Lions get B grade for offseason from ESPN

We've reached the point in the offseason where most of the major moves have already happened. The majority of the biggest moves from free agency took place months ago, and the NFL Draft is in the rear-view mirror as well. Aside from a few final tweaks here or there, most of the heavy lifting in terms of making offseason changes has already been completed.

With this in mind, ESPN.com's Matt Williamson decided it was time to hand out grades for what each NFL team did this offseason. The Detroit Lions got a B grade for their efforts, which is up from a C- a year ago.

Williamson seems to be a fan of the changes the Lions made on defense, especially in the secondary. After signing Glover Quin and drafting Darius Slay, the Lions should have a pass defense that is "significantly improved," according to Williamson. He also likes that they added "another threat outside of Calvin Johnson" by signing Reggie Bush.

The reason the Lions' grade isn't higher has to do with the offensive line. Williamson is worried about the "lack of continuity" with the Lions losing three starters from last season. There are so many dangerous pass rushers in the NFC North that he thinks the Lions could have "some long days" in 2013.

All things considered, I'd say a B grade is pretty good for a team coming off of a 4-12 season. There may be areas that could still use improvement, but overall, the Lions got better as a team. That's something they didn't do in Williamson's mind last year, as he didn't think they made "great strides forward" in the 2012 offseason. That turned out to be more accurate than any of us could have imagined with the Lions going 4-12, so hopefully this year's offseason will produce better results given that they did a lot to upgrade their roster.