SideLion Report
FanSided

Detroit Lions: Free agency, the draft and dollars making sense

By Robert Jones

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 20: Newly redesigned $100 notes lay in stacks at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on May 20, 2013 in Washington, DC. The one hundred dollar bills will be released this fall and has new security features, such as a duplicating portrait of Benjamin Franklin and microprinting added to make the bill more difficult to counterfeit. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 20: Newly redesigned $100 notes lay in stacks at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on May 20, 2013 in Washington, DC. The one hundred dollar bills will be released this fall and has new security features, such as a duplicating portrait of Benjamin Franklin and microprinting added to make the bill more difficult to counterfeit. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next
(Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)
(Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /

The Detroit Lions need to find the right balance between signing free agents and the draft so their spending dollars actually make sense.

The Detroit Lions are dreaming of being a playoff team. As general manager Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia prepare to watch the Super Bowl like the rest of us, they are also working on their offseason strategy with the idea that the Lions will be in the playoffs next year. Which means it better be an awfully good strategy.

Yet as we all know, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. In their two years together, the majority of Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia’s plans have crashed and burned. So with job security being their motto, they have to make all of their offseason moves count.

Armed with $50 million in spending money and the third pick in the draft, they are actually in a good position to improve these Lions. The problem will be if they use their cap space to just sign two high priced free agents then select a player that doesn’t warrant going number three overall or doesn’t address an immediate, imperative need.

We all know the player that would be the best possible pick for the Lions at number three is Ohio State defensive end, Chase Young. The problem is that the Washington Redskins pick number two and with the addition of new head coach Ron Rivera, it would take a little more than a miracle for them not to select Young.

One of the reasons everything goes back to Young is because premium pass-rushers are at a premium. This is where the dollars make sense and help the cap out. If the Lions could draft Young then they would not only fill a desperate need for an elite pass-rusher, but it would come on a rookie contract which would make it very affordable.

Instead, they may very well go after a free agent again like last year when they landed Trey Flowers and his very unfriendly salary cap number. Unfortunately, because prolific pass-rushers are at a premium, getting one in free agency means you pay a premium and then some.

Home/Lions News