1. LB Kwon Alexander
Going back to the familiarity well, and deeper into it, here’s Alexander.
Alexander has spent the last season and a half with the New Orleans Saints after a trade from the 49ers. He overlapped with Lions’ head coach Dan Campbell and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn there in 2020. In 12 games during the 2021 season for the Saints, he had 50 total tackles and 3.5 sacks with seven tackles for loss and seven quarterback hits.
That Alexander is still available in mid-May is pretty puzzling overall, but his leverage on the opening market is waining by the day even as he may be eyeing a better overall situation than Detroit. But he is still pretty young (27, 28 on Aug. 3), with experience, athleticism and all-around playmaking ability. The Lions still need an injection of all of that in their linebacking corps.
With a few possible exceptions one way or the other, Alexander should be looking for the best opportunity to earn a starting job at this point. As much as the Lions’ coaches like Alex Anzalone, they have a prominent role available based on his play last season. Pair that with knowing Campbell and Glenn, and Detroit might be the best situation for Alexander.