After a 12-5 season and a trip to the NFC Championship Game, the Detroit Lions have their sights set on more in 2024, and they have the roster to get to and win their first Super Bowl in franchise history.
General manager Brad Holmes can improve his team's chances in the NFL Draft, where he'll have an opportunity to bolster the roster further. But, as Holmes has stated before, it's also about making picks that help sustain success rather than simply making them based on a window.
With the 2024 NFL Draft just days away, we're taking a look at the Lions' offseason roster to see which positions groups are most in need of help. We'll start with the offense.
Lions offseason roster: Offense
Quarterback
Jared Goff, Hendon Hooker, Nate Sudfeld
The Lions are set atop the depth chart with Goff, who is locked-in as the starter and could get extended this offseason. Hooker and Sudfeld will compete for the backup job.
Neither Sudfeld nor Hooker are guaranteed to keep this team afloat if Goff gets hurt, and Hooker remains more of a wild card after not having played a snap in 2023. The fact that a Super Bowl contender like Detroit did not make any major move behind Goff may suggest they believe in the sophomore signal-caller to get the job done.
Level of need: Low
Running back
David Montgomery, Jahmyr Gibbs, Craig Reynolds, Zonovan Knight, Jermar Jefferson, Jake Funk
The one-two punch of Montgomery and Gibbs is one of the best in the NFL and the Lions have enough behind them to feel more than comfortable about their situation. No additions are needed here.
Level of need: None
Wide receiver
Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Kalif Raymond, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Tre'Quan Smith, Tom Kennedy, Antoine Green, Daurice Fountain, Maurice Alexander
Wide receiver is the first position on this list we can say definitely needs more help. St. Brown is elite, but Williams is a question mark entering a season in which the Lions need a lot more from him.
Raymond and Peoples-Jones can be solid depth pieces but are hardly ideal options for No. 3 in the receivers room. Detroit could use two more reliable targets in this group, but at the very least they need another starter on the outside, something they can address in the early rounds of the draft.
Level of need: High
Tight end
Sam LaPorta, Brock Wright, James Mitchell, Shane Zylstra
Keeping Wright ensured that the Lions wouldn't have to make a move here. They're perfectly fine with this group headed by LaPorta, who emerged as a star during his rookie campaign.
Level of need: None
Offensive line
LT Taylor Decker, LG Graham Glasgow, C Frank Ragnow, RG Kevin Zeitler, RT Penei Sewell, G Matt Farniok, G Kayode Awosika, G Michael Niese, OT Dan Skipper, OT Connor Galvin, G Netane Muti, G Colby Sorsdal
Detroit has one of the best offensive lines in the sport, with a starting five of Decker, Glasgow, Ragnow, Zeitler and Sewell from left to right. However, Zeitler may only be a one-year option and Decker is set to hit free agency in 2025, although I think there's a better chance than not that he's kept.
The Lions should be looking to add a guard and/or tackle in the draft, if for no other reason than they could use more depth in the short term. But they also need to have an eye on the future, especially with this group set to get more expensive thanks to Sewell's inevitable extension.
Level of need: Medium
