What positions should the Lions focus on in the 2021 NFL Draft?

First things first, the Detroit Lions don’t need to force the hand and grab a quarterback in the first round this year in the draft. Yes, Jared Goff is not Matthew Stafford, but he is better than many other quarterbacks in the league.

Goff can give you above-average quarterback play and has proven that he can win some big-time games. The Rams were just in the Super Bowl back in 2019 and Jared was at the forefront of that offense, obviously, a huge part of that was head coach and offensive genius, Sean McVay.

The Lions should start filling their biggest needs first before worrying about a quarterback. This should include loading up on the defense. Specifically, defensive line and linebackers. Yes, they could use some other pieces as well, but as far as the first few rounds it should be all on the defensive side of the ball. The defense needs a lot of help as they were ranked at the bottom of the league in 2020.

The offense looks like it needs some help at wide receiver, pending some more possible free agency moves and the offensive line could use a few more pieces, but the bigger need right off the bat is defense.

So, if the opportunity presents itself, Motor City head coach Dan Campbell, general manager Brad Holmes, and the rest of the staff should look to explore trading back to receive more draft picks this year or in future years. This would be a clutch move to load up more picks for the “retool” (not rebuild). Obviously, do not force a trade back if someone who is on the board can be a real game-changer.

The “retool” should only take a few years pending on how some of the future draft picks pan out and then the possible free agency signings. Once things start turning around for the better, then the Detroit Lions should reevaluate the quarterback position, but as of now, there is no rush to kick Goff to the curb for some rookie.