The Detroit Lions are preparing to make moves to improve their roster this offseason, and a big focus early on has revolved around the need to fix their defense.
There’s no doubt the Lions must do the heaviest lifting on that side of the ball, but they can’t ignore some lingering offensive issues either. Perhaps the biggest issue offensively revolves around what happens in terms of wide receiver depth.
Right now, the Lions have a strong receiver room, but there are questions near the bottom of the group. Free agent Tim Patrick could represent the best option to keep depth strong. NFL.com analyst Kevin Patra broke down receiver situations across the league, and hinted at Patrick’s return to Detroit being a very good idea.
“Bringing back Patrick, who fit the offense’s profile perfectly, should be an option, unless someone throws a multi-year deal his way on the open market — this would be similar to the way the Lions lost Josh Reynolds a year ago. Detroit eschewed the receiver position in the 2024 NFL Draft, but it is not outside the realm of possibility that the Lions would use a mid-round pick at the position this year after bolstering the trenches early on.”
After signing before the 2024 season, Patrick went on to put up 33 receptions, 394 yards and three touchdowns. It wasn’t huge production, but it should be enough to warrant another look if Patrick is open to continue building chemistry with what should be a resurgent Jared Goff.
Will the Lions re-sign Patrick, target another receiver in free agency or make the position a major priority in the draft? It’s clear that finding playmakers is always going to be a goal for Holmes as he thinks about how to keep the offense on an elite footing.
“You want to add as many explosive players as you can regardless of which position it is, but it just kind of adds more firepower. Look, sure, people (would) love to have two Jahmyr Gibbs’ if you could. There’s not a lot of those type of players around, though. You just want to add as many explosive players as you can. I think we have a lot of them, but that’s not going to stop us from looking to continue to add more.”
Patrick obviously isn’t in the same stratosphere as Gibbs in terms of overall impact and explosion. Still, the quote proves the Lions won’t ignore the offense this offseason no matter how elite it may seem on the surface. Keeping a veteran wide receiver from 2024 who knows the offense could be the easiest way to stay dominant.