2, 32. DETROIT LIONS (3-13-1)
LAST SEASON: The Lions lost their first eight games and went 0-2-1 over the next three before finally winning a game. They closed with a relatively encouraging 3-3 finish in coach Dan Campbell’s first full year as a head coach. Many months before his first season as a general manager, Brad Holmes traded quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams for Jared Goff and a pair of first-round picks to seal the fate of 2021 as a rebuilding year.
FREE AGENCY: Released OLB Trey Flowers. Lost LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin; S Dean Marlowe; WR KhaDarel Hodge. Signed WR DJ Chark Jr.; S DeShon Elliott; LBs Jarrad Davis, Chris Board; CB Mike Hughes; ; TE Garrett Griffin. Re-signed S Tracy Walker; WRs Josh Reynolds, Kalif Raymond, Tom Kennedy; Cs Evan Brown, Ryan McCollum; P Jack Fox, Ss Jalen Elliott, JuJu Hughes, C.J. Moore; LBs Charles Harris, Alex Anzalone, Josh Woods, Jessie Lemonier, Shaun Dion Hamilton, Rashod Berry, Anthony Pittman; FB Jason Cabinda; OT Matt Nelson; QBs Tim Boyle, QB David Blough; LS Scott Daly; CBs Bobby Price, Mark Gilbert; RB Godwin Igwebuike; TE Brock Wright; K Riley Patterson; G Tommy Kraemer.
THEY NEED: DE, WR, CB, LB.
THEY DON’T NEED: RB, TE, OT, C.
POSSIBLE FIRST PICK: Michigan DE Aidan Hutchinson; Georgia DE Travon Walker; Oregon DE Kayvon Thibodeaux; LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr.; North Carolina State OL Ikem Ekwonu.
OUTLOOK: Detroit desperately needs an influx of talent on both sides of the ball. Its problems on defense seem more pressing: on the line, at linebacker and in the secondary. Jacksonville is expected to take Hutchinson No. 1 overall, but the Lions would pounce on the opportunity to take a hometown guy who starred at Michigan if he’s available. If not, second-year general manager Brad Holmes will probably take the top defensive player on the team’s board. The Lions, though, could take Ekwonu and put him at guard to bolster their potentially powerful offensive line.
