Brad Holmes
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ESPN's latest ranking of the Lions will excite fans.
The Detroit Lions have made several additions through both free agency and trades while also returning some players, including Cade Mays, D.J. Wonnum, Larry Borom, Isiah Pacheco, Rock Ya-Sin, Roger McCreary, and Juice Scruggs.
Now, ESPN Insider Ben Solak has come out with his annual ranking of how each NFL team has fared with their moves so far in the offseason, ranking his list by:
“-The value they got for the money they spent
-The flexibility of their roster approaching the draft
-The contract details that provide them leverage
-How they manipulated the compensatory pick formula
-What they could have done but didn’t do.”
And his review of what the Lions have done so far should leave Detroit fans smiling.
ESPN’s Ben Solak Had Praise For the Detroit Lions’ Offseason
As Solak put it, he liked the acquisition of Isiah Pacheco after the departure of David Montgomery to the Houston Texans.
“I loved: The dart throws,” Solak wrote. “Detroit has more needs than it has money to throw around, but it did extremely well to take high-upside swings in the margins. Pacheco can’t be 100% of what David Montgomery was for them, but the Lions don’t want that anymore — they want a capable short-yardage, pass-protecting back to relieve Jahmyr Gibbs, and they got that for near the veteran minimum.”
Solak also praised the value that the Lions got in their offseason acquisitions, which he believes represent low-risk, high-reward propositions.
“The Lions also got a functional starter at center in Mays for $8 million per year in an offseason in which the center market was exploding. Wonnum is ideally a No. 3 edge instead of a No. 2 option, but opposite Aidan Hutchinson, he can fill the Al-Quadin Muhammad shoes and then some. At corner, McCreary can start if he’s healthy, too. This class is filled with great value.”
His Reviews Weren’t All 100 Percent Positive, However
However, one of the moves that Solak did not like was the signing of unrestricted free agent OL Larry Borom, a former fifth-round pick (151st overall) in the 2021 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears out of Missouri, who spent last season with the Miami Dolphins
I didn’t love: “Left tackle. Larry Borom is a good swing backup, but the Lions don’t want to live in a world where he starts 17 games on Jared Goff’s blind side. Goff, for all of his improvements and strengths, is simply not a springy mover. He needs clean pockets. With the 17th pick, the Lions are squarely in contention for a franchise left tackle, and I’d put a lot of theoretical chips on that being their first-round target. (GM Brad Holmes also said Borom could play right tackle, with Penei Sewell moving to the left side, so there’s that option, too.)”
The Lions, who still have plenty of salary cap space, are also apparently not finished adding as noted recently by Holmes.
“We’re not done yet,” Holmes said. “We’re not done yet. We’ve got our eyes open, leading all the way up until the draft. So, this thing’s not over yet. Now, I don’t have a crystal ball. Don’t take that as the definite, because if we don’t sign anybody, and then you say—. But, seriously, we’re still actively looking, still actively having discussions with players’ agents. So we’re not done.”