Lions should easily avoid suggested trade interest in underachieving edge rusher

Aidan Hutchinson carried the Detroit Lions pass rush last season, particularly compared to the team's other edge rushers. The effort to fix that situation came in free agency, with the addition of Marcus Davenport. There's also some level of expectation that a healthy James Houston will be a notable addition to the pass rush.

But Davenport has an injury history that can't be ignored, and to assume anything from Houston right now is foolish. So it's definitely plausible the Lions enter (re-enter?) the market for an edge rusher by the trade deadline, if Davenport and/or Houston aren't getting it done.

On his trade block Big Board going into Week 1, Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report mentioned the Lions as a possible suitor for two players. One of the players is someone B/R just can't let go of as someone the Lions should trade for, so let's focus on the other.

Lions should easily avoid suggested interest in young edge rusher

Knox mentioned the Lions as one of two potential suitors for New York Giants' edge rusher Azeez Ojulari.

"The Detroit Lions, who have justifiable Super Bowl aspirations, should also have interest if Ojulari becomes available. Detroit has lacked a high-end edge opposite Aidan Hutchinson, and it did little to address the need this offseason aside from adding Marcus Davenport."

A second-round pick in 2021 (50th overall), Ojulari had eight sacks with eight tackles for loss as a rookie. Over two seasons since, as injuries have limited him to 18 total games, he has eight sacks (2.5 last year, with two sacks in Week 18). For what it's worth, Pro Football Focus has never been particularly high on his work. It's fair to assume the Giants would move him if an offer came, which says it all.

If healthy, Ojulari could be a nice addition to supplement a team's pass rush. But the Lions would essentially be trading for a younger version of Davenport, with the same kind of durability and production questions/concerns until shown otherwise.

If the Lions do find themselves in the market for an edge rusher between now and the trade deadline, they can do a lot better than Ojulari.