Detroit Lions named offseason winners after ‘one of the most productive’ drafts

Earlier in the week, we discussed an odd ESPN article that listed the Detroit Lions’ offseason as one of the worst in the NFL. It’s fair to say that most of the people who read that article vehemently disagreed—as evidenced by the current 200+ comments on the story.

Well, it isn’t just Lions fans who disagree with the assessment. Ironically enough, Mike Jones of The Athletic posted his winners and losers for the 2024 offseason during the same week, and the Lions came in as one of his five winners.

“Determined to build on last season’s march to the NFC Championship Game, Detroit locked up offensive cornerstones in quarterback Jared Goff, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and tackle Penei Sewell,” Jones wrote. “It also hit on free-agent signings of defensive tackle D.J. Reader, edge rusher Marcus Davenport, cornerback Carlton Davis III and guard Kevin Zeitler. The Lions also had one of the most productive drafts in the league, led by their selection of talented defensive backs Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw Jr.”

While a much more simplistic analysis of Detroit’s offseason, this feels like a more fair view of their transactions. Whereas ESPN’s Seth Walder gets hung up on the expensive extension of Jared Goff, Jones looks at the bigger picture of Detroit’s offseason moves, taking everything into account.

Interestingly enough, all of Jones’ selections came from the NFC. The other four winners were the Bears, Eagles, Commanders, and Buccaneers. Last year, the NFC was clearly behind the AFC in overall talented teams. It appears the NFC is starting to close the gap, which is likely one of the many reasons Dan Campbell knew getting back to the conference championship game is going to be even harder this year.