Check out other NFC North teams:
Green Bay Packers
Chicago Bears
Minnesota Vikings
2016 Season Summary
Very little was expected of the Detroit Lions in 2016. Going into the season, the question came down to whether the Packers or Vikings would win the division. Through 5 games the picture started to become clear as the Vikings won 5 in a row and were looking unbeatable. The Vikings, however, went on a losing bender only winning 3 of their next 11 games.
The Packers were 4-6 through the first 10 games and looked to be in full implosion mode.
The Bears were fulfilling their expectations with a 3 win season.
All the while the Lions, while not having a great season, seemed to be the only team in the division not completely falling apart. After a 5 game win streak, it started to seem as the Lions were going to take the crown of divisional champions for the first time since 1993 (Side note: The Buccaneers won the division in 1999).
Fortunately for us all, the Lions did what they have become famous for, they completely wrecked their bed by losing the last three games. The packers, of course, had a hand in it by winning out their last 6 games of the season and taking the crown right off their head.
In the end, the Lions went 9-7, squeezed into the playoffs thanks to a Redskins loss, and got wrecked by the Seahawks 26-6.
Offseason
The Lions have made quite a few moves so far this offseason but are pretty much capped out. Literally. According to Spotrac, if you include the money needed to sign the draft picks they accumulate, the Lions have about $4M left to spend.
Signings so far
Darren Fells, TE, Cardinals
Although an upgrade over Ebron who has been a monumental disappointment, Fells is, by all accounts, a subpar tight end.
D.J. Hayden, CB, Raiders
I have no idea what the point of this was. The Lions have a pretty decent combo at corner with Darius Slay and Nevin Lawson. They currently have plenty of depth (bodies, not so much talent), and didn’t do anything to improve on that depth. Hayden was ranked 97th by PFF. To put that in perspective, Quinton Rollins was ranked 86th.
Jordan Hill, DT, Jaguars
Jordan Hill is another strange signing. Although the interior defensive line was a disappointment, even after signing Haloti Ngata and drafting A’Shawn Robinson, Jordan Hill is currently ranked as the Lions 4th best interior defender according to PFF.
To be fair, he was injured for most of the year last year which may be the bigger issue with Hill. In his 4 years, Hill has played no more than 13 games and averages 7.75 games per year.
T.J. Lang, OG, Packers
The Lions best signing was that of our good friend T.J. Lang. I’m not being biased I actually have numbers to back it up. According to PFF, Lang is the best player on the ENTIRE TEAM! Number 1. Top guy.
If you can’t beat ’em, steal their players. They must be talking with the Vikings.
Akeen Spence, DT, Buccaneers
I’ll be honest, I have never loved Ted Thompson more than right now. What in the world is this team doing??
Akeem Spence was ranked as the 124th best defensive tackle in the NFL last year. As it stands, he is not only their worst defensive tackle, he is the second worst player on their entire team.
Ricky Wagner, OT, Ravens
The Lions front office must be heavy drinkers. That said, they’ve done pretty well along the offensive line. The signing of Lang was a massive upgrade and the signing of Wagner gives them a solid tackle pairing.
If they are able to upgrade the disgrace of a guard in Glasgow, they might have a very formidable offensive line in 2017.
Paul Worrilow, MLB, Falcons
The Lions worst player is 2016 was Tahir Whitehead. Injuries at the position made him the lone MLB and that was pretty devastating. At number 86, Whitehead was the second worst starting linebacker in the entire league.
Worrilow isn’t fantastic but they surely could use the help. Still, trying to fix your linebacker group, which was decimated by injuries, with a guy that was out a large part of the year in 2016 with… an injury… is a little strange.
Unsigned
DeAndre Levy and Devin Taylor are still unsigned. Levy, to me, is a must sign. He was a nightmare for the Packers and with the need at linebacker I’m not sure how you let him walk. that said, they spent all their money on terrible football players meaning he may have to walk.
Roster Breakdown
I’ve already touched on quite a few players and positions but let’s take a closer look.
Quarterback
Matt Stafford. You all know who he is. He’s a pretty good quarterback. Not in the elite category but was ranked 9th by PFF and is probably a little underrated. Most likely it has something to do with his inability to pull it together when it matters.
Still, with the Packers issues at corner, Stafford is more than enough to worry about.
Wide Receiver
Since the departure of Calvin Johnson, the Lions haven’t really been able to find a true number 1. Marvin Jones and Golden Tate are average receivers, ranked 45th and 57th respectively.
Together with Stafford the Lions were able to put together a pretty decent passing attack but drafting a receiver is probably going to be a need sooner than later. Although I’m a Jared Abbrederis fan, I don’t think he’s the next Megatron.
Running Back
A more urgent need, I actually had the Lions taking a running back in my most recent mock draft.
Although Theo Riddick was ranked relatively high, the Lions ground game isn’t striking fear into the hearts of anyone. With the talent at running back this year it wouldn’t be the worst idea to upgrade the guy toting the rock.
Tight End
The tight end position is sort of a mess and is also an option in the first round. Although it’s painful to trade up in the first round to get a start tight end, watch him flop, and then do it all over again, the position needs an upgrade desperately.
Offensive Line
As I mentioned earlier, the Lions are sitting in a pretty good position on the line. With the exception of left guard, the Lions are pretty well set for the 2017 season.
Yes, Lamp is an option in the first round but it seems a little silly. There are far too many needs as well as a ton of options in later rounds.
Defensive Interior
Another complete mess, the defensive line for the Lions is simply no good. A’Shawn Robinson, once considered a solid pick for the Packers, was a complete bust in his first year with the team and it doesn’t get much better from there.
There are only so many rounds in a draft but I don’t know how the Lions don’t look to address this spot at some point in the draft.
Defensive End
Although he didn’t have an elite year by anyone’s standards, Ansah can be a pretty scary dude. He and Kerry Hyder made for a decent but not great duo.
Behind them is basically nobody. Although not a top need, the talent available at 21 might make DE an appealing option to the Lions in the first round, depending who falls to them.
Linebacker
Outside of Worrilow or a miracle, there isn’t much reason to be optimistic about the Lions linebacking corps.
Coupled with the issues on the defensive line, stopping the run could be an issue for the Lions.
Cornerback
As I mentioned, the corners in Detroit aren’t terrible. What I really meant by that was that Darius Slay was pretty good, Nevin Lawson is mediocre, and the rest would fit in on the Packers roster.
There really is very little depth in terms of talent and any team able to put more than 2 above average receivers on the field could cause problems for the Lions.
Safety
Maybe the best position apart from quarterback, the Lions have a really good pairing in Tavon Wilson and Glover Quin, both of whom graded out really well.
Similar to the Packers, however, there really isn’t any depth available so keeping them on the field is a must.
2017 Draft
As it stands now, the Lions will have 8 selections in the 2017 draft.
• First round: No. 21 overall
• Second round: No. 53 overall
• Third round: No. 85 overall
• Fourth round: No. 128 overall
• Fifth round: No. 165 overall
• Sixth round: No. 205 overall
• Sixth round: No. 215 overall (from New England)
• Seventh round: No. 250 overall (from New England)
Deciding on who the Lions will take at pick 21 is actually pretty difficult. Most of the players thought to be available and a good value at 21 aren’t expected to be around.
Reuben Foster and Jonathan Allen would be fantastic picks to help shore up the internal part of that defense but both are expected to be gone by pick ten.
Tight end could be the best play in terms of value and need but again, they have a first round investment and just paid money in free agency.
Some other options might be running back (Cook, McCaffrey), defensive end (Charlton, Barnett), guard (Lamp), wide receiver (Corey Davis, John Ross), Corner (Marlon Humphrey, Teez Tabor)
Looking Ahead
Looking at the rosters as they stand now, you have to like the Packers chances. The Lions have quite a few positions of need. A lot more than the Packers do.
With the weakness up the gut, an investment in a running back and a guard could go a long way in tormenting the Lions and wearing down their defense.
As far as the Packers defense, the Packer have to do better against the pass. They have quality safeties but the young guns have to step up and play better. The Packers would also be wise to add at least 1 talented corner in this stacked corner class.
Assuming the Packers hit on those areas, I’m really not too worried about the Lions. They might take a game this year but win the division? Not likely.