Draft preview: Team still searching for viable Hutchinson complement
Over the next several days, leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft, we’re taking a position-by-position look at the Detroit Lions’ roster and evaluating how the team might address each unit. Today: Edge defenders.
• Current roster: Aidan Hutchinson, Josh Paschal, John Cominsky, James Houston, Marcus Davenport, Mathieu Betts, Mitchell Agude
• Short-term need: Five out of 10
• Long-term need: Eight out of 10
• Top prospects: Dallas Turner, Jared Verse, Laiatu Latu, Chop Robinson
• Day 2 options: Marshawn Kneeland, Darius Robinson, Chris Braswell, Bralen Trice, Jonah Elliss
• Late-round considerations: Jalyx Hunt, Brennan Jackson, Eric Watts, Myles Cole
• Analysis: It may surprise you to learn the Lions led the NFL in pressure rate, and finished second in quarterback knockdowns last season. That’s because the defense struggled to translate its ability to affect the pocket into sacks. The team’s 41 sacks ranked in the bottom 10 in the league for 2023.
Detroit’s reliance on the blitz did factor into its lofty pressure rate. With effective situational rushers such as Alex Anzalone, Ifeatu Melifonwu and Brian Branch, the defense could undoubtedly be disruptive when coordinator Aaron Glenn opted to bring extra heat, particularly on third downs.
But traditional pass-rush success was more elusive.
Obviously, Aidan Hutchinson has held up his end of the bargain the two years since he was selected No. 2 overall in the draft. Despite some lulls between sacks in his second season, he finished with a respectable 11.5, while only Dallas’ Micah Parson generated more total pressures.
But the Lions have struggled to find a consistent threat opposite their young star. Charles Harris, returning from an injury-plagued 2022 season, got the first crack at starting opposite Hutchinson. After a handful of games, the defensive captain’s role rapidly shrunk, and by the end of the season, he was barely playing. The team leaned more on John Cominsky and Josh Paschal down the stretch, but the two combined for just 3.0 sacks, despite playing more than 1,100 defensive snaps between them.
Many anticipated James Houston could be the solution after a brilliant rookie campaign, when he racked up 8.0 sacks in just seven games. But after spending most of training camp repping
with the third-string defense, he suffered a broken ankle two games into the year, shelving him for the remainder of the regular season.
Seeking a stop-gap solution to the production void, the Lions are rolling the dice on Marcus Davenport, signing the former first-round pick to a oneyear deal in free agency. The coaching staff has a grasp on what he can offer from their overlapping time in New Orleans, and his 9.0 sacks and 42 pressures in 2021 would be welcomed. That said, he’s been a mixture of ineffective and hurt the two years since. A return to his former levels of performance would unquestionably be huge.
The Lions aren’t going to abandon trying to find the right mix from the options already on the roster, but there’s obvious opportunity for fresh blood to come in and make an impact. It just won’t be easy to find it in this draft.
With the 29th pick, the Lions aren’t likely to be in the mix for Turner, who probably has the highest ceiling in the class. And it’s difficult to see Verse sliding, like some speculated he might in the early stages of the pre-draft process. An impressive showing at the combine, combined with a thin crop of talent at the position, should keep him in the top 20.
The Lions could have a chance at Latu, a well-proportioned, highly productive option who was nearly forced to quit the game because of a neck injury a couple of years back. Alternatively, there’s Chop Robinson, who doesn’t project as an immediate three-down player, but has potential to be an impact pass-rusher thanks to an incredibly explosive get-off paired with good hand usage.
On Day 2, the Lions could look to add another piece stylistically similar to what they already have in Cominsky or Paschal. Both Darius Robinson and Trice have the requisite size to play inside and on the edge. And both have cultivated a reputation for playing with physicality and having a high motor.
Meanwhile, Elliss, the son of retired Lions defensive tackle Luther Elliss, has less schematic flexibility at 6-foot-2, 248 pounds. But as a pure pass-rusher, he has some juice, tallying 12.0 sacks for Utah in 2023.
If you wait for Day 3, you’re likely looking at a specialized skill set or a developmental project. There are some intriguing athletes, including Hunt, out of bowl subdivision Houston Christian. But waiting to address edge rusher until that late in the draft is largely conceding you don’t expect early defensive returns.