Detroit Lions: Offseason improvement starts in the trenches

To improve the Detroit Lions roster this offseason, the team should start by adding talent in the trenches and working outward.

Games are won and lost in the trenches, as the cliche goes. That’s where this Detroit Lions team should start their talent search this offseason.

Specifically, defensive tackle and interior offensive line have been called out as their biggest needs. Agree or not, shoring up these positions could be the key to victory in 2020 for the Lions.

Now, we know the team could use help in many different areas, including defensive end and cornerback. They might very well add talent to those positions as well, but working from the middle outward should be the focus.

Here’s what Justin Rogers wrote for The Detroit News about the current state of the Lions’ defensive line …

"“A few short months ago, the interior defensive line looked like it would be the strength of Detroit’s roster. Instead, injuries wreaked havoc on the group and the team now faces a complete rebuild.”"

That’s not exactly what Lions fans want to hear, but stopping the run and blowing up plays from the inside wasn’t exactly a strength last year. With defensive tackle Damon Harrison considering retirement and with A’Shawn Robinson and Mike Daniels both free agents, the cupboard is looking pretty bare.

The draft has a nice prospect in Auburn’s Derrick Brown. Free agency has players like Kansas City Chiefs’ Chris Jones, Houston Texans’ D.J. Reader and San Francisco 49ers’ Arik Armstead. Brown would require the Lions’ first draft pick and the rest would require some serious money. How much cash the Lions are willing to spend is yet to be seen, and cornerback Darius Slay might make a big dent in what they have available.

On the offensive line, the Lions might be losing guards Graham Glasgow and Kenny Wiggins. Could the replacement plan already be on the roster in Beau Benzschawel? Or will general manager Bob Quinn continue the overhaul of the offensive line that started when he took over his duties in 2016?

Quinn has put a significant amount of resources into the offensive line already, and that looks to continue in 2020. Injuries and expiring contracts keep rosters in flux over the years, so this isn’t exactly unexpected. It’s more of an annoyance to fans that might be thinking, “We STILL need to fix the offensive line?!?!”

Yes, unfortunately. That’s the way it goes in the NFL. Injuries and salary caps may force your hand in these decisions, but solidifying the trenches is the best place to start. Hitting on late-round draft picks would help, too.

This Detroit Lions team is in the position of needing to win now. That sounds like it should always be the case, but the staff has much more at stake this season compared to the past two. If they don’t win, they’re gone. To win now, fixing the trenches is their best shot.

Drafting a new quarterback or trading current team-leader Matthew Stafford won’t get you to the playoffs. Trading away your best defensive player (Slay) doesn’t make sense in this scenario either. Build with the best pieces that you have right now. Turn those fourth-quarter losses into wins.

If the Lions solidify their trenches in the draft or free agency, it doesn’t really matter. It will be a big focus of the offseason, even if the flashy, attention-getting acquisitions are at defensive end, cornerback or wide receiver. But, then again, interior linemen are never really flashy. Just completely, 100-percent necessary.