We talked earlier about how the Detroit Lions are moving toward a new blueprint.

The move is all about youth, value, and being smart in the market. The idea is that you’re looking for a player who can come in and do more than just contribute, but be a premium depth piece who can make things happen when they get on the field. You want to do that on a likely one-year deal for a couple million dollars at most.

With that in mind, we compiled five young players who are still on the market who can come in and be that premium depth and not cost a lot of money. Here’s who we think best fits the Lions’ new blueprint.

Edge Cam Sample

The former fourth-round pick for the Bengals had a pretty solid start to his career. As part of their rotation, he came off the bench and put up 20-plus pressures and three sacks in multiple consecutive seasons. In 2024, he tore his Achilles during camp and missed the season. The Bengals still re-signed him after that. When Sample got extended chances to play in 2025, he played very well.

This is the kind of guy the Lions would look at as their next Al-Quadin Muhammad. A guy who had a very similar career to Sample before he got to Detroit and got more chances. He’s still just 26 years old

DT James Lynch

Lynch is the kind of player the Lions have shown themselves to like in the past. A big defensive lineman who can play big end and can play on the interior of the defensive line. He can be a really solid run-stopper on the interior. Not so much on the edge. When the Titans had Lynch in the middle last year in the first seven weeks of the season, he was their highest graded run defender during that time.

Lynch is still just 27 years old, and with the ability to play everywhere on the line, and the fact that Detroit has seen him play when he was with the Vikings, this one makes sense as a rotational move.

LB Jack Sanborn

Personally, I’m a fan of this player. Anytime the Lions played the Bears in the three years he was with them, you’d hear this name called a bunch. He can pass rush, he can cover somewhat well, and he can tackle. Make no mistake, he is not Alex Anzalone’s replacement. This is more of a Grant Stuard replacement than anything. But he has some upside; it helps out on defense, and he could challenge Trevor Nowaske for his spot. He’s still just 25.

S Ifeatu Melifonwu

The Lions should bring Melifonwu back because he gives the Lions an extra element when he’s in the game. He can be something of a pass-rush specialist at safety for the Lions. Melifonwu is still just 26 years old, and he’s already played in the system and knows what is expected here. It makes all the sense in the world. The only thing holding it up is whether the Lions feel good enough about Thomas Harper, Christian Izien, and Dan Jackson.

NT Sam Roberts

Just throwing this name out there because I see the vision for Detroit. He’d probably be more of a practice squad guy than anything, but Roberts has been pretty good in the chances that he’s gotten to actually play in the NFL. He played five games for the Falcons last year and walked out of the season with an 83 cumulative grade.