Detroit Lions don't need an NFL trade deadline upgrade. They should still make one.

It has been awhile since the Detroit Lions were true buyers at the NFL trade deadline, so maybe it’s hard to remember what it feels like — or what it signifies when a team adds a key player to boost its fortunes.

You have to go back half a decade, when the Lions acquired defensive tackle Snacks Harrison on Oct. 25, 2018, from the New York Giants for a fifth-round pick. The Lions had just won three of four games to inch their way into the wild-card race. Everything seemed possible.

Then … poof!

They got thumped the next week by the Seattle Seahawks (yes, even back then) and traded wide receiver Golden Tate to Philadelphia two days later, presaging a 6-10 finish.

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Yes, the Lions traded for Everson Griffen at the deadline in 2020, but that was more about Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn trying to save their jobs — which they lost five weeks later anyway en route to a 5-11 finish and the start of another franchise rebuild.

This year, the Lions are rolling. They stumbled in Baltimore, but don’t expect that to happen again anytime soon. They’re 5-2, lead the NFC North and currently hold the No. 2 seed in the NFC.

The Lions are a very good team. But they aren’t a great team. They have depth issues and areas of concern, namely on defense and especially in the secondary.

They’re also still a work in progress, a team that’s finding its way. A day after being humiliated by the Ravens, head coach Dan Campbell brought up the lack of discipline and how players just need to do their jobs. Like pouring a foundation, the Lions have established their culture but they’re still a year or two away from the concrete truly firming up.

That’s why Campbell sounded very reluctant this week to trade for a player that might mess up the chemistry that goes into the foundation he and Brad Holmes have laid.

“It’s got to be something that we feel like can help us, fits us,” he told WXYT-FM (97.1) on Tuesday. “But it also can’t be something that’s going to mess with what we got going on here. … And we’re not going to mess with the vibe of this team.”

The question is how much are Campbell and Holmes willing to compromise their precious chemistry, even a little, or trade away treasured draft capital to add an elite players such as Chase Young, Brian Burns, Patrick Surtain II, Derrick Henry, Justin Simmons or Budda Baker?

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Yes, chemistry matters. But so does seizing a rare opportunity for this franchise to win its first division title in 30 years and its first playoff game in 32 years.

Optics also matter, and if Campbell and Holmes really mean what they say about appreciating Lions fans, they should try to understand their generational pain. That would mean doing something that shows they care more about the fans than ethereal commodities like chemistry and draft capital.

My eyesight isn’t what it used to be, but I’m pretty sure the T-shirt Rams general manager Les Snead wore to the Super Bowl parade two years ago read “Fudge them picks!” after he traded second- and third-round selections to Denver for linebacker Von Miller.

I believe the Lions will be good next year, even if offensive coordinator Ben Johnson leaves. I don’t think they need to mortgage their future, especially for a one-year rental player. But they need to do something — like the way they signed quarterback Teddy Bridgewater as Jared Goff insurance — before Tuesday’s trade deadline to demonstrate their urgency.

I get it: Adding any player, especially an established veteran, is tricky for a team. They arrive with their own way of doing things and the message from their previous coach still ringing in their ears. Now they have to pivot from hearing something silly like “pound the rock” to understanding Campbell’s definition of grit.

Last year, Campbell and Holmes were lucky they didn’t get more criticism for trading away tight end T.J. Hockenson. A few weeks later, the Lions suffered a Christmas Eve loss to a very beatable Carolina team — what really kept the Lions out of the playoffs — and it came on the same day Hockenson had 13 catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns for the Vikings.

Hockenson would have made a difference for the Lions that day, possibly the same way any number of players on the trade block might make a difference for them this year.

Contact Carlos Monarrez: cmonarrez@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions shouldn't slumber at NFL trade deadline despite success