Analytics have the Lions defense graded as a top five unit, even though Detroit has been quiet during free agency
The Detroit Lions have been very quiet through the first two days of NFL free agency. They have brought in one external player in cornerback D.J. Reed. This obviously has Lions fans concerned as there is a feeling that Detroit is in desperate need of help on their defense and the Bears and Vikings have […]
The Detroit Lions have been very quiet through the first two days of NFL free agency. They have brought in one external player in cornerback D.J. Reed.
This obviously has Lions fans concerned as there is a feeling that Detroit is in desperate need of help on their defense and the Bears and Vikings have both been going on a signing frenzy so far.
It's pretty easy to feel that way. Down the stretch of the season, the Lions defense struggled, and that included their loss to the Commanders. What is often forgotten about is the thing that is also a pretty valid excuse for why the Lions didn't go all the way in 2024. It's that this team had an insane amount of injuries that this team had to go through and all of the starters and great players they had to go play these games without.
The way the season ended for the Lions defense has really made everyone forget the way it began. The Lions' defense was flat out once the best in the league in the early part of the season.
Going into Week 11, the Lions had the second best pass defense via DVOA and the fifth best run defense in DVOA. Then in Week 11 they lost Alex Anzalone. Then the Lions would go on to lose Alim McNeil, Malcolm Rodriguez, and Carlton Davis along with a slew of depth players. There was just no way to keep that unit going after all this.
Those guys are expected to be back in 2025, and it's because of this that ESPN's analytics guru Mike Clay has the Lions defense graded as the fifth best defense in the league after the first two days of the free agency tampering period.
The Lions are still very much in good standing right now. You can see they're graded at fourth on offense too. For everyone worried about the Vikings and Bears, their defenses are graded at seventh and eighth respectively. Nobody is suggesting that they didn't improve their units, but we are saying that analysts still view the Lions defense as the better group and view the Lions as the much more complete team.
I know this may not make Lions fans feel too much better because they would like to see a big splash move on the edge opposite Aidan Hutchinson. I personally think the Lions should make a move or two there too. But the Lions don't need to mortgage their future on whatever those moves would be. Let's just be patient and see what happens after the new league year starts on Wednesday. More deals will start coming in then.
Lions will hold onto young defensive lineman who showed some real promise in 2024
Way back in Week 4 of the 2024 season the Detroit Lions played the Seattle Seahawks at home on Monday Night Football. The Lions beat the heck out of the Seahawks in that game, but not everyone on the Seattle defense had a rough night. One player actually had a good game. Two tackles and […]
