After nearly a month into NFL free agency, the Detroit Lions still haven\u2019t addressed their pass rush. It remains the most pressing issue on their roster, especially now that most free agents are off the board.<\/p>\n
Despite that, the Lions seem to be actively exploring remaining options. They recently sat down with a free agent who played in the NFC North in 2024. ESPN\u2019s Jeremy Fowler reported that the Lions held a meeting with ex-Bears edge rusher DeMarcus Walker last week.<\/p>\n
There aren\u2019t many strong candidates left for Detroit to target, and this year\u2019s draft class lacks edge defenders with steady college production. Walker doesn\u2019t look like the fix for Detroit\u2019s edge rush issues, either. He recorded only 3.5 sacks in 17 appearances for Chicago last year.<\/p>\n
The same total he posted in 2023. He\u2019s only had five sacks once in his pro career. While Pro Football Focus credited him with 39 pressures in 2024, that stat doesn\u2019t make up for the lack of sacks.<\/p>\n
Detroit already has a veteran edge with iffy production who can start opposite Hutchinson, and Marcus Davenport has shown more upside\u2014his inconsistent play can at least be partly tied to injury. A committee of unreliable players doesn\u2019t seem like the best strategy for improving the edge.<\/p>\n
If the team adds another veteran, it should be someone who can clearly outplay Davenport. Otherwise, they\u2019ll be leaning too much on Aidan Hutchinson to drive the pass rush.<\/p>\n
Hutchinson is fully capable of doing that, but the Lions shouldn\u2019t want him to be their only threat if they\u2019re serious about a Super Bowl push. It\u2019s encouraging to see them still pursuing help at edge, but Walker doesn\u2019t appear to be the right piece for them at this time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After nearly a month into NFL free agency, the Detroit Lions still haven\u2019t addressed their pass rush. It remains the most pressing issue on their roster, especially now that most free agents are off the board. Despite that, the Lions seem to be actively exploring remaining options. They recently sat down with a free agent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29034,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[378],"tags":[1853,2804],"class_list":["post-29028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-detroit-lions","tag-aidan-hutchinson","tag-demarcus-walker"],"yoast_head":"\n