The Detroit Lions season crashed and burned when Matthew Stafford was injured. Is there an alternative answer to finding a capable backup?
The Detroit Lions struggled on defense this past season. Which is actually an understatement. They were terrible.
Before his injury, Matthew Stafford played at a near MVP level, but due to the poor performance of the defense, the Lions were only 3-4-1 when Matthew’s season came to an end in Oakland.
The emphasis of this offseason is defense to nobody’s surprise. Lions fans are trying to figure out every possible way that Ohio State defensive end Chase Young could fall to them at the number three pick. But there aren’t that many possibilities and given what the addition of Young could do for Washington head coach Ron Rivera’s defense, it’s not likely.
So the real question seems to revolve around what general manager Bob Quinn will be able to accomplish in free agency, then how they can parlay the number three pick into the best possible option for the Lions.
Number three is the pick that Tua Tagovailoa from Alabama is expected to be selected. The Lions have allowed the media to know that Tagovailoa is certainly a possibility for Detroit.
After all, when you consider that the Lions finished the season 0-8 after Matthew went down to injury, as much as the defense needs help, it is also very important for Quinn to address the depth at quarterback.
Last season Jeff Driskel took over for Matthew for a couple of games until he was injured then, rookie signal-caller David Blough was tossed into the mix. The results certainly could’ve been better, but again despite neither of them being able to come close to matching what Matthew had accomplished, and who would’ve expected them to, the defense was still every bit as much the problem as the poor play at quarterback.
So now the offseason brings a definite mandate to improve the Lions awful defense. But what shouldn’t be ignored is how badly Detroit needs a competent backup quarterback as well.