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We’ve been a little negative here at Pride of Detroit over the past two weeks. While everyone is eager for the free agency period, we’ve told you all the players that the Lions shouldn’t sign. Don’t pursue Doug Martin. Forget about Brian Cushing or Derrick Johnson. Just say no to Darrelle Revis and Adrian Peterson.
But let’s start thinking about players the Lions could potentially say “yes” to. In the upcoming days, we’ll start doing individual profiles on potential signings, but for now, let’s all discuss our one, favorite free-agent-to-be for the Detroit Lions.
Today’s Question of the Day is:
Who is the one free agent you think the Detroit Lions should aggressively pursue?
My answer: Dontari Poe.
Much like my current preference to grab a defensive tackle early in the draft, I’d be just as happy to see the Lions fill that need in free agency.
There are several things that make Dontari Poe a great candidate for the Lions. Perhaps best of all his traits is his versatility. Poe spent the first five years of his career as the Chiefs’ nose tackle in their 3-4 system. The Falcons took a chance on him last year, but Poe thrived in their 4-3 system. While Poe isn’t your prototypical 3-tech that the Lions could have used last year, he now has experience at that position, and was surprisingly good at it in 2017. According to Pro Football Focus, Poe had a career-high 39 quarterback pressures in his new role in Atlanta.
The Detroit Lions haven’t been able to generate pressure from the interior ever since Ndamukong Suh left town. Haloti Ngata and A’Shawn Robinson have been adequate space-cloggers, but neither bring the play-making ability of Poe. He would immediately change the outlook of the Lions’ defense and would give Matt Patricia the Vince Wilfork-like talent he had for so many years in New England.
At 27 years old, Poe would likely come with a long commitment and a hefty contract, but the Lions have the money to contend with other teams in negotiations. So if the Falcons aren’t able (or willing) to re-sign Poe, I would love to see the Lions aggressively go after him.
Your turn.