The Detroit Lions’ offseason is off to a great start

What does this mean for the draft?

As I wrote last week, a successful free agency would open things up greatly for Quinn in terms of his options at next month’s NFL draft.

As soon as it becomes official on Wednesday, there won’t be many commentators denying that Detroit has been successful through this stage of the offseason. The fact that many positions of need on the roster will already be filled or semi-filled by draft day, the window for speculation is wide open.

Quinn can go ahead and get T.J. Hockenson if another tight end in the Top 10 is what he really wants, and I won’t say a word against it. Adding another edge rusher to Trey Flowers and Snacks Harrison on the defensive line could bring that unit back to 2014 levels of dominance. If they want to load up the secondary, Greedy Williams from LSU should be available, maybe even in a trade-down scenario.

Marquise Brown and Parris Campbell are two intriguing slot prospects (you know, as a Danny Amendola insurance policy), possibly in the second round. Heck, if teams get cold feet and Kyler Murray starts to slide ala Aaron Rodgers, snatching him up at the #8 spot (as a backup to Stafford!) wouldn’t seem totally ridiculous now.

Obviously, signing a few free agents is no guarantee of success on the field, just look at the Vikings last year. Even so, after a year filled with growing pains for both Quinn and Patricia, any good karma at all coming out of that facility is cause for the mini-celebration I’m having right now.