Mike Payton discusses seven potential free agents that the Detroit Lions should take a hard look at.
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00:00If the Detroit Lions make these handful of moves in free agency that we're going to outline
00:05today, it's the most realistically perfect free agency that they could possibly do.
00:11Let's talk about it.
00:13Hi, I'm Mike Payne from A to Z Sports Detroit.
00:17Today, we are going to talk about seven free agents that if the Lions signed, we over here
00:22at A to Z Sports Detroit think that this would be the most realistically perfect free agency
00:29period off season that the Lions could possibly have.
00:32We're going to jump right into it.
00:33We'll start off with Khalil Mack.
00:36Now obviously the Lions want a premier pass rusher.
00:38They've made phone calls on Max Crosby.
00:40They've made phone calls on Myles Garrett.
00:42They have been looking for someone opposite Aiden Hutchinson.
00:45While Z'Darrius Smith is really good, he's not that guy per se.
00:50He's going to be good for the Lions, but he's more of a rotational guy, if anything.
00:59Mack is a premier edge rusher that the Lions do not have to pay a ton of money to.
01:04You can get them on a two-year contract, $45 million would be the projected amount.
01:10That's not a lot.
01:11You could probably work that contract in such a way where you have an out after this season.
01:17You don't have to give away draft picks.
01:20You don't have to completely threaten your ability to retain Sam LaPorta, Jameer Gibbs,
01:28Jack Campbell, Brian Branch, some of the guys that you really want to keep.
01:32This would be the best way to go in terms of getting a premier edge rusher.
01:37The next guy on the list is New York Giants edge rusher Aziz Ojulari.
01:42This is a guy that had a really good start to his career in New York, and then they drafted
01:47Kevan Thibodeau.
01:48They traded for Brian Burns, and they sort of pushed him down the depth chart, but he
01:51still was able to get out there, get sacks for New York.
01:55He can get after the quarterback, and in Detroit, he would be a depth guy, but that's fine.
01:59You want guys that can come off the bench, especially if injuries happen, who can get
02:05to the quarterback.
02:06This is a guy who can do it, and again, not going to be super expensive.
02:11We're talking a two-year deal worth $10 million.
02:15The next guy is cornerback Paulson Adebo.
02:18This is a guy Lions fans have been talking about this dude a lot.
02:21Every time I'm on Twitter and I'm talking about free agency, there's somebody who's
02:25asking about Paulson Adebo.
02:27That's because this guy's a ball hawk.
02:29He could be your cornerback one immediately.
02:33Carlton Davis is somebody I know Lions fans probably want to keep, but the reality is
02:36that he's probably going to get a big money offer somewhere else, and here's an opportunity
02:42for the Lions to get someone a lot cheaper, considering Davis will probably get $45 million.
02:49Adebo's going to get $33.75 million.
02:51That's significantly less.
02:54He's also three years younger, four years younger.
02:58Just a better way to go all the way around.
03:00Good corner, can get up there, break up passes.
03:04We mentioned again, ball hawk, definitely somebody that the Lions would love to have.
03:10Then there's Darius Slay.
03:12Look, he wants to play for Detroit.
03:16He wants to play another year in the NFL.
03:18The Lions need depth at corner.
03:21It just makes too much sense.
03:22And it's not like Slay is a bad corner.
03:24This guy had 17 pass breakups last year.
03:26That's very good.
03:29He's not the all pro that he was in Detroit, and that's fine.
03:33But if you're getting him on a one year, $7 million deal, he's just invaluable to have.
03:41You can have him and Adebo, plus Arnold, Amik Robertson, Kendall Vildor.
03:46That's a really good cornerback group.
03:48Plus you draft somebody maybe.
03:50That's just incredible.
03:51That's what you want out of this free agency.
03:54You want to stack players on top of players.
03:57The next guy is guard Brandon Sheriff.
04:00Now this is kind of like my dream idea a little bit.
04:04I think that, first off, the Lions need to keep Kevin Zeitler.
04:08In this scenario, they would keep Kevin Zeitler as well.
04:12But Graham Glasgow is struggling.
04:15He's having a lot of trouble.
04:18Maybe you move him to the bench, and maybe you don't think Christian Mahogany is quite
04:21ready yet.
04:22Because remember, he didn't play the full season last year.
04:25He came on late, and while he did look good, he did not play the whole year.
04:31And we don't really know what that's going to look like.
04:33So let him marinate one more year.
04:34You get Brandon Sheriff.
04:36You get Kevin Zeitler on the inside of this offensive line, and suddenly the best offensive
04:41line in football becomes the greatest offensive line in football maybe ever.
04:46This group together would be insane.
04:50And at two years, $13 million, that's an investment worth making to protect Jared Gaugh, to continue
04:56to have a strong run game.
04:59You got to do it.
05:00I mean, I still think you go out there and draft somebody, but Sheriff, Zeitler, Mahogany
05:06off the bench.
05:07Yes, please.
05:08Then the next one is, while the Lions need a receiver, I think they'll draft somebody.
05:13I think that's definitely going to happen.
05:15Here's an option that could come in at wide receiver three right away, make a huge difference.
05:19And I'm talking about Keenan Allen, the veteran, all-pro, Pro Bowl, future Hall of Famer.
05:26This guy has been a very good football player.
05:30He can do a lot of different things for you in terms of positional versatility, can play
05:33in the slot, which he's mostly done in the last few years, but can also play outside.
05:36He's very good at it.
05:37In a wide receiver three role, you're kind of doing all of that.
05:41You're kind of doing everything.
05:43And Allen, every time he has played against the Lions in the last two years, whether it
05:47was for the Chargers or for the Bears, he's just beat the heck out of the Lions defense.
05:52It's not like this guy is over the hill and he's done.
05:57This is still a really good player.
05:59I think he could bring a lot to this team.
06:01And at two years, $24 million, I think that's a good enough deal.
06:05Again, I like Khalil Mack.
06:06You could probably set that up.
06:07So maybe the next year is a void year or whatever, but this is another player that can help you
06:13win that Super Bowl in 2025 and just makes the Lions offense so much more dangerous.
06:18For the last guy, I had to throw a project player in there.
06:21I had to, and it's Trey Lance.
06:24Look, I know that everybody thinks this guy's a bust and maybe he is.
06:29We don't really know.
06:30I mean, it certainly seems that way, but I think that there's a good...
06:37Let me start over again.
06:43The last guy is, I got to throw a project in there and it's Trey Lance.
06:48I know everybody thinks this guy's a bust and he could be.
06:51It certainly could be.
06:53But I think this is somebody who's had to bounce around between two teams already, has
06:57had different coordinators every single year.
07:01It's been so different for him.
07:02He has yet to have any semblance of continuity or it's just, he hasn't really had a chance
07:09to do anything yet either.
07:12So I think you bring him to Detroit where you have his former offensive coordinator,
07:17Tyler Roll, on the coaching staff now.
07:20You have three former NFL quarterbacks in Mark Brunel, Bruce Gretkowski, and Marcus
07:25Tuasosopo.
07:26You've got Dan Campbell.
07:28You've got John Morton, two guys who have helped rebuild Jared Goff's career.
07:31I think that you put all this around him, this unbelievable support team, and maybe
07:37you could at least, at the very least, get a backup quarterback who's 24 years old, significantly
07:45younger than Hendon Hooker already, who's going to be 28 next year.
07:51I just think it's a better idea.
07:53And if the Lions do those seven moves to us, that is the perfect offseason.
07:57Let me know what you think in the comments below.