7 Free Agents That Would Be PERFECT For The Detroit Lions...

AtoZ Sports

Mike Payton discusses seven potential free agents that the Detroit Lions should take a hard look at.

Transcript

00:00If the Detroit Lions make these handful of moves in free agency that we're going to outline

00:05today, it's the most realistically perfect free agency that they could possibly do.

00:11Let's talk about it.

00:13Hi, I'm Mike Payne from A to Z Sports Detroit.

00:17Today, we are going to talk about seven free agents that if the Lions signed, we over here

00:22at A to Z Sports Detroit think that this would be the most realistically perfect free agency

00:29period off season that the Lions could possibly have.

00:32We're going to jump right into it.

00:33We'll start off with Khalil Mack.

00:36Now obviously the Lions want a premier pass rusher.

00:38They've made phone calls on Max Crosby.

00:40They've made phone calls on Myles Garrett.

00:42They have been looking for someone opposite Aiden Hutchinson.

00:45While Z'Darrius Smith is really good, he's not that guy per se.

00:50He's going to be good for the Lions, but he's more of a rotational guy, if anything.

00:59Mack is a premier edge rusher that the Lions do not have to pay a ton of money to.

01:04You can get them on a two-year contract, $45 million would be the projected amount.

01:10That's not a lot.

01:11You could probably work that contract in such a way where you have an out after this season.

01:17You don't have to give away draft picks.

01:20You don't have to completely threaten your ability to retain Sam LaPorta, Jameer Gibbs,

01:28Jack Campbell, Brian Branch, some of the guys that you really want to keep.

01:32This would be the best way to go in terms of getting a premier edge rusher.

01:37The next guy on the list is New York Giants edge rusher Aziz Ojulari.

01:42This is a guy that had a really good start to his career in New York, and then they drafted

01:47Kevan Thibodeau.

01:48They traded for Brian Burns, and they sort of pushed him down the depth chart, but he

01:51still was able to get out there, get sacks for New York.

01:55He can get after the quarterback, and in Detroit, he would be a depth guy, but that's fine.

01:59You want guys that can come off the bench, especially if injuries happen, who can get

02:05to the quarterback.

02:06This is a guy who can do it, and again, not going to be super expensive.

02:11We're talking a two-year deal worth $10 million.

02:15The next guy is cornerback Paulson Adebo.

02:18This is a guy Lions fans have been talking about this dude a lot.

02:21Every time I'm on Twitter and I'm talking about free agency, there's somebody who's

02:25asking about Paulson Adebo.

02:27That's because this guy's a ball hawk.

02:29He could be your cornerback one immediately.

02:33Carlton Davis is somebody I know Lions fans probably want to keep, but the reality is

02:36that he's probably going to get a big money offer somewhere else, and here's an opportunity

02:42for the Lions to get someone a lot cheaper, considering Davis will probably get $45 million.

02:49Adebo's going to get $33.75 million.

02:51That's significantly less.

02:54He's also three years younger, four years younger.

02:58Just a better way to go all the way around.

03:00Good corner, can get up there, break up passes.

03:04We mentioned again, ball hawk, definitely somebody that the Lions would love to have.

03:10Then there's Darius Slay.

03:12Look, he wants to play for Detroit.

03:16He wants to play another year in the NFL.

03:18The Lions need depth at corner.

03:21It just makes too much sense.

03:22And it's not like Slay is a bad corner.

03:24This guy had 17 pass breakups last year.

03:26That's very good.

03:29He's not the all pro that he was in Detroit, and that's fine.

03:33But if you're getting him on a one year, $7 million deal, he's just invaluable to have.

03:41You can have him and Adebo, plus Arnold, Amik Robertson, Kendall Vildor.

03:46That's a really good cornerback group.

03:48Plus you draft somebody maybe.

03:50That's just incredible.

03:51That's what you want out of this free agency.

03:54You want to stack players on top of players.

03:57The next guy is guard Brandon Sheriff.

04:00Now this is kind of like my dream idea a little bit.

04:04I think that, first off, the Lions need to keep Kevin Zeitler.

04:08In this scenario, they would keep Kevin Zeitler as well.

04:12But Graham Glasgow is struggling.

04:15He's having a lot of trouble.

04:18Maybe you move him to the bench, and maybe you don't think Christian Mahogany is quite

04:21ready yet.

04:22Because remember, he didn't play the full season last year.

04:25He came on late, and while he did look good, he did not play the whole year.

04:31And we don't really know what that's going to look like.

04:33So let him marinate one more year.

04:34You get Brandon Sheriff.

04:36You get Kevin Zeitler on the inside of this offensive line, and suddenly the best offensive

04:41line in football becomes the greatest offensive line in football maybe ever.

04:46This group together would be insane.

04:50And at two years, $13 million, that's an investment worth making to protect Jared Gaugh, to continue

04:56to have a strong run game.

04:59You got to do it.

05:00I mean, I still think you go out there and draft somebody, but Sheriff, Zeitler, Mahogany

05:06off the bench.

05:07Yes, please.

05:08Then the next one is, while the Lions need a receiver, I think they'll draft somebody.

05:13I think that's definitely going to happen.

05:15Here's an option that could come in at wide receiver three right away, make a huge difference.

05:19And I'm talking about Keenan Allen, the veteran, all-pro, Pro Bowl, future Hall of Famer.

05:26This guy has been a very good football player.

05:30He can do a lot of different things for you in terms of positional versatility, can play

05:33in the slot, which he's mostly done in the last few years, but can also play outside.

05:36He's very good at it.

05:37In a wide receiver three role, you're kind of doing all of that.

05:41You're kind of doing everything.

05:43And Allen, every time he has played against the Lions in the last two years, whether it

05:47was for the Chargers or for the Bears, he's just beat the heck out of the Lions defense.

05:52It's not like this guy is over the hill and he's done.

05:57This is still a really good player.

05:59I think he could bring a lot to this team.

06:01And at two years, $24 million, I think that's a good enough deal.

06:05Again, I like Khalil Mack.

06:06You could probably set that up.

06:07So maybe the next year is a void year or whatever, but this is another player that can help you

06:13win that Super Bowl in 2025 and just makes the Lions offense so much more dangerous.

06:18For the last guy, I had to throw a project player in there.

06:21I had to, and it's Trey Lance.

06:24Look, I know that everybody thinks this guy's a bust and maybe he is.

06:29We don't really know.

06:30I mean, it certainly seems that way, but I think that there's a good...

06:37Let me start over again.

06:43The last guy is, I got to throw a project in there and it's Trey Lance.

06:48I know everybody thinks this guy's a bust and he could be.

06:51It certainly could be.

06:53But I think this is somebody who's had to bounce around between two teams already, has

06:57had different coordinators every single year.

07:01It's been so different for him.

07:02He has yet to have any semblance of continuity or it's just, he hasn't really had a chance

07:09to do anything yet either.

07:12So I think you bring him to Detroit where you have his former offensive coordinator,

07:17Tyler Roll, on the coaching staff now.

07:20You have three former NFL quarterbacks in Mark Brunel, Bruce Gretkowski, and Marcus

07:25Tuasosopo.

07:26You've got Dan Campbell.

07:28You've got John Morton, two guys who have helped rebuild Jared Goff's career.

07:31I think that you put all this around him, this unbelievable support team, and maybe

07:37you could at least, at the very least, get a backup quarterback who's 24 years old, significantly

07:45younger than Hendon Hooker already, who's going to be 28 next year.

07:51I just think it's a better idea.

07:53And if the Lions do those seven moves to us, that is the perfect offseason.

07:57Let me know what you think in the comments below.

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