Detroit Lions: What’s overrated/underrated heading into 2020?

New Additions

**Side note– I know people want to talk about new addition D’Andre Swift right now, but my thought is that he’s neither over nor underrated. He’s deserving of the type of attention he’s been getting, and I expect a lot from him this year.

Overrated: The latest crop of ex-Patriots.

Trey Flowers and Danny Amendola were decent signings. The rest of the endless parade of New England castoffs that tick through Detroit like clockwork? Let’s just say that Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia are running low on time to prove that this is a good idea.

Jamie Collins, Duron Harmon, and Danny Shelton are just the three latest to follow the trend. Collins is presumed to be the team’s top linebacker now, and Harmon will likely beat out Will Harris for a starting safety position opposite Tracy Walker. Maybe this year’s batch of former Pats is really the one to put the team over the top, but it sure feels like a dead end and a real lack of originality in securing talent. I hope to be proven wrong, but until then this overall strategy was vastly overrated.

Underrated: Desmond Trufant.

Yes, the former first round pick and one time Pro Bowl veteran DB is a Lion now, but you’re not seeing his name mentioned too often. The excitement over the much-hyped Jeff Okudah, or safety Tracy Walker, or the potential of Amari Oruwariye, or another ex-Patriot joining at safety (see above) leaves Trufant as sort of a forgotten man in the secondary.

Trufant has proven to be a dependable starter (97 starts at corner in his seven seasons with the Falcons) in the league. With a career high four interceptions in 2019, there’s reason to believe that he still has plenty to offer. At the very least, he should stand as a reliable presence for Okudah to learn from as he quickly adjusts to life in the NFL after a greatly reduced offseason.