Mailbag: Has free agency made a 1st-round QB more likely for Lions ?

The Detroit Lions focused on defense in free agency. Does that mean a first-round quarterback is more likely in the NFL Draft?

Before free agency, Detroit Lions fans were fairly split on whether the team should consider drafting a quarterback early in this year’s draft. Some believed any time you can get an upgrade at quarterback, you should highly consider it—and with Jared Goff’s contract up in a couple of years, now could be an ideal time to prepare for the future.

Others believed the Lions needed to heavily focus on defense, since that was the weaker side of the ball, and Goff and the offense finished as a top-five unit last year.

However, free agency appears to have changed some people’s minds. The majority of the team’s moves came on the defensive side of the ball. They added three potential starters—Cameron Sutton, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Emmanuel Moseley—in the secondary. They were able to re-sign several key players to their defense in Isaiah Buggs, John Cominsky, and Alex Anzalone. They were even able to reduce a couple of salary cap burdens (Romeo Okwara, Charles Harris) with a couple of contract renegotiations.

Suddenly, with the moves they made and the way they finished, the Lions’ defense looked to be okay, maybe even good?

So that brings us back to the quarterback question. Detroit can now afford to spend their draft picks preparing for the future rather than plugging immediate holes. Does that mean—along with Detroit’s uninspiring re-signing of backup Nate Sudfeld—the Lions could be aiming for a first-round quarterback—maybe even a trade up to get him?

That’s the main discussion on this week’s Spotify Live call-in mailbag podcast, and it kicks off the beginning of the show.

Other topics this week:

• Is Hendon Hooker an option at 18 or maybe the second round? (20:00)
• Peter Skoronski at 6? (37:00)
• The future at cornerback. Is it still an option early in the draft? (48:45)
• Should the Lions try to trade for DeAndre Hopkins to fill DJ Chark’s role? (56:00)
• Is nose tackle a valuable position in the NFL? In the Lions’ defense? (1:04:00)
• How does Mazi Smith fit into the Lions’ plans? (1:14:00)
• Could the Lions fit Georgia DE Nolan Smith into their defense (1:16:00)
• Which NFL Draft prospects absolutely fit in as a “Dan Campbell guy”? (1:25:00)