Firstly I like that everyone has gone for different formatting for this post. Well done.
Firstly this is not Dan Skipper slander. That man is a hero, and me and DC hope that he never stops puking into that trashcan.
However cult status aside I think most of us can agree that Larry Borom likely represents a serious upgrade over Dan Skipper as the presumes OT3. Borom has started in 38 games over 5 years, with sizable experience at both left and right tackle. His pff grades won't wow you, but context is important. The offensive line for Miami was terrible last year, and Borom played with a rotating cast of characters at right guard. Consistency, chemistry and better coaching (Hank Fraley) could help improve his performance.
Another reason why I think he is an under the radar player is that there is a very good likelihood that he takes significant snaps at some point this season. Rarely do tackle duos both play the full year and Borom may need to step in for a week-month. Many offenses (ahem- CHARGERS-cough) are completely derailed by bad o-line play. It's probably the single position outside of QB that does the most to dictate the floor of your team.
The last reason I think he could have a big impact would be the Lions using an increase in Jumbo packages. Here is my theory-
Dan Loves smashing people and stealing their will to live.
The NFL is a copycat league and they about to go two and three tight end sets crazy this year. Everyone is talking about the Rams offense using a lot of 2 and more importantly 3 tight end sets. Lewguewide The contracts handed out to second and third tight ends and the huge draft capital invested in the position (22 tight ends drafted this year compared to 14 in the prior year.) indicate a big swing.
Drew Petzing was already at the forefront of this trend. Petzing used a bunch of tight ends in Arizona- but importantly 2 years ago they used a high 3rd round pick to draft Tip Reiman, a 270+lb blocking tight end who has caught 9 passes for 55 yards in 21 games .
The Athletic Football Podcast did an awesome episode explaining the various reasons why teams want to put more tight ends on the field. Some are
A.) it stresses the defense by creating more surface area and gaps for them to worry about
B.) offenses are guaranteed to be facing base defense ( 3 LBs). many teams want to hide their backers in coverage, and few have a third LB they have any faith in.
Now, I for one am not super enthused by our third tight end options; so let's just go jumbo instead. You can have the effect in the run game by widening the defensive front, and it will all but guarantee base defense.
In the run game Borom would provide a massive upgrade over Conklin or someone like Meeks. In the pass game, while he may not be a dynamic threat the defense would still need to cover him. When a team goes wildcat and the QB is split out wide- the still need to put a man over there. By the same token if Borom runs a little hook, the still need to cover him or they surrender an easy 5 yards.
Secondly in the pass game what if you remove another secondary player and now had Gibbs, Laporta or Jamo running a crosser through a zone manned by the opponents 3rd linebacker. That dude is getting cooked all day.
Finally, financially I think Borom could offer a lot of bang for your buck. In this past off-season the Ravens blocking tight Charlie Kolar end earned a 3 year deal averaging 8.1 million. His catches each year were 4, 7, 9 and 10! These blocking tight ends aren't even really credible receiving threats! Borom is signed for only 5 million. Do I think we could toss him 6 catches in a year? Why not?!?
Tldr: Larry Borom is a secret jumbo addition.