Quarterback

Three years ago, the Lions kicked off a multi-year rebuilding process by trading away long-time franchise quarterback Matt Stafford to the Rams. The Lions had compiled just a 14-33-1 record over the previous three seasons with no playoff victories in Stafford’s 12-year tenure with the team and, with Stafford heading into his age 33 season in 2021, he demanded a trade, a request the Lions were willing to oblige, in need of a different direction as a team. The Lions could have traded Stafford for a top-10 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and tried to shorten the rebuilding process, but instead they took a pair of first round picks from the Rams in 2022 and 2023, a 2021 3rd round pick, and former Rams quarterback Jared Goff, who had fallen out of favor with his old team.

Goff is 6 years younger than Stafford, but he was expected to be a downgrade under center, the 51.8 million guaranteed he was owed in the next two seasons was actually more than the 43 million that Stafford’s contract was set to pay him over those two seasons and, ultimately, most viewed Goff as a stopgap solution under center, rather than a long-term solution. Goff completed 63.4% of his passes for an average of 7.51 YPA, 107 touchdowns, and 55 interceptions in 69 starts in five seasons with the Rams, who selected him #1 overall in the 2016 NFL Draft, but the success he had was considered a product of the offensive system and talent he had around him with the Rams.

In Goff’s first season in Detroit, he predictably struggled on a team with much less talent around the quarterback and an inferior coaching staff, completing 67.2% of his passes for an average of just 6.57 YPA, 19 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions for a Lions team that went just 3-13-1. However, the Lions got a new offensive coordinator in Ben Johnson for the 2022 season, which proved to be a huge upgrade, and they rapidly improved the rest of their roster, mostly through strong drafts. 

Their offense took a big step forward first, leading to the Lions improving to 9-8 in 2022, with Goff completing 65.1% of his passes for an average of 7.56 YPA, 29 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions, and then the defense followed with a big step forward of their own in 2023, leading to the Lions finishing with a 12-5 record and making the NFC Championship, their first 12+ win season and their first NFC Championship appearance since 1991. Goff finished the 2023 season with a 67.3% completion percentage, 7.56 YPA, 30 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions on a team that finished 7th in total DVOA, 5th in offensive DVOA, and 13th in defensive DVOA.

In 2024, the Lions are mostly running it back. They brought back their top-7 and 14 of their top-16 in terms of offensive snaps played, as well as 10 of their top-14 in terms of defensive snaps played. However, their championship window might be smaller than most realize. Many of their talented young players will be up for extensions in the next couple off-seasons and it will be tough for the Lions to pay everyone, especially since they had to give quarterback Jared Goff a massive 4-year, 212 million dollar extension this off-season, making him the second highest paid quarterback in the league in average annual salary, ahead of what would have been the final year of his contract in 2024. 

Goff’s cap hit doesn’t explode right away, but it soon will and it will be tough for the Lions to keep the amount of talent around him that Goff will need for this team to be competitive at the highest level. The track record of non-elite quarterbacks being paid at the highest level is not good, with the only quarterbacks who have accounted for more than 11% of their team’s cap and won the Super Bowl being Hall of Famers or future Hall of Famers. Goff is good enough to win a Super Bowl, but only on a team loaded with talent, the kind of talent that is very hard to keep around a quarterback who is one of the highest paid in the league. The Lions should remain one of the best teams in the league in 2024, but if they can’t win it all this season, they might find their Super Bowl window will close faster than anticipated. 

Injuries have never been a big concern for Goff, as he’s missed just 4 games due to injury in 8 seasons in the league, but if he happens to miss time, the Lions would likely turn to Hendon Hooker, who was drafted in the 3rd round in the 2023 NFL Draft. Hooker has never thrown a regular season pass in his career, after missing most of his rookie season rehabbing from a torn ACL that he suffered in his final collegiate season, but Hooker could have been a second, or even a first round pick he had not suffered that injury and, if he makes a full recovery, he could easily develop into one of the better backup quarterbacks in the league. That’s far from a guarantee and he would still probably be a noticeable downgrade from Goff if he was forced into action, but this is still a better backup quarterback situation than the majority of teams in the league.

Grade: B+

Offensive Line

One of the key young additions the Lions have added in their recent drafts is Penei Sewell, who they drafted 7th overall in 2021. Sewell showed promise with a 77.0 PFF grade as a rookie, splitting time between right tackle and left tackle, filling in for an injured Taylor Decker, and then he broke out in years two and three, once becoming a full-time right tackle opposite Decker, receiving PFF grades of 80.6 and 90.7 respectively over the past two seasons. 

Still only in his age 24 season, it’s possible Sewell could continue getting even better going forward and, even if he doesn’t, he seems likely to be one of the best offensive linemen in the league for years to come. The Lions paid handsomely to keep him on a long-term extension this off-season, making him the highest paid offensive lineman in the league in terms of average annual salary on a 4-year, 112 million dollar deal that was added on to the final two years of his rookie deal, but Sewell should prove to be well worth that contract and is the type of player you can’t let get away.

Taylor Decker will continue starting opposite Sewell at the left tackle spot. Also a former first round pick, back in 2016, Decker has manned that spot since his rookie year and has done well there, making 112 total starts in his career and finishing above 70 on PFF in seven of eight seasons, including six straight seasons and a 77.3 PFF grade in 2023. Decker now enters his age 30 season, but hasn’t shown any signs of decline yet and, even if he does drop off a little, he should remain at least an above average starter. 

Center Frank Ragnow is also a former first round pick who plays at a high level, as the 2018 1st round pick has made 80 starts in six seasons in the league and has finished above 70 on PFF in five straight seasons, including three seasons over 80 and a career best 88.1 in 2023, good for 1st best among centers on PFF. Still in the prime of his career in his age 28 season, I would expect more of the same from him in 2024, even if he isn’t quite as good as his career best year from 2023.

The Lions weren’t quite as soon at guard last season, as compared to tackle and center, but they still got mostly solid play at those spots, with Graham Glasgow (15 starts), Jonah Jackson (12 starts), and Halapoulivaati Vaitai (3 starts) receiving grades of 75.1, 59.7, and 68.3 respectively from PFF. Jackson and Vaitai weren’t retained this off-season, but Glasgow was re-signed to a 3-year, 20 million dollar deal to start at one guard spot, while free agent signing Kevin Zeitler will start at the other, after signing for 6 million on a 1-year deal this off-season.

Glasgow has made 106 starts in eight seasons in the league since going in the third round in 2016 and has mostly been a solid starter, but last season was actually the best season of his career in terms of PFF grade and, now heading into his age 32 season, it’s unlikely he’ll be able to repeat the best season of his career for the second straight season. He has finished above 60 on PFF in six of the last seven seasons, including four seasons over 70, so he could remain a solid starter even if he isn’t as good as he was a year ago, but he also had a 59.3 grade as recently as 2022 and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he declined significantly from a year ago, especially when you consider his age.

Zeitler’s age is also a concern, as he now heads into his age 34 season and just had the second worst full season grade of his 12-year career (181 starts) in 2023, but he still had a 69.3 PFF grade and, even if he does decline further, he could still be a solid starter for the Lions. In his prime, Zeitler was one of the best guards in the league, with PFF grades over 70 in ten of his twelve seasons, including a 74.0 PFF grade as recently as 2022, and three seasons over 80, so even at less than his best, he should still be a worthwhile signing for the Lions, unless his abilities happen to completely fall off a cliff.

Depth is a concern for this group. Last year they had six starting caliber offensive linemen going into the season, but with Jackson and Vaitai both gone and only Zeitler being added, their depth is pretty suspect now. At guard Kayode Awosika (252 snaps) and Colby Sordal (253 snaps) both struggled in limited action last season. Sordal was only a 5th round rookie and could be better in year two, but he could still struggle even if he improves, while Awosika went undrafted in 2021 and has mostly struggled across 450 career snaps. At center, the Lions don’t have any reserves who were drafted in this year’s draft or who have ever played an offensive snap in the NFL, though they would probably slide Glasgow inside to center, where he has experience, and start either Awosika or Sordal in Glasgow’s spot at guard, in case of a Glasgow injury. Still, their lack of depth at both guard and center is a concern. 

Meanwhile at tackle, Dan Skipper will probably remain their swing tackle and he was decent on 101 snaps last season (66.9 PFF grade), but the 2017 undrafted free agent is already in his age 30 and has played just 546 career snaps (6 starts), with his career high 387 snaps coming in a 2022 campaign in which he received a 43.9 grade from PFF, so he’s a very underwhelming swing tackle option. The Lions did use a 4th round pick on Giovanni Manu to compete for the swing tackle job, but he would probably struggle if forced to start for an extended period of time in case of injury. The Lions still have arguably the best starting five offensive line in the league, but their lack of depth can’t go unmentioned. 

Grade: A

Receiving Corps

Part of the reason for the Lions being able to quickly rebuild through the draft was the extra draft capital the Lions got from the Rams in the Stafford trade, including a pair of first round picks, but the Lions have also found steals outside of the first round, which has been more important to their quick rebuild. Probably the biggest of those steals was 2021 5th round pick Amon-Ra St. Brown. St. Brown immediately exceeded his draft slot with a 90/912/5 slash line and a 1.74 yards per route run average as a rookie and he’s only gotten better since then, with a 106/1161/6 slash line and a 2.40 yards per route run average in 2022 and a 119/1515/10 slash line and a 2.63 yards per route run average last season, when he also finished 7th among wide receivers on PFF with a 90.6 overall grade. 

Still only in his age 25 season, St. Brown is just now entering his prime and should be one of the best wide receivers in the league for years to come. Going into the final year of his rookie deal in 2024, St. Brown wasn’t cheap to extend, receiving a 4-year, 120 million dollar deal this off-season that makes him the third highest paid wide receiver in the league in average annual salary, but he should prove to be well worth that contract.

The Lions also found tight end Sam LaPorta in the second round of last year’s draft and he immediately broke out as one of the best tight ends in the league, ranking 5th among tight ends in receiving yardage with a 86/889/10 slash line, 6th in yards per route run with 1.76, and 5th among tight ends with a 76.5 overall grade from PFF. All that is even more impressive when you consider that tight ends, including some of the best in the league, almost always take at least a year to develop into useful pass catchers. It wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see him be even better in year two in 2024. With three years left of cheap team control, LaPorta should remain a very talented complementary pass catcher behind St. Brown for years to come.

Ironically, the one receiver the Lions did use a first round pick on, Jameson Williams, has not come close to living up to the billing yet. The Lions knew they wouldn’t get much out of Williams in year one when he took him 12th overall in 2022 just a few months removed from a torn ACL, but Williams played just 78 rookie year snaps and then missed another five games in 2023 due to suspension and injury and he didn’t play all that well even when on the field, managing just a 1.47 yards per route run average and a 24/354/2 slash line. Williams is still only in his age 23 season and had the talent to be a top-5 pick before his injury, so I wouldn’t give up on him taking a step forward, possibly even a big one, in year three, but he’s been a big disappointment thus far in his career, even with the caveat that the Lions knew he’d miss most of his rookie year when they drafted him.

Williams will at least get a lot of opportunity for playing time and targets in this receiving corps, as the Lions are very thin behind St. Brown and LaPorta, who should both continue getting huge target shares. Josh Reynolds was third on the team in receiving with a 40/608/5 slash line in 2023, but he wasn’t retained this off-season and the Lions didn’t do anything to replace him, instead banking on Williams taking a step forward. Behind St. Brown and Williams at wide receiver, the Lions’ two best options are probably Kalif Raymond and Donovan Peoples-Jones.

Raymond was third among Lions receivers with a 35/489/1 slash line last season, and also had slash lines of 48/576/4 and 47/616/0 in 2021 and 2022 respectively, but he’s never exceeded those receiving totals in eight years in the league and that’s unlikely to start in 2024, now his age 30 season. Peoples-Jones had a 61/839/3 slash line in 2022 for the Browns, but was not that efficient with a 1.46 yards per route run average and took a back seat in the passing game in Cleveland in 2023, before getting sent to Detroit in a mid-season trade and continuing to contribute very little, finishing the year with a 13/155/0 slash line and 0.60 yards per route run average between the two teams. Peoples-Jones is at least young, only in his age 25 season, but the 2020 6th round pick has averaged just 1.38 yards per route run for his career and doesn’t have the talent to develop into much more than he’s been throughout his career.

At tight end, the Lions retained top backup Brock Wright on a 3-year, 12 million dollar deal, matching the contract the 2021 undrafted free agent received from the 49ers in restricted free agency this off-season. He has just 43 career catches and a 1.08 yards per route run average, so he won’t contribute much in the passing game, but he’s at least a solid blocker and you could do a lot worse than him as your #2 tight end. St. Brown and LaPorta highlight a very top heavy receiving corps, but Jameson Williams at least has upside as the 3rd receiving option, while Kalif Raymond and Donovan Peoples-Jones aren’t bad even if they’re underwhelming.

Grade: A-

Running Backs

The Lions also have used a first round pick on a running back recently, taking Jahmyr Gibbs 12th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. It was a controversial decision because the Lions had just given a 3-year, 18 million dollar deal to veteran running back David Montgomery in free agency and because running backs taken in the first round are rarely worth it, but the Lions are a run heavy team that had enough opportunity for both Montgomery and Gibbs and they also had a lot of young talent on both sides of the field and could avoid to take a luxury position like running back.

Gibbs’ rookie season started off slow, as he had just 13.3 touches per game (9.8 carries, 3.5 catches) in his first 4 games, but he took over a bigger role when Montgomery missed 3 games with injury, averaging 22.7 touches (17.0 carries, 5.7 catches) in those 3 games and then he continued having a bigger role even after Montgomery returned, averaging 14.4 touches per game (11.7 carries, 2.7 catches) in the final 9 games of the season, while Montgomery averaged 15.0 touches per game (13.9 carries, 1.1 catches). If you look just at those final 9 games, Gibbs produced at a level that extrapolates over 17 games to 200 carries for 1,031 yards and 15 touchdowns (5.15 YPC), with a 45/285/2 slash line as a receiver, while Montgomery produced at a level that extrapolates over 17 games to 236 carries for 1190 yards and 13 touchdowns (5.04 YPC), with a 19/96/0 slash line as a receiver,

Montgomery only averaged 3.94 YPC on 915 carries in four seasons with the Bears before joining the Lions last season, but Montgomery was on some bad offenses with bad blocking in Chicago, so it’s not that surprising that he’s been significantly better in a better situation in Detroit, finishing his first season in Detroit with a 4.63 YPC average. However, Gibbs averaged 5.19 YPC on the season and is a much more talented running back. Going into 2024 and Gibbs’ second season in the league, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Gibbs get an even bigger share of the running back touches, but the Lions ranked 7th in the league in carries last season and should wind up around there again this season, so there will be plenty of opportunity for both running backs.

The area Gibbs struggled the most in as a rookie was in the passing game, ironic considering that was expected to be his biggest strength. His 52/316/1 slash line looks good, but he only averaged 0.97 yards per route run and 4.45 yards per target, so he wasn’t that efficient with his opportunity. He has a good chance to be significantly more efficient in that aspect in year two though and he’s still the better of the Lions’ top-2 backs in the passing game, with Montgomery averaging 0.72 yards per route run and 4.88 yards per target a year ago and 1.00 yards per route run and 6.22 yards per target for his career. 

Behind Gibbs and Montgomery, the Lions have Craig Reynolds, who had 41 carries for 179 yards (4.37 YPC) and 5 catches for 47 yards last season, mostly as an injury replacement when Gibbs or Montgomery missed time. Reynolds only has 142 touches in five seasons in the league, with but all two of those coming in the past three seasons, but he has a decent 4.29 YPC average and is better than a lot of #3 backs. Still, the run heavy Lions decided to use a 4th round pick in this year’s draft on Sione Vaki, who could end up beating out Reynolds for that #3 back job in a very deep running back group.

Grade: A-

Edge Defenders

After the Lions went 3-13-1 in the first year of their rebuild, they received the #2 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and used it on edge defender Aidan Hutchinson, who has been a big part of their improvement in recent years, proving to be more than worth where he was selected. As a rookie, Hutchinson finished with 9.5 sacks, 6 hits, and a 9.4% pressure rate, while excelling against the run, and received a 80.7 PFF overall grade. In year two, Hutchinson got even better, finishing with 11.5 sacks, 23 hits, and a 16.2% pressure rate, while ranking 9th among edge defenders in overall PFF grade with 91.0, despite almost never coming off the field, playing 986 of a possible 1,090 defensive snaps, 90.5% and 3rd most in the league among edge defenders. Still only in his age 24 season, the sky’s the limit for Hutchinson, who should remain one of the top players at his position for years to come.

Aside from Hutchinson, the Lions didn’t have another edge defender play more than 400 snaps for them last season. Josh Paschal (399 snaps), Charles Harris (291 snaps), and Romeo Okwara (249 snaps) ranked 2nd, 3rd, and 4th on the team in snaps played among pure edge defenders, while John Cominsky (566 snaps) split time between the edge and the interior. The Lions are hoping that will change this season with the addition of Marcus Davenport in free agency on a 1-year, 6.5 million dollar deal.

Davenport was a first round pick in 2018 and has shown that level of talent when healthy, totaling a 12.9% pressure rate for his career, while finishing above 70 on PFF in five of six seasons in the league, including two seasons over 80. However, he’s also never played more than 533 snaps in a season due to injury, while missing 32 games in six seasons in the league. Davenport is still only in his age 28 season and could be an above average starter for the Lions if healthy, something they lacked opposite Hutchinson a year ago, but he’s also likely to miss more time at some point, which is why he had to settle for a 1-year deal in free agency.

Harris and Okwara weren’t retained this off-season, but the Lions still have Josh Paschal and are expecting him to play a big role as a reserve. His 399 snaps last season came in just 12 games, with 5 games missed due to injury, and he was a 2nd round pick in 2022 who still has untapped potential. He hasn’t shown much as a pass rusher in two seasons in the league, totaling just 3 sacks, 3 hits, and a 6.6% pressure rate in 22 games, but he’s at least been a solid run stuffer in limited action and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him take a step forward as a pass rusher in year three, especially if he can stay healthier than he’s been (12 games missed in two seasons in the league).

The Lions are also hoping for more out of another third year edge defender, James Houston, who was limited to 31 snaps in two games due to injury last season. Houston was only a 6th round pick in 2022 and played just 140 snaps as a rookie, but he made the most of them, excelling as a situational pass rusher with 8 sacks, 4 hits, and a 18.5% pressure rate, while receiving a 80.2 overall grade from PFF. It’s a very small sample size and Houston is still a relatively unproven player who was not a high draft pick, but, at the very least, the Lions should get more out of him in 2024 than they did in his injury plagued 2023 season. 

John Cominsky will also continue seeing some snaps on the edge like he did a year ago, but he’s mostly just a run stuffer as an edge defender, with a 7.7% pressure rate in 2023 and a 9.4% pressure rate for his career (57 games in five seasons). There are question marks in this group behind Hutchinson, but they at least have upside if Davenport can stay healthy and Paschal and Houston can progress in year three, and Hutchinson is one of the best players in the league at his position, so he elevates this group significantly by himself.

Grade: A-

Interior Defenders

The Lions have also drafted a talented interior defender in recent years, taking Alim McNeill in the 3rd round in the 2021 NFL Draft. McNeill took a couple years to develop into the player he was in 2023, but he still had solid grades of 60.1 and 69.8 from PFF on snap counts of 422 and 779 respectively in his first two seasons in the league, before breaking out with a 88.5 PFF grade on 559 snaps in 13 games last season, making him PFF’s 6th highest ranked interior defender.

McNeill totaled 5 sacks, 5 hits, and a 9.8% pressure rate as a pass rusher last season and was equally good as a run stopper. He’s a one-year wonder in terms of playing at that level, but he’s also still only in his age 24 season and could easily continue being one of the best interior defenders in the league for years to come and, even if he isn’t quite as good as he was a year ago, he could make up for it by being healthier than he was in 2023, when he missed four games.

The rest of this interior defender group was underwhelming a year ago, but the Lions hope they fixed that by signing DJ Reader from the Bengals to a 2-year, 22 million dollar deal in free agency this off-season. Reader has been one of the best run stopping interior defenders in the league in recent years, finishing above 70 on PFF in run defense grade in 6 of the past 7 seasons, with the exception being a a 2020 campaign in which he was limited to just 5 games by injury and still had a 69.3 PFF grade against the run. 

The big 6-3 335 pound Reader only has 9.5 sacks in 106 career games, but he’s a better pass rusher than that suggests, as he also has 38 hits and a 8.4% pressure rate in his career. Durability has been a concern for him in recent years, costing him 22 games in the past four seasons combined, and now he heads into his age 30 season, so he could start to decline, but he should still be a massive upgrade over Benito Jones, who had a 37.4 PFF grade on 566 snaps last season and was subsequently not retained as a free agent this off-season.

Behind McNeill and Reader, the Lions have John Cominsky, a hybrid player who I talked about in the edge defender section, as well as a pair of young players they are hoping for more out of this year, Levi Onwuzurike and Brodric Martin. Onwuzurike was a 2nd round pick in 2021, but disappointed with a 43.2 PFF grade on 396 snaps as a rookie and then missed the entire 2022 season due to injury, before being limited to 132 snaps in 10 games last season by more injuries. 

Onwuzurike did play significantly better than last season than he did as a rookie though, with a 68.1 PFF grade. Durability is still a concern, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him be a useful reserve/rotational player as long as he’s healthy, now in his fourth season in the league. Martin, meanwhile, spent his entire 2023 season as a healthy scratch, despite being a 3rd round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. His career obviously isn’t off to a good start, but he came into the league with a lot of talent and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him develop into a useful reserve in 2024. At the very least, he’ll give them more by default than he did a year ago. With the addition of DJ Reader as a starter opposite Alim McNeill, this is a talented position group, even if their depth is unproven.

Grade: B+

Linebackers

The Lions used one of their two first round picks in last year’s draft to take linebacker Jack Campbell, which has not been one of their better selections. The value of taking Campbell, who many projected to only be a base package run stopper, in the first round was questioned from the start and those questions haven’t gone away after Campbell finished his rookie season with a 57.3 PFF grade on 637 snaps. Campbell played well against the run with a 75.9 run defense grade from PFF, but he struggled mightily in coverage with a 43.9 PFF grade. He could take a step forward in year two, but he’ll still probably be a liability in coverage and for a non-rush linebacker to be worth a first round pick in the modern NFL, they have to develop into a well-rounded player who is not a liability in any situation.

Campbell actually finished third among Lions linebackers in snaps played last season. Alex Anzalone led the way with 1,005 snaps. A 3rd round pick in 2017, Anzalone was a big durability concern early in his career in New Orleans, as he missed 26 of a possible 64 games in four seasons there, while maxing out at 525 snaps played in a season, and then in his first season in Detroit in 2021 he struggled mightily in by far the biggest snap count of his career, with a 35.4 PFF grade on 827 snaps, but he’s been better with PFF grades of 59.2 and 68.1 over the past two seasons, while surpassing 1,000 snaps played in both seasons and mostly avoiding injuries. Anzalone is now going into his age 30 season and could either start declining in 2024 or see his role decreased in favor of the second year Campbell, but it wouldn’t be a big surprise to see Anzalone be a capable every down linebacker for the second straight season.

The Lions also have Derrick Barnes, another young linebacker who could see a bigger snap count in 2024. A 4th round pick in 2021, Barnes struggled mightily with a 30.1 PFF grade on 448 snaps as a rookie, but he improved significantly with a 62.3 PFF grade on 346 snaps in his second season in the league in 2022 and carried that over to a bigger role in 2023, with a 62.1 PFF grade on 704 snaps. He’s an unspectacular player and probably won’t ever be anything more than an average starter, but this is an unspectacular Lions’ linebacking corps overall, so Barnes could be deserving of more playing time.

The Lions also have another young linebacker, Malcolm Rodriguez. He was only a 6th round pick in 2022, but wasn’t bad in a big rookie year role, with a 62.8 PFF grade on 611 snaps. With Campbell being added and Barnes taking over a bigger role, Rodriguez was relegated to a nondescript 120 snaps in 12 games played as a reserve last season, but he could earn his way into more playing time in year three. Given the at least decent promise he showed as a rookie, he’s at least a good reserve option. This is an unspectacular group overall, but they at least have some young talent with promise.

Grade: B-

Secondary

The Lions have done a great job rebuilding this roster quickly, but the cornerback position was a position of weakness last season, Only one of the five cornerbacks who played more than 100 snaps for the Lions finished with a PFF grade above 60 and that player was Brian Branch, another talented young player the Lions have, a 2023 second round pick who received a 78.1 PFF grade on 736 snaps as a rookie, but a part-time cornerback who could see more time at safety in 2024. 

This off-season, the Lions made improving the cornerback position a priority, trading a third round pick to the Buccaneers for Carlton Davis, who is owed 14.5 million in the final year of his contract in 2024, and then using 1st and 2nd round picks on Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw, a pair of cornerbacks who were both considered good values at their draft slot. The Lions also parted ways with three of the four cornerbacks who saw significant action for them last season and struggled, with only Kindle Vildor (57.6 PFF grade on 200 snaps) returning as a deep reserve who isn’t guaranteed a roster spot. Davis and Arnold are currently expected to start outside, but Rakestraw could see a role as well, especially if Branch plays more safety in 2024.

The veteran Davis will probably be the Lions’ de facto #1 cornerback while Arnold and Rakestraw develop. Davis has been a solid starter for most of his career, but he fell to a 58.2 PFF grade last season, after surpassing 60 on PFF in each of his first five seasons in the league, including a career best 70.4 in 2019. Davis is only going into his age 28 season, so he has some bounce back potential, but he’s also suffered a lot of injuries throughout his career, never playing more than 14 games in a season and missing 23 games total in six seasons in the league, so it’s possible that his injuries have caught up with him and made him age quicker, in which case it wouldn’t be a surprise if he continued struggling in 2024. Even if he bounces back, he’ll almost definitely miss more time at some point this season. Still, it wouldn’t be hard for him and the Lions’ two rookie cornerbacks to be an upgrade over what the Lions had at the position a year ago.

The Lions also signed veteran Amik Robertson in free agency and could get something out of Emmanuel Moseley, who is coming off of two injury plagued seasons. Robertson had a much easier path to playing time before Arnold and Rakestraw were drafted, but the 2-year, 9.25 million dollar deal the Lions gave him suggests they value him at least decently, so he could still earn a role even with the two rookies being added, especially if Branch plays more safety this season or if Carlton Davis misses more time with injury. Capable of being on the slot and outside, Robertson has received decent grades of 64.1 and 63.4 from PFF on snap counts of 677 and 674 over the past two seasons respectively and the 2020 4th round pick is only in his age 26 season.

Moseley might be the odd man out in a suddenly deep position group. He flashed potential early in his career in San Francisco with PFF grades of 70.0, 58.3, 68.7, and 70.9 respectively in his first four seasons of playing time, but he never played more than 602 snaps in a season due to injury, while missing 22 games in those four seasons, including 12 games missed in his final season in San Francisco with a torn ACL. The Lions took a chance on him in free agency last off-season, only to see him tear his other ACL just two snaps into the season. Still only in his age 28 season, Moseley could have some bounce back potential if he’s healthy, but he’ll start the season at best as a deep reserve. It will likely be between him and Kindle Vildor, a 2020 5th round pick who has struggled throughout his career, for the last spot on the cornerback depth chart, a battle Moseley should be favored in.

The reason Brian Branch could play more safety in 2024 is because the Lions lost Tracy Walker (541 snaps) and CJ Gardner-Johnson (186 snaps) this off-season and didn’t replace them. The Lions still have Kerby Joseph (909 snaps) and Ifeatu Melifonwu (398 snaps) and both will compete for starting jobs, but Branch will probably see more action at this position as well. Kerby was a 3rd round pick in 2022 and has made 29 starts in 32 games in two seasons in the league, with PFF grades of 64.0 and 57.7 respectively. He hasn’t been more than a capable starter in two years in the league and he took a step back in year two, but he’s only in his age 24 season and could take a step forward to have his best season yet in 2024. Even if he doesn’t, he should be considered the favorite to keep his starting job.

Melifonwu was also a 3rd round pick, back in 2021. He’s only played 738 snaps total in three seasons in the league, so he doesn’t have the experience that Joseph has, but he flashed a lot of potential with a 85.6 PFF grade in 6 starts as an injury replacement in 2023 and, even if Branch plays more safety this season, Melifonwu could still earn an expanded role in 2024. Melifonwu is a projection to a larger role and was mediocre in his first two seasons before showing his potential last season, but it wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see him be at least a capable sub package player. The Lions’ secondary was a bit of a weakness last season, especially at cornerback, but this is a much deeper group than a year ago, even if they lack top end talent besides of Brian Branch.

Grade: B+

Conclusion

The Lions’ championship window might be closing soon, as it will be tough for them to keep all their talent under the cap long-term, but they are very much in the mix as contenders in 2023, with one of the best rosters in the league. Already one of the best teams in the league a year ago, the Lions are arguably better this season due to off-season additions like DJ Reader, Marcus Davenport, and Carlton Davis, among others. In terms of average annual value of their roster, a stat that heavily correlates with winning percentage, the Lions rank 4th, up from 23rd a year ago. That kind of spending isn’t sustainable long-term, but it should put them on the short list for Super Bowl contenders in 2024, especially since they play in the much weaker NFC.

Prediction: 14-3, 1st in NFC North