Detroit Lions mailbag: After drama-free offseason, are they really Super Bowl-bound?
The most underrated thing about the Detroit Lions' offseason is how drama-free it has been.
There are no quarterbacks skipping offseason workouts in contract disputes, no wide receivers fleeing car accidents then assaulting photographers (allegedly), no kickers giving controversial commencement speeches, no disharmony of any kind, really.
When Cam Sutton had an off-field issue that threatened to be a distraction, the Lions cut him even though it left a void at one of their thinnest positions. When cornerstone players Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Penei Sewell needed new deals, they got them done.
Things won't always be this way. To paraphrase legendary East Coast philosopher Christopher Wallace, mo' wins, mo' problems. But with 3½ months till the start of the regular season, the Lions seem to be on the same page when it comes to chasing a ring this fall.
It's been a while since I did a Lions mailbag, and with organized team activities starting this week, I figured now would be a good time to answer your questions. Here goes (questions lightly edited for clarity and brevity):
Are you getting good vibes about this year’s Lions team? — @MrEd315
We'll start here, because when I picked the Lions to go 11-6 in my way-too-early schedule prediction, you'd have thought I picked them to win six games and finish last in the NFC North judging by the amount of negative feedback I received.
I think the Lions have the best overall roster in the NFC, and if I was picking a team to represent the conference in the Super Bowl right now it'd be the Lions. The San Francisco 49ers still will be very good and I think are the 1B in the conference, the Philadelphia Eagles should bounce back after their late-season slide and the Green Bay Packers are going to push for supremacy in the division. But I'm getting only good vibes from the Lions right now.
That doesn't mean they're a team without holes. More on that in the next question. But they've had a really good offseason, after having a really good 2023, and they've got a two-year window before they feel the salary crunch of the deals they just did. Injuries are a wildcard as always, but the Lions are easily one of the best teams in the NFL.
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What’s the one position you think they add to the team? What’s the one position they should add to the team? — @tripple3ddd
When I wrote about the remaining "blind spots" on the Lions' roster earlier this month, I put wide receiver as the team's No. 1 remaining need and I still think that's the case. St. Brown is a star. Jameson Williams' skill set as the No. 2 receiver is a perfect compliment to the rest of the offense. But Williams remains unproven and the position group is thin beyond that.
I'm not advocating trading for Tee Higgins or signing Michael Thomas. I get why the Lions are rolling with Kalif Raymond, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Antoine Green as their Nos. 3-5 right now, and I'm not aware of any moves they have coming at the position. But they are a St. Brown injury (or to a lesser extent, Williams injury) away from this being a trouble spot.
I do think the Lions will add another kicker at some point, and since I got a couple questions on Jake Bates of the Michigan Panthers, he absolutely could be in the mix once the Panthers' season is done. Bates has generated plenty of NFL interest with his big leg, and while he still may need some development — he's made 15 of 18 field goals this season — he has NFL talent and will be looking for a chance to compete for a job when he signs in a couple weeks.
The Lions can offer that, and the chance to develop on practice squad if they feel he's not yet consistent enough to kick in the NFL.
Is it far-fetched to say that Jameson Williams is the most important player on the Lions this season? — @FriedrichsJk
Sticking with receiver talk for a minute, I think that would be overstating things quite a bit. St. Brown, Sam LaPorta and Jahmyr Gibbs are the Lions' top three offensive weapons, and this is a unit that did fine without much from Williams last year.
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Williams absolutely adds something to that group. His deep speed and second gear are something few receivers can match in the NFL, and the Lions used those weapons to open up the field for St. Brown, LaPorta and Gibbs last year.
Williams is important, but not near the same level as Goff, St. Brown, LaPorta, Sewell, Aidan Hutchinson and a few others in my eyes.
If Hooker is in the 2024 draft class (healthy; same age as 2023) where would he rank as compared to the 1st round QBs as a prospect, and where might he have been drafted? — @zachgollach
This is a good question from Zach, and one I can use to sum up all your Hendon Hooker questions for the week.
I posed this to a high-ranking college scout I know and he said Hooker would rank seventh, after all the first-round QBs from this year's draft, but his evaluation included the knee injury Hooker suffered in his final season at Tennessee and the fact he was 26 years old when he finished his rookie season.
I wouldn't argue if you put him ahead of Michael Penix Jr. or Bo Nix, two players a lot of evaluators feel were overdrafted because of need, but Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye would have gone ahead of any of the quarterbacks drafted last season and the biggest reason J.J. McCarthy wouldn't have gone ahead of Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud was his limited body of work.
It's probably not as simple to say Hooker would have been a first-round pick this year, because the Denver Broncos (Nix), Atlanta Falcons (Penix) or Minnesota Vikings (McCarthy) might not have been compelled to take a quarterback as high with another similarly-graded potential Day 1 starter available (if Hooker never suffered that knee injury).
Either way, Hooker is ticketed for backup duty this fall behind Goff and should get a ton of work this spring and summer as the Lions race to get him ready for the regular season. I don't see a path for him starting in Detroit, outside of as a fill-in in case of a Goff injury. But I still like his upside as a player and the investment the Lions made to get him last spring.
Do you think we traded up for guys like Vaki & Manu because the roster is loaded and not many picks would make the team? Maybe they figured let's get the guys we love & have a specific plan for them? — @DirtyJerzFinest
The Lions spent their first two picks on cornerbacks Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. who should compete for playing time this fall, then traded into Round 4 with their next two selections for developmental prospects Gio Manu and Sione Vaki.
Manu won't play much if at all on the offensive line this year after coming from Canada, while Vaki should have a role on special teams but isn't likely to see a ton of time at his main position of running back.
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The Lions absolutely targeted Manu and Vaki on Day 3 because they liked their skill sets and have a plan for their development. The reality is, this was not a deep draft so rather than wait and risk losing the two players they wanted and being left to draft a player who might have filled a backup role this year but had limited long-term potential, they decided to be aggressive and grab two players with big upside who don't need to contribute much right now to justify a spot on the 53-man roster.
Ultimately, how Manu and Vaki develop will determine whether the Lions made the right choice as the team gave up important future assets (2025 third- and fourth-round picks) to move up in the draft.
Do you think it’s realistic we add another DB such as Justin Simmons/Quandre Diggs or just roll with what we having going into OTAs? — @WafflesandSoles
Just guessing here, and injuries certainly could change things, but I think the Lions stick with the status quo at safety for now. I'm shocked Simmons is still on the market. He's a really good player. And we all know what Diggs did in in his first tour in Detroit.
But neither Simmons nor Diggs is going anywhere to be a backup, and the Lions seem pretty locked in at starter right now with Kerby Joseph (who's rehabbing from hip surgery) and Ifeatu Melifonwu returning, and Brian Branch (who was recently pictured on a knee scooter) capable of playing the position as well if the Lions want to move him off slot corner.
A fun hypothetical: A huge fight breaks out at the combine amongst all teams' beat writers. Which Lions beat writer do you choose to have your back? — @Useless_infoMI
Little known fact: We have a fight club every Thursday in Allen Park after OTAs. This week, Carlos Monarrez vs. Shawn Windsor is the main event. I'll get back to you in a couple weeks.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions mailbag: How realistic is Super Bowl run in 2024?
