It’s not a coincidence that the Kansas City Chiefs are connected to a lot of big-name players who become potentially available. Same with the New England Patriots back in the day, or the Los Angeles Rams in the not-so-distant past.
The Detroit Lions are now regularly entering those conversations. After nabbing former New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Eagles safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson in free agency, the Lions could be in line to make another power move, if the situation presents itself.
According to oddsmakers, the Lions are the favorites to land former Ohio State star and current Washington Commanders defensive lineman Chase Young if he becomes available.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer recently reported the Commanders would be willing to listen to offers for Young, as they already have signed Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen to long term deals, potentially making it tricky to commit to Young as well.
When he has been on the field and healthy, Young has shown he can be an absolute problem for offenses. The problem is, that hasn’t happened enough.
The 6-foot-5 defensive end had 7½ sacks and 10 tackles for loss en route to the defensive rookie of the year award.
Since then, has has played just 12 games over the last two years and has just 1½ sacks.
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Young tore his ACL back in November of 2021 and didn’t return to the field until Week 16 of 2022 when the Commanders were deep into the season and competing for a playoff spot.
Young had five tackles in those three games, with zero sacks or tackles for loss.
The Commanders decided to not pick up Young’s fifth-year rookie option, which usually spells the end of a player’s future with that team.
The Lions opted to not address the defensive line early in the NFL draft, selecting Brodric Martin in the third round. Young has primarily played defensive end in his career, a spot that the Lions could use some more juice at alongside last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Aidan Hutchinson.
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James Houston was a pleasant surprise as a rookie last year, picking up eight sacks in just seven games. But Houston has bizarrely been working with the third-team defense in Lions’ mini-camp so far, playing behind Charles Harris and Julian Okwara at the rush linebacker position.
Houston projects to be a big factor next year, no matter what unit he’s playing with this offseason. But if there’s any position you can’t have enough of, it just might be defensive line.