The Detroit Lions believe there is strength in numbers

It was a busy offseason for Bob Quinn and the Detroit Lions. There was much that needed to be done and if early indications mean anything, then their mission just may have been accomplished. A team in need of many parts saw several new pieces added and on paper looks to be improved.

The defensive line that was in flux until the arrival of Damon ‘Snack’ Harrison has added more talent and now appears to be one of their strengths. The tight end group that was incredibly unproductive now has two bonafide starting quality players and more talent in reserve trying to make the roster.

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There has been an infusion of talent at almost every position. The secondary is deeper, there is more help at linebacker, running back and even some intriguing battles at receiver.

Meanwhile, the offensive line seems to be the one area that on the surface doesn’t look like any players of significance were added.

So the question still stands; have the Lions added enough horses to be contenders? Again on paper, the answer would seem to be a positive one. Outside of the question mark at one of the guard positions, the entire starting lineup on both sides of the ball look very competitive.

Yet due to the nature of the game, the real tale of the tape will be the quality of depth. It’s the NFL which usually stands for the answer to ‘how long you can expect your starting lineup to stay intact’? Not For Long.

Now, are these Lions the deepest team in the league? I wouldn’t bet on it. But are they more able to survive injuries than last season? At some positions, definitely. At others, we will have to wait and see, but overall they seem to be more capable of the next man up being successful.

Which could be important from the get-go. If Damon Harrison and Darius Slay don’t report to training camp, we’re going to find right away what the depth can do.

Filling your lineup with stars is great if you can, but when all is said and done, having quality depth that can win games is important. Especially for the Detroit Lions.

Both Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia believe in strength in numbers. That means not only having your starters make plays, but having your depth come off the bench and continuing to make plays. The defense looks like the depth could be exciting. On offense, the depth ranges from intriguing to solid at many positions.

So will the numbers be in Detroit’s favor this fall? It looks like they could be. This team is definitely more talented and deeper than last years squad, but over the course of a long 16 game schedule, it will be put to the test and we’ll find out just how strong their numbers really are.