Danielle Hunter joins Detroit Lions as a Free-Agent
In 2023, the Detroit Lions had a historic season, capturing their first division title in thirty years and making it to the NFC Championship Game for the first time in thirty-two years.
Additionally, a large portion of the Lions’ success from the previous campaign may be ascribed to general manager Brad Holmes’ excellent class of 23 draft picks.
Holmes most famously made excellent choices in his first and second rounds. He selected running back Joshmyr Gibbs at No.
12 overall after trading back from the No. 6 pick, and at No. 18, he selected off-ball linebacker Jack Campbell.
He then selected defensive back Brian Branch with the 45th pick and tight end Sam LaPorta at No. 34 overall, using the extra pick the team had acquired by trading out of the No. 6 spot.
Despite the fact that such choices were heavily criticized at the time for lacking “positional value,” Holmes & Co. ultimately reaped significant rewards from them.
While Branch evolved as a key member of the Lions’ secondary, Gibbs and LaPorta both made it to the Pro Bowl in their rookie seasons. Even though he didn’t have as much of an impact, Campbell showed signs of being a valuable linebacker for the team.
As things stand right now, it seems like the team is headed toward becoming a consistent Super Bowl contender.
According to Steve Palazzolo of Pro Football Focus, if the Lions keep improving through the draft, they should be able to do that.
Keep your foot on the throttle and carry on with the work that you’ve been doing, Palazzolo stated on PFF’s Fixing Every AFC & NFC North Team in 5 Minutes! program.
Four of their top 50 draft selections, or whatever, were hits for them. At the end of the day, I believe Jack Campbell will be successful, but the other three definitely will be.
They were successful with their draft selections. They have left this world and their extra draft capital behind. They won’t have as many selections, so I believe they need to keep making their plays.”
He and fellow PFF contributor Sam Monson proposed that Detroit should target EDGE Danielle Hunter as a free agent this offseason.
They believed that he would provide the team’s pass-rushing attempts a much-needed boost without interfering with its ability to keep its own crop of talented players.
As with the Saints’ 2017 draft class, which included Ryan Ramczyk, Trey Hendrickson, and Alvin Kamara, but then same thing, if you’re really looking two and three years down the road here, you keep hitting on draft picks, you have to anticipate being able to pay all those guys in a few years, Palazzolo said.
And as I have stated, the Lions now have this scenario where they’ve drafted so brilliantly; in three and four years, those guys need to be compensated. Therefore, you cannot just start throwing money around carelessly. But a Danielle Hunter maneuver, I
