Detroit Lions free agency 2019: Top 5 targets

The Men from the Motor City tumbled to last place in the NFC North this past season. What five players could help the Detroit Lions rebound this year?

The numbers are simply far too painful for the only organization in the NFC that has yet to reach the Super Bowl. The Detroit Lions’ last NFL championship came back came way back in 1957. That was nine years prior to the Super Bowl Era. The franchise hasn’t won a division title since ’93 and has not prevailed in a postseason game since 1991.

Fast forward to 2018. In his first season as the team’s head coach, Matt Patricia certainly had his ups and downs. But the bottom line was that his club finished dead last in the NFC North, with three fewer wins than the previous season. It will be interesting to see just how busy general manager Bob Quinn will be during free agency? So could these five players help the Lions’ cause in ’19?

5. QB Brett Hundley (Seattle Seahawks)

Quarterback Matthew Stafford just wrapped up his 10th season in the NFL. It was far from a productive year for one of the more talented passers in the game. He connected on 66.1 percent of his throws but for just 3,777 yards and 21 scores. The strong-armed signal-caller was picked off 11 times, lost four of his six fumbles and was sacked 40 times. He appeared tentative at times and consequently, the Lions totaled fewer than 20 points in seven of their final 10 contests.

There’s the expectation that new offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell brings a little help to a player that hasn’t had the benefit of a consistent ground game for too many years. Meanwhile, the team may also be in search of a backup quarterback should Matt Cassel not return or the Lions move on. Brett Hundley, who spent 2018 in the Pacific Northwest (and didn’t play a down for the Seattle Seahawks) after three seasons with the Green Bay Packers, brings youth and a knowledge of the NFC North.

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