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NFL Free Agency is pretty much over for the Detroit Lions. In fact, it might just have to be completely over at this point since the Lions are running out of roster spots. They were active, though. They signed the following seven players.
Now it’s time to have some fun and sit down, and think about who among those seven players could have the highest upside for the Lions? After thinking it over, we’re ready to pick that player.
You might think the easy answer is D.J. Reed since he’s going to be this team’s CB1. That’s just a little too easy for me, so I’m disqualifying him from this conversation. Of course, he has a ton of upside, but we’re picking someone else.
That someone else is linebacker Grant Stuard. Here’s the thought. At first glance it’s easy to see him being that new Jalen Reeves-Maybin guy on this team. He is a really good specials teams player already. But there’s a chance that he can break through on defense as well.
We’ve seen him look good there with the Colts, but you might think he doesn’t have a big chance in Detroit. The thing is that he does. The linebacker corps is going to be set in 2024, but beyond that, there’s going to be some openings.
Alex Anzalone is in the final year of his contract, and Malcolm Rodriguez is going to be a free agent after the 2025 season as well. That opens up a world where if Stuard balls out on his one-year deal he’s on, he could get a chance to get another deal with Detroit and play more going forward.
I don’t think the same can really be said for any of the other signings the Lions made. Roy Lopez could have a big year, but you almost put him in that D.J. Reed spot where you expect him to be good in Detroit. Maddox could be good, but he’ll be 29 before the season starts.
Ya-Sin, Yeboah, and Allen all have to make the 53-man roster before any upside can come about. They’re all also on the older side of things, too.
That leaves the 26-year-old Stuard with a big chance to show he’s more than just a special-teams guy. We’ll see how things go, but we can see the upside there for sure.
