{"id":767633,"date":"2026-02-21T23:21:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T23:21:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/767633\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T23:21:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T23:21:20","slug":"espn-ranks-lions-needs-as-deepest-nfl-free-agency-draft-position-groups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/767633\/","title":{"rendered":"ESPN ranks Lions needs as deepest NFL free agency, draft position groups"},"content":{"rendered":"

Adding a premier pass-rusher opposite All-Pro Aidan Hutchinson is one of the Lions’ top offseason needs. Detroit needs to address the interior of its offensive line as well. There’s been plenty of chatter about the Detroit Lions<\/a> as one of the teams that could be in the Maxx Crosby trade market<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But, plucking Crosby from the Raiders<\/a> would come with a steep asking price<\/a> and it might not be the best path forward for Detroit. The Lions need to re-sign young stars<\/a> and Detroit could address more collective needs by not dealing away multiple first- and second-day draft picks.<\/p>\n

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The Lions may be looking for an Al-Quadin Muhammad replacement. Muhammad was second this past season with 11 sacks and tied-second with nine tackles for loss.<\/p>\n

The good news for Detroit? ESPN thinks there’s options this offseason at both edge rusher and at interior offensive line. In its ranking of the deepest offseason position groups<\/a> in free agency and in the 2026 NFL draft, ESPN has edge rusher and interior offensive line ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in terms of depth.<\/p>\n

If your favorite team’s general manager can’t find a good fit at edge rusher this offseason, tell him to take a hike. – Ben Solak, ESPN<\/p>\n

Solak listed Trey Hendrickson (Bengals<\/a>), Odafe Oweh (Chargers<\/a>), Jaelan Phillips (Eagles<\/a>), Khalil Mack (Chargers), K’Lavon Chaisson (Patriots<\/a>), Boye Mafe (Seahawks<\/a>), Joey Bosa (Bills<\/a>) and Jadeveon Clowney (Cowboys<\/a>) as free agent options at edge rusher.<\/p>\n

The main thing that impresses me is the variety. Oweh, Chaisson and Mafe are speed artists who can create pressure fast. Guys such as Mack, Clowney and Kingsley Enagbare (Packers<\/a>) are all hitters in the running game. – Solak, ESPN<\/p>\n

In the 2026 NFL draft, Keldric Faulk out of Auburn<\/a>, Akheem Mesidor out of Miami and Cashius Howell from Texas A&M<\/a> could all be options in the first round for Detroit.<\/p>\n

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Ravens<\/a> center Tyler Linderbaum could hit the free agency market. If he does, Linderbaum would be the prized jewel. Solak lists Connor McGovern (Bills<\/a>) and Cade Mays (Panthers<\/a>) as other free agency options.<\/p>\n

ESPN really likes the draft class at center, tabbing Florida<\/a>‘s Jake Slaughter, Auburn’s Connor Lew, Iowa<\/a>‘s Logan Jones and Kansas State’s Sam Hecht as great options.<\/p>\n

Tate Ratledge impressed in 2025 as a rookie, but the Lions might not be sold on Christian Mahogany long-term at guard. Mahogany finished last season with an offensive grade of just 59.7 per Pro Football Focus<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If the Lions want to look at guard in free agency, Isaac Seumalo (Steelers<\/a>), David Edwards (Bills) and Alijah Vera-Tucker (Jets<\/a>) are possibilities.<\/p>\n

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In the draft, Penn State<\/a>‘s Olaivavega Ioane and Miami’s Francis Mauigoa could emerge as first-round options for the Lions. Alabama<\/a>‘s Kadyn Proctor could help on Detroit’s interior if the Lions draft him and opt to bump him inside.<\/p>\n

Second-day options include Oregon<\/a>‘s Emmanuel Pregnon and Texas A&M’s Chase Bisontis.<\/p>\n

For Lions fans that want to see the franchise add a talented edge rusher and address both center and guard, the 2026 offseason could provide the prime opportunity to address all three of those positions.<\/p>\n

For more\u00a0Lions<\/a>\u00a0coverage, follow us on X,\u00a0@TheLionsWire<\/a>, and give our\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0page a like.\u00a0Follow Josh on X,\u00a0@JoshOnLions<\/a><\/p>\n

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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: ESPN ranks Lions needs as deepest NFL free agency, draft position groups<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Adding a premier pass-rusher opposite All-Pro Aidan Hutchinson is one of the Lions’ top offseason needs. Detroit needs…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":767634,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[1817,52319,24909,16499,228,14163,10418,241,644,1522,230,146,113,14661,12,7,4609,9314,4893,16251,226,5736,100555,3278,4096,6563,216,6,15,1822,1482,428,236,525,238,426,628,4378,1503,7427],"class_list":{"0":"post-767633","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-aidan-hutchinson","9":"tag-akheem-mesidor","10":"tag-al-quadin-muhammad","11":"tag-ben-solak","12":"tag-bengals","13":"tag-boye-mafe","14":"tag-cade-mays","15":"tag-chargers","16":"tag-christian-mahogany","17":"tag-connor-mcgovern","18":"tag-cowboys","19":"tag-detroit","20":"tag-detroit-lions","21":"tag-edge-rusher","22":"tag-espn","23":"tag-football","24":"tag-free-agency","25":"tag-isaac-seumalo","26":"tag-jadeveon-clowney","27":"tag-jaelan-phillips","28":"tag-jets","29":"tag-joey-bosa","30":"tag-k39lavon-chaisson","31":"tag-khalil-mack","32":"tag-kingsley-enagbare","33":"tag-maxx-crosby","34":"tag-miami","35":"tag-nfl","36":"tag-nfl-draft","37":"tag-odafe-oweh","38":"tag-offensive-line","39":"tag-packers","40":"tag-panthers","41":"tag-raiders","42":"tag-seahawks","43":"tag-steelers","44":"tag-tate-ratledge","45":"tag-the-lions","46":"tag-trey-hendrickson","47":"tag-tyler-linderbaum"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/767633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=767633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/767633\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/767634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=767633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=767633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=767633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}