Mailbag: Have the Detroit Lions gotten better at EVERY position this offseason?

The Detroit Lions have had one of the most aggressive offseasons in recent memory. Despite finishing the season on an 8-2 run, Lions general manager Brad Holmes was clearly not okay just resting on his laurels. Detroit went out and made a handful of big investments in free agency, and the team just capped their 2023 NFL Draft with some big swings and bigger surprises.

On this week’s episode of the Midweek Mailbag podcast with myself and Erik Schlitt, we discuss just how far the roster has come since the final week of the 2022 season.

It’s easy to see the improvements across the roster. In fact, there’s an argument to be made that they aren’t worse at a single position when they left the field in Green Bay.

“It’s kind of crazy to look at this team that, before we even went into the offseason, we were feeling like this team could compete for the division,” I said. “This offseason, they upgrade almost across the damn board at every single position, and you’re like, ‘Alright, let’s go! We’re locked in. This division is for the taking. Is this conference for the taking?’”

The one exception appears to be at wide receiver, where the Lions lost DJ Chark in free agency and will not have Jameson Williams for the first six games of the season due to his suspension.

“Going from Chark to Marvin (Jones Jr.) is probably a downgrade, and you have to wait on Jamo,” Schlitt said. “So, yeah, they’re maybe not quite as good—they’re not bad. That was one of their deepest positions.”

That entire conversation closes out our podcast at the 41:40 mark.

Other topics on this week’s show:

• How much versatility will Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta give to the Lions offense? (1:45)
• How much will Gibbs eat into David Montgomery’s role? (6:30)
• What is Jack Campbell’s Day 1 role? Is he a three-down linebacker? (10:00)
• Why did Brad Holmes expend so much Day 3 draft capital to trade up in Round 3 when he’s so good drafting in Rounds 4-7? (16:35)
• What is the Lions’ plan at outside cornerback after not adding anyone in the draft? (26:30)
• How many long-term needs do the Lions still have? (32:00)
• How much overlap is there between Sam LaPorta and James Mitchell? Is this the Lions’ new TE type? (34:30)
• Are quarterback controversies in the near future with Hendon Hooker and Jared Goff?

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