In search of edge rusher help to go with Aidan Hutchinson, the Detroit Lions took a one-year flier on Marcus Davenport in free agency. The 2018 first-round pick of the New Orleans Saints has some familiarity with the Lions' coaching staff (Dan Campbell and Aaron Glenn), and if he's going to rebound after a couple down years Detroit looks like the ideal spot.
Davenport played just four games for the Minnesota Vikings last year, and he was sidelined after Week 6 with an ankle injury. The severity of the injury, and even more so his desire to return to action, was openly questioned by a Minnesota reporter during last season. His jersey number, '0', matched his impact.
Sports Illustrated NFL insider Albert Breer recently pointed to the Lions adding an edge rusher to hedge against Davenport's injury history. Colton Pouncy of The Athletic also recently expressed doubt about Davenport's ability to stay healthy, while noting the risk attached to assuming he will.
Maybe CFL star Mathieu Betts wins a roster spot and makes a smooth transition to the NFL. Maybe James Houston takes a notable step after an injury wrecked his 2023 season. But it's possible the Lions start to think about adding a proven veteran commodity as insurance against Davenport's durability concerns.
The options are of course not all that robust here in early July, but there are some notable names who are available as free agents or could be available via trade.
With that in mind, the Lions could look to bring in one of these five edge rushers if they have concerns about Davenport's ability to stay on the field.
5 edge rushers the Lions could bring in as insurance against Marcus Davenport's durability concerns
5. Carl Lawson, Free Agent
After a solidly productive 2022 season for the New York Jets (seven sacks), where he played all 17 games, Lawson played in just six games for them last season. He was often a healthy scratch, which made trade rumors surface. Over the games he did play he barely topped 100 snaps (101), and in the middle of the season he lamented his lack of action without driving controversy.
"I’ve always wanted to help the Jets win:, Lawson said. "but at the end of the day I do want to be a football player. I do wanna produce. I do wanna help because I’m a football player not a cheerleader."
Lawson did miss the entire 2021 season with a torn Achilles, but he seemingly put any lingering concern about any ramifications of that injury to bed right away in 2022. Now he's a little further removed from that injury.
If we know anything at this point, it's that being devalued by the Jets (see Bryce Huff, John Franklin-Myers this offseason) is not a referendum on a player. In fact, other teams can surely find value and impact where the Jets did not see it.
Lawson may have been impacted by a deep edge rusher market in free agency this offseason, and someone is likely to give him a shot in training camp. That team could wind up being the Lions.
4. Emmanuel Ogbah, Free Agent
Ogbah is experienced and versatile, along with being generally pretty productive (at least 5.5 sacks in four of the last five seasons, reaching the mark over just 246 defensive snaps for the Dolphins last year). He is also more than just a pin-your-ears-back and go pass rusher, which plenty of teams should really like.
Ogbah would look pretty nice as part of the Lions' edge rusher group, and his potential mentorship of James Houston and Josh Paschal could be a nice extra consideration for adding him. Age (entering his age-31 season) makes him a budget-friendly signing, and the Lions should have him on their radar if they have any doubt about Davenport's durability.
3. Markus Golden, Free Agent
Full disclosure. Golden has become a personal favorite of mine for some reason. With that as a jumping off point....
Golden's sack production has been up-and-down over the course of his career, now nine seasons in. Last season with the Pittsburgh Steelers was a downturn, with four sacks in 16 games over 230 defensive snaps.
But 16 pressures on 117 pass rush snaps (according to Pro Football) is a pretty good pressure rate (13.7 percent), and he had at least 46 pressures in each of the four previous seasons. Among all edge defenders last year, leaving out any snap volume threshold, Golden's overall PFF grade (83.5) was tied for 15th-best and his pass rush grade (77.6) was in the top-30.
Golden is, frankly, a sneaky good pass rusher who easily gets overlooked because of his fluctuation in sack numbers. Sacks can be very random, and they're often not the full picture of how good a pass rusher someone is. Of some note in regard to the Lions: COO Mike Disner was in Arizona Cardinals' organization, albeit not in a personnel or scouting role, when they drafted Golden in 2015.
2. Yannick Ngakoue, Free Agent
Before a down season, shortened by an injury, with the Chicago Bears last year, few pass rushers in the NFL were as consistent as Ngakoue. He posted at least eight sacks in each of his first seven seasons, with double-digit sacks twice and at least 9.5 sacks four times.
Part of the rub with Ngakoue, and perhaps a core reason he remains available, is how well-traveled he has been. He has played for five teams over the last four seasons, since his rookie contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars ran out. It's worth noting his underlying pass rush numbers have been falling, and that seemed to finally show in his raw sack production last season.
As for that aforementioned injury, a broken ankle, Ngakoue made an effort to dismiss any concern about it back in May,
Ngakoue does no offer much of anything as a run defender, and if his drop-off in sacks last year is the new norm he won't offer anything of substance before too long. Still, as a signing who'd be given one express purpose (get after the passer), the Lions could do worse than giving him a shot.
1. Matthew Judon, New England Patriots
A recent report suggested Judon and the Patriots were close to agreeing to a contract extension. But on the other hand he's approaching his 32nd birthday (Aug. 15), he missed all but four games last year due to a bicep injury and the Patriots are in a rebuild mode post-Bill Belichick.
Judon skipped some of the voluntary portion of the Patriots' offseason work, but he showed up for mandatory minicamp (an "I'm just here so I don't get fined" vibe in some way). He has said he won't stage a hold-in as he seeks a new deal, but his response on Twitter earlier this week when a fan mentioned the need to extend him, could be broadly telling.
Judon followed that response with this post.
Judon had 15.5 sacks for the Patriots in 2022, he had12.5 sacks for them the season before that and he had four sacks in his four games last year. So he seems to have plenty left in the tank, and if the Patriots aren't going to give him a contract extension it makes sense for them to entertain trade offers. The Lions could very well put an offer together, and there's a solid argument they should.
The Lions could give Judon a more targeted role (70-plus percent snaps played in games he played in each of the last three seasons) and increase his effectiveness. As much as he'd be able to choose where he's traded to, if he's on the trade block or is trying to push for a trade, the Lions, positioned as a legit Super Bowl contender this year, would presumably be on any list of teams he'd like to go to.
If he's available and the price is right, Judon could become a Lion in fairly short order.
