Carlton Davis delivered just as he said he would in his first year as a Detroit Lion. Largely Ill-suited to the defensive scheme in Tampa Bay, he was a perfect fit for Aaron Glenn's man-heavy preferences in Detroit and he brought some much-needed swagger to the cornerback room. That also means Glenn, now the head coach of the New York Jets, is likely to "pound the table" to get Davis in free agency.
The Lions will surely make a strong effort to re-sign Davis, but there's a chance he gets too expensive with multiple suitors lined up to be in play for him. The Lions would then naturally pivot toward a cheaper free agent and/or the draft to replace him.
Or maybe they'll go after another big fish on the free agent market.
If Davis goes to the Jets, he would be replacing the likely departed D.J Reed. Before this disappointing season was even over for the Jets, here's what Reed told Tyler Dunne of Go Long.
"I’m ready to go to free agency, bro. I'm ready to see what's next for me", Reed said.
The hiring of Glenn as the Jets' head coach would seem to naturally change Reed's tune a bit, and based on a short Twitter post it seems it has.
But in a big picture sense, Reed can and should explore his options in free agency.
D.J. Reed offered up as potential Carlton Davis pivot for the Lions
Last week, Tyler Brooke of The 33rd Team pointed to the Lions as the best free agency fit for Reed.
"Sauce Gardner may get all of the attention with the New York Jets, but D.J. Reed has been a solid starting cornerback in his own right. While he didn't have any interceptions last season, he held quarterbacks to a 58.3 completion rate when targeting him in 2024. In fact, he hadn't allowed a completion percentage higher than 61.4 over the last four seasons."
"Reed has real No. 1 lockdown potential, which makes him an ideal replacement for the Detroit Lions, who are losing Carlton Davis and Khalil Dorsey to free agency. They have the cap space to swing on a free agent somewhere, and Reed could be a great pairing with rookie Terrion Arnold for a one-two punch at the position."
In projecting potential landing spots for the top free agent cornerbacks and safeties, Mason Cameron of Pro Football Focus listed the Lions for Reed.
"After Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn departed for the Jets‘ head-coaching job, Detroit head coach Dan Campbell promoted linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard to fill the void. The expectation is that the team's Cover 1-heavy scheme will remain, making Reed a clean fit to replace Carlton Davis III on the outside."
Cameron noted Reed's drop-off in PFF coverage grade after Robert Saleh was fired as Jets' head coach, but his overall PFF grades for the season were still very good to go with 64 total tackles, 11 pass breakups and an 87.1 passer rating allowed.
Bleacher Report more broadly mentioned Reed as a possible free agent target at cornerback for the Lions, without a clear mention that Davis would likely be gone if they went there.
Like Davis, Reed is also lined up to get paid nicely this offseason. So if the Lions are going to pony up similar money for a top cornerback, it's more likely they just re-sign Davis. But Reed is an interesting possible pivot option if that has to come into play, and we've seen general manager Brad Holmes make quick pivots in free agency that worked out nicely.