Char.
Romantic comedy tropes aside, the Lions should really try to get Chark back for the 2023 season. His youth makes him by far the best receiver available right now, and there’s already chemistry with Jared Goff and the Lions offense as a whole. I know the belief is that Jameson will step up for Williams and take the place from Chark, but we don’t really know what Williams is yet. Why don’t you bring Char back while you find out?
DT Poona Ford
The Lions need help inside their line of defense. It’s a point they haven’t touched on since free agency began. Maybe it’s because they feel comfortable in the group they already have. Maybe it’s because they plan to attack that line of defense in a draft that’s populated with good defenders.
If they’re looking in the free agency department, Poona Ford is probably the best remaining option. The 27-year-old defensive tackle had a pretty rough season with the Seahawks last year. While he posted a career high with three sacks, he posted low numbers everywhere else. His 35 total tackles were the lowest since 2019 and his 56.2 PFF score was the worst in his five-year career.
But last year seemed to be an exception to the rule. For the first four years of his career, Ford was one of the best central defenders in the game. Detroit’s run defense struggled for most of the 2022 season and Ford’s addition would no doubt help.
Ford appears primed for the kind of contract the Lions were happy to hand over during the Holmes regime: the proof-it deal. Ford needs to prove he can still do it at a high level, and the Lions need a lineman to help them while they presumably groom a rookie for the future. The two sides fit together perfectly.
S PJ Williams
The Lions have had a lot of great second hand help so far. Much like the fact that there is no rule that a dog can’t play basketball, there is no rule that says the Lions must stop adding talent in the secondary school.
Like the recently added CJ Gardner-Johnson, Williams has ties to the Lions coaching staff. Williams has spent his entire career with the Saints. Of course, that means he’s worked alongside Lions defense coordinator Aaron Glenn for much of his career. Williams is a guy who can help keep the Lions safe. Depth is something this team needs after losing Deshon Elliott and in case Tracy Walker doesn’t return to the player he was before his injury. Williams can be a short-term supplement to help with this problem.
WR Miles Boykin
Can I swing here? let me finish This is a small project for the Lions. Miles Boykin is a 6-foot-4 receiver with a lot of athleticism but has had a difficult career making his mark after the Ravens picked him in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He has dealt with injuries and been involved in offenses that failed to use him properly. Sometimes it’s not so much about the player as it is about the bad circumstances they found themselves in.
The Lions have a long history of coaching players and helping them have the best run of their careers. Here’s another opportunity to do so. The Lions receiving corps seems already worked out, but it’s not as deep as it might seem, especially when they end up losing DJ Chark to another team. Boykin can get in on the super cheap side and maybe find a spot in the NFL. It’s definitely worth checking out for its size and athleticism alone.
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