Team needs for 2019, my version

Lions offense: biggest need is a playmaker, we will get Johnson back, we get Marvin Jones back. To me there are two places to improve at WR and TE. Then, there are the injury questions to Lang. I’ve been hard on Wagner, and I think with some consistant play beside him maybe…what that leaves me is a playmaker at TE or WR, plus an additional starter at one position, plus answering the questions at RG and tackle. Back-up RB and QB are also issues. Stafford is the best QB we’ve ever had, can we push him by drafting a high end QB. Can we draft a second RB to pair with Kerryon? It will depend on what we can do with FA.

Lions defense: need here is pretty much established. We need a second CB. I watched too much holding and grabbing. For me, it is a necessity. We also need more talent at LB’er, like one who can cover someone quicker than my dead auntie. We need a replacement for Ziggy. We did not get our money’s worth. Fish or cut bait, hand me the filet knife, goddammit. I think Glover Quin is through, so I need to find a capable safety to shore up the back end.

I feel we can address some of this through FA. In fact cutting ties with Ansah, Riddick, Lang and Wagner and getting 40 million to aid in the re-build. I can get behind that. And, please do not tell me I have to pay their replacements. I know that. Throw a some rookies in at two spots and sign a mid range FA and you’ve replaced 40 million with ten million and some rookie salaries. Rather the talk was about needs than schooling me about economics

I have laugh a little at idea of getting rid of him.
There are those seriously think he’s the problem.

1 Like

This may sound crazy but I think it’s more important to add another high end versitile running back. Whether that’s the steadiness of Damien Harris, the explosion of Darrell Henderson or Bryce Love, the elusiveness of Devin Singletary, etc … I’m open minded about the who. But I want KJ to be the feature piece and given his frame and durability issues we have to have a hedge IMO. And it can’t be Carlos Hyde or whoever. It needs to be a guy that causes fear and he has to be able have some passing game value.

I think we need to both sign a professional outside depth WR and perhaps TE. I’d like us to draft a slot guy on day 3. Whether we go small and quick like Andy Isabella or for a big piwerful YAC guy like Jalen Hurd. DeAnthomy Thomas intrigues me as a slot guy in free agency but he’s never healthy.

And the of course we HAVE to figure something out at LOG. That has to be priority number 1.

I do think if we’re picking mid round 1 (get ready for it. The team is going 6-10 or 7-9) and Harry or Brown or Metcalf (If health checks out) is there they will definitely be in the conversation but I don’t think we need to go that Far and ultimately I doubt Quinn wants to have that much money in WR with Golladay needing to be extended.

Guard is my #1 offensive priority. RB is number 2. I have Edge and CB 2 higher overal priorities for sure. Perhaps LB as well.

1 Like

No, not crazy at all. They got beat to Rashard Penny. They traded up to get Kerryon. My plaintiff rumblings here bemoan the need for a playmaker. I said I didn’t care where and that includes RB, WR and TE. In a league of parity, a playmaker is paramount…
In KC they had three or four. Mahomes, Hill, Kelce, Hunt and Watkins… We had Tate, Stafford, Jones, Kerryon Johson and Golladay and there was real explosiveness on some days. We lost Jones, Johnson and Tate. The good news is that really means we only need a WR and a TE to get that going again. I already mentioned replacing Riddick, too. I was hinting at RB being a sneaky need.
If Lang can get healthy, (big if) and continues playing well that might offset the needs at RT/RG. I think the need for Lang and Wagner still exists but maybe the money could be better spent. Find a guy to plug in for a couple years and draft a guy to play tackle and that is complete.
Also, Agnew could be that guy. Our Tyreek Hill. Speed is the biggest killer. They were working him into the offense some. Golladay is a beast. Jones is a silent killer. Tate was a great fit. They were a force together. Somebody has to replace that. To get even better a serviceable threat in the seam like a TE who can get open against a LB’er.
When I do this, I don’t think we need top talent at every position. Getting a pro to fill a position like we did with Quin, Tate, M. Jones, Kennard, Lang and Wagner is half the battle and they have done it consistently. There is hope. Hope is all we have left.
Seems like a big list:
RG, RT, WR, TE and RB but when I look at it, Blount and Riddick go and we need those five positions. I am saying we can fill them with guys like we did Tate, Jones et al. Quality NFL starters from other rosters.
Same thing with defense, Safety, DE, LB and CB

I am convinced Crosby is Wagner’s replacement, maybe as early as next season. What happened to Dahl? I’m surprised we haven’t seen much of him. We need a RG, after that the O-line is set in my book.
Linebacker is a major concern of mine as well as a TE. MP needs a version of Gronkowski to take some pressure off Stafford. We are also light in the receiver position, the secondary, and pass rushing DE. Quinn has his work cut out for him this off season, between FA and draft, I expect to see a lot of new faces on the 2019 roster.
#1 Linebacker
#2 DE
#3 CB
#4 TE
#5 WR
#6 RG
#7 RB
#8 Secondary
#9 DL
#10 Back up QB
My areas of priority that need to be filled via FA and draft. JMO

1 Like

Good point about Crosby but we know nothing about him. But filling one of those OL holes, G/T, even better. Going further, assuming just one of Lang and Wagner is through and we get rid of Blount and Riddick, then we need one OL, a WR, a TE, a RB, a LB, a CB, a DE and a Safety.

So, if Crosby is ready, one of Wagner and Lang is retained and we get a free agent infusion at three positions, lets say CB, WR and LB, then top needs could be filled in the draft.

Sincerely, I hope we get to a place where Walker is ready at Safety, Quin retires, Lawson and Diggs are competing as the third CB because we signed a good CB.

There is a great class of LBers available in FA. Barr, Wright, Williamson, Ray, Mosley…obviously from a perspective of Patriot guys, someone like Chandler Jones, Jamie Collins and even ex-Jaguar Dante Fowler are all guys we could pursue.

I think they go D in rounds 1 and 2, and then WR or TE in the 3rd.

I wouldn’t lose my crap if we took a QB in rounds 3-5 either…I don’t think it happens in the 3rd but you never know.

FA will be interesting.

I think they need to find a home run threat. Darrell Henderson, Marquise Brown, etc. I don’t think we have one offensive player that keeps DCs up at night.

And if Kyler Murray is there and he’s going to play football I’m taking him in the first. I don’t care what other needs we have.

Team needs, on offense: RG, TE, slot receiver are the urgent ones. If they can sign FAs to cover these holes, fine. But I’d still draft people here anyway. I don’t see RB or QB as a priority this offseason, like it or not Stafford is the QB on this team for at least 3 more years unless somebody offers up a good trade. I’d re-sign Blount if he’s willing, or another powerback RB, and they could draft one too. I really hope they can sign a decent FA TE, cuz it takes time for rookie TEs to develop. Good slot receivers seem to be pretty expensive, they may have to draft one of these guys too.

Depending on the way things go, I hope to get a good CB and a Edge rushing DE in the 1st 2 rounds of the draft cuz I just don’t think you can find these guys on the FA market. There’s a reason why these guys are FAs in the 1st place, maybe the Lions could take another good DT early and move Hand to DE more often. Obviously, it depends on who falls to us, and we need quality starters all over the place. I’m hoping Walker is ready to replace Glover Quin, love the guy but he looks to have lost a step or 2.

Would Jarrad Davis do better at OLB? Dunno, maybe the Lions could take a better MLB/ILB and upgrade 2 places with one pick. Maybe. Who knows for sure what we have with JRM and Agnew on defense? Do they fit in Patricia’s defense? I think Quin and Ansah are both gone next year, so this defense HAS to replace them. Maybe Lawson too, and it’s too bad that Tabor didn’t pan out. I still think he might serve as a backup Safety.

E. J. Gaines.

1 Like

Sign Gaines, get Oliver or Quinnen Williams. Pick from a wide variety of FA LB’ers like Avery Williams and Minnesota’s Barr and draft to fill out the other needs. Let’s say we were able to get Williams to play DE, Hand is there for DE and Snacks, OMG, backed up by Williams or Barr, Davis Kennard, Diggs, Walker, Slay and Gaines. No pocket could be maintained. That would be three powerful dudes in the front line.

I’m just going to list the holes with as little explanation as possible, just to keep it short.
QB2
RB2, RB4
TE1, TE2
WR1, WR4, WR5
OG1, OG2… Decker and Wagner are locks for 2019. Crosby remains OT3 (valuable position), Dahl remains as a valuable swing backup, along with Glasgow. Ragnow provides substantial upgrade at Center.

RDE1
OLB2/LDE,
DT3
MIKE1, MIKE2
S1, S4
CB2, CB3

1 Like