Detroit Lions Mailbag: When will the Lions jump on the mobile quarterback train?
It's a big week for the Detroit Lions. After a nice bye week, they'll play the Washington Commanders in the Divisional round for a shot to head back to the NFC Championship game. For us, it's time for another mailbag. Let's jump right into it. Yes. Smith is currently under contract for the 2025 season […]
It's a big week for the Detroit Lions. After a nice bye week, they'll play the Washington Commanders in the Divisional round for a shot to head back to the NFC Championship game. For us, it's time for another mailbag. Let's jump right into it.
Yes. Smith is currently under contract for the 2025 season and he has a relatively small cap hit at just a little over $5 million. I think the Lions will still look to target more edge rusher help in both free agency and the draft, but Smith and Hutchinson together is something they're going to want to see for sure.
In terms of a top target for them, I would keep an eye on someone like edge rushers Azeez Ojulari or Michael Hoect.
It's really going to depend on what his practice status looks like this week. If he's full practice all week, I'm betting they throw him out there a lot. If not, I think they give him a bit of snap count. Either way, they ride the hot hand and go with Gibbs more often. Just having Montgomery back is still huge though.
I've personally been a big proponent of grabbing a young quarterback this offseason. I think Goff is the man for a long time, but you can start prepping your future now. Hendon Hooker is unfortunately not that.
In terms of that quarterback being a mobile guy, I don't know if they're going to go out and strictly just look for that in a player. It might just be a bonus since that's generally the way the play of the position is starting to lean and players are coming into the league with that ability more and more. I like Ole Miss QB Jaxon Dart a lot and if the Lions are in place to take him, they should.
I'd like to see them play the Eagles for multiple reasons. The first is that I don't want them to just face a team they've already faced. There's more drama and intrigue if it's a new opponent. That's what I love about the Commanders game.
The second is that this is the team that so many keep saying is better than the Lions. If you're a good team, you want to play the best teams out there. I want to see if the Lions can beat this team.
I don't believe any of these spots are the best for him to go personally, but if I had to pick one I'd go with the Raiders. I just think they'd be down to give Johnson whatever he wants in order to get him there. Not just the money, but unlimited control.
They also have a ton of money and some solid draft picks. Do they have the patience though? To me, it really depends on how much sway Tom Brady has on decisions.
Given the Vikings performance in the last 2 games, will KOC’s odds for COY drop (putting MCDC at the top, presumably)?
— Mad Men Lost (@madmenlost.bsky.social) January 14, 2025 at 12:22 PM
The thing about the award is that it's a regular-season award. Playoffs don't affect the voting, or they're not supposed to at least. At the end of the day, I think Dan Campbell should win it because he coached this team to a number one seed despite all the injuries, but this is a quarterback-driven league and the voters are going to tunnel vision in on O'Connell getting the Vikings to 14-3 with a guy that was a perceived draft bust.
Analyzing the Lions’ defense against running quarterbacks vs other playoff teams’ stats and how Detroit can stop Jayden Daniels on the ground
Here is something that is going to be talked about a lot this week for the Detroit Lions. Can they stop the mobile quarterback? It's something that has been discussed for some time now. It feels like this has been an Achilles heel for the Lions since 2021. When your team struggles with something, it's […]
