Mailbag: How much should the Detroit Lions focus on offense in the draft?

Matt Patricia and company drove the Detroit Lions’ defense into the ground over the last three years. Though he was billed a defensive guru, the Lions defense finished 26th and 32nd in points allowed in Patricia’s final two seasons as Detroit’s head coach. Needless to say, Lions fans are sick of seeing their defense resemble swiss cheese that had just gone through six firing squads.

So how much of a priority is fixing the defense for new general manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell—at least in Year 1? The Lions have undeniable needs on offense—see: offensive tackle and wide receiver—but should those be put on the backburner? Or can some of the defensive issues simply be fixed with coaching? Or does it not matter which needs get addressed first in this year’s draft? Could a dominant offense make this team competitive right away and quicken the rebuild?

That’s one of the bigger discussions we had on this week’s live Q&A podcast on the Locker Room app. In this weekly podcast, we take live calls through the app and spend about an hour answering your questions.

Other topics on this week’s episode:

• Is drafting a QB the worst-case scenario for the Lions in the first round?
• Could Tyrell Crosby be a part of the team’s long-term plans?
• Our favorite “sleepers’ in this year’s draft

You can listen to this week’s episode—along with all of our podcasts from the week, including our hilarious conversations with Lions running back Jamaal Williams and our informative chat with Brett Whitefield—on our podcast feed, available on these platforms: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or iHeartRadio.