DETROIT – There weren’t many silver linings for the Detroit Lions in their loss to the Baltimore Ravens this weekend, but the weaknesses that need to be addressed at the trade deadline were particularly glaring.
Lamar Jackson has made plenty of defenses look bad throughout his NFL career, but the Lions made it easy on him Sunday with very little pressure and way too much cushion in the secondary.
Detroit’s pass rush has been hot and cold this season, even during a four-game winning streak earlier in the month. Aidan Hutchinson leads the team with 4.5 sacks, but nobody else has more than two.
That was Aaron Glenn’s conundrum on Sunday. When he didn’t send a blitz, Jackson had way too much time to sit in the pocket and wait for one of his receivers to break open. When the Lions blitzed, Jackson found a target in space, and there was nobody home to make a play.
As good as the Lions have been this season -- 5-2 with a comfortable lead in the NFC North Division -- there are still some concerns on the defensive side of the ball. There’s nobody to pressure the quarterback behind Hutchinson. Alim McNeill is second on the team with two sacks, and Charles Harris -- a player who wasn’t even activate for the game this weekend -- is third with 1.5.
Another pass rusher sure would help the defensive line, and that has to be at the top of Brad Holmes’ list as the NFL trade deadline approaches.
Cornerback is another need. Without Jerry Jacobs available in Baltimore, the secondary was picked apart. The Lions have already lost Emmanuel Moseley and C.J. Gardner-Johnson for the season, so even if Jacobs returns, they’re one injury away from disaster.
The offense doesn’t need any additional help. Josh Reynolds and Kalif Raymond have solidified the team’s depth at wide receiver, with plenty of help from rookie tight end Sam LaPorta. Once David Montgomery returns to join Jahmyr Gibbs in the backfield, running back will be all set, too.
So the Lions really only have two major needs. The situation could be a lot worse.
The question is how Holmes approaches being a buyer at the deadline for the first time. He’s mastered the draft, and the Matthew Stafford trade at the beginning of the rebuild was a resounding success, but adding pieces to a playoff contender is a completely different animal.
Lions fans probably don’t want Holmes to give up too much draft capital because those picks have turned into the likes of Hutchinson, Brian Branch, LaPorta, Jack Campbell, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Kerby Joseph, and others. When Holmes is the one drafting, those picks have substantial value.
But if the Lions want to keep up with the likes of Philadelphia and San Francisco at the top of the NFC, they have to beef up the defense. They can probably win the North without making a single move, but back-to-back matchups with the Eagles and 49ers likely stand in between the Lions and a Super Bowl appearance. The current roster probably isn’t good enough to beat both.
It’s a tricky situation to navigate. Fortunately, for the first time in a long time, the Lions have a competent front office pulling the strings.