How Did Three Key Lions Preseason Questions Shake Out?
The Lions had three primary concerns heading into the 2024 season. Here is how they worked out.
The Detroit Lions were expected to have a great 2024 season, which they absolutely did. While the season ended in shocking disappointment, winning 15 games, back-to-back division titles and entering the playoffs as the NFC’s top seed is an impressive feat.
But there were major questions heading into the Lions’ 2024 campaign. And as we look back at a season which ended a few weeks earlier than many thought it would – and head into an offseason with even more questions than before – it is worth looking at the questions we asked at the start of last season.
Would the Lions’ lack of pass-rushing depth hurt them?
In the final Lions story I wrote last offseason, I asked whether so much was being asked of edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson that it would harm both himself and the team. Then when the season got going, Hutchinson was in the midst of blossoming into a true NFL superstar during the first month of the season, before a horrific leg injury cut his season short.
The injury, which came after Hutchinson notched 7.5 sacks in just five games, highlighted what was already the Lions’ biggest flaw coming into the year — the dire lack of depth in their pass rush.
Detroit’s primary offseason addition on the edge was Marcus Davenport, a free agent whose career had been stymied by injuries thus far. His season, and Lions career, ended in familiar fashion after he suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2. James Houston was never able to get back into the form of his rookie year, and was cut midway through the season. 2023 standout John Cominsky suffered a season-ending injury in training camp. Two months into the season, Detroit was already left pulling guys off the street to serve snaps on the edge.
While Za’Darius Smith was a welcome addition from the Cleveland Browns just before the trade deadline, he is not a player who can take over a game by himself week-to-week anymore. Smith was spotty, occasionally looking dominant while other times being a ghost.
In the end, the lack of pass-rushing depth is what was most responsible for Detroit’s shock exit from the playoffs. Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels was playing on easy mode all night at Ford Field. He was able to settle into the pocket and scan the field for open receivers all night. Daniels was near perfect, but he didn’t need to be.
It would be tough for any team to deal with the number of defensive line injuries the Lions suffered, but the lack of talent there from the start made the issues compound even more.
Verdict: Yes, it absolutely did hurt them
Would Jameson Williams emerge as a WR2 and adequately complement Amon Ra St. Brown?
Jameson Williams had just 25 receptions and less than 400 yards through his first two NFL seasons. A devastating knee injury he carried from his college days and a gambling suspension just before year 2 stunted his development so far. Entering year three it was still a question whether he would ever adjust to the NFL game.
But general manager Brad Holmes took a bet on the young receiver last offseason. He let Josh Reynolds walk in free agency. Veteran practice squaders Tim Patrick and Allen Robinson were the only meaningful additions Holmes made to the receiving room. Williams was going to be thrust into the WR2 role whether he was ready for it or not.
And ready for it he was. Williams exploded in 2024, producing more in year three than he did during his first two seasons combined. He, and the Lions offense as a whole, was so impressive last season it now seems foolish in hindsight to think of WR2 as a real concern.
The 2022 first-round pick just reached the four-figure mark with 1,001 yards along with seven touchdowns last season. He caught 58 passes and while drops still happened on occasion, they were not nearly as common as years past. Further, he improved as a deep receiver, doing better tracking the ball in the air and running underneath it, unlike previous years where he would often find himself running away from the ball.
Williams is eligible for an extension this offseason and Detroit will have to make a choice about his fifth-year option. Just six months ago, it looked like his Lions career would soon be winding down. Now, the fifth-year option looks like a guarantee and Holmes has a tough decision to make about re-signing him. (Stay tuned to Bird’s Eye Football. We will write about the Williams contract situation soon).
Verdict: Williams was ready to be WR2, and Holmes’ gamble was a smart one
Was the cornerback room renovation successful?
One reason edge rushers and wide receivers may not have received as much attention as fans wanted during the offseason is because of how many resources Holmes dedicated to the cornerback position.
Detroit’s biggest flaw in 2023 was the unit led by Cam Sutton – who was released in the offseason after a domestic violence arrest – and great-story-but-not-great-player Jerry Jacobs. The Lions made four significant additions, bringing in Carlton Davis and Amik Robertson – each a starter on their previous team – during free agency and spending first- and second-round picks respectively on Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw. Emmanuel Moseley was expected to return after just playing a handful of snaps in his 2023 debut season with the team.
While Arnold and Davis both had growing pains early in the year, they were both great once they settled in. Robertson struggled for much of the season, but an absolutely magnificent performance against Justin Jefferson and the Minnesota Vikings in a crucial Week 18 matchup makes it hard to disparage him. Rakestraw and Moseley both played limited roles in 2024 because of injury.
Overall, the cornerback room was fine. No one would consider it among the best in the league, and the elite safety tandem of Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph made things easier for them, but it was a unit with top-line talent and depth. Injuries ravaged it just like nearly every other position on the roster, but the unit was still playing well through the end of the regular season. It wasn’t until the playoffs when the wheels truly came off.
Verdict: Holmes did an excellent job rebuilding the cornerback room