3 Free Agents Lions Need to Sign to Make a Playoff Run Next Year

The Detroit Lions won just three games for the second time in the past three years, but there seemed to be a renewed sense of confidence under first-year head coach Dan Campbell. Detroit has needs all over the depth chart and it enters the offseason with a moderate $21 million in cap space.

While expectations won't be sky high, the Cincinnati Bengals turnaround from four wins to a Super Bowl appearance showed us anything is possible in the NFL. We'll set the bar a bit lower, but some few smart free-agent maneuvers, and a successful NFL Draft, could see the Lions making some noise next year.

Here's a look at three free agents that the Lions need to sign to make a playoff run next season.

Lions Free Agency Predictions 2022

3. Melvin Ingram, EDGE, Kansas City Chiefs

The Lions ranked in the bottom three of every pass-rush statistical category last year, including sacks (30), pressures (124) and QB knockdowns (29). That unit will need to improve to help a secondary that allowed 244.7 passing yards per game. Detroit's cap space isn't exceptional given the amount of holes on roster, so it'll need to make some savvy decisions. Ingram enjoyed a breakout second half with the Kansas City Chiefs and recorded 33 pressures from Week 9 on. The veteran could bring some much-needed knowledge and expertise to a position the Lions will likely also address in the upcoming NFL Draft.

2. Marcus Maye, FS, New York Jets

Tracy Walker operated as the only dependable starter for Detroit's safeties and he's set to enter free agency. That's a big question mark for Dan Campbell and co., and something that can be fixed by signing Marcus Maye. At just 28, he's still got enough youth but may be on the cheaper side of notable free-agent safeties following an underwhelming campaign on the franchise tag. Maye and the next name on this list may be a bit pricey, but Detroit can clear a good amount of cap space by moving on from vets like Will Harris and Amani Oruwariye (or potentially even Trey Flowers).

1. Michael Gallup, WR, Dallas Cowboys

Quarterback is another obvious need, but Detroit is in position to seek a long-term solution there. Assuming they can hang on another year with Jared Goff at starter, it'd be smart to give him some help at wideout. The Lions had just one WR (Amon-Ra St. Brown) go over 500 receiving yards a year ago. Enter Michael Gallup. This is both a short- and long-term solution, as he's just 25 years old and ready for a lengthy deal. He's surpassed 500 receiving yards in three of four NFL seasons and could easily improve upon that as he'd have a much bigger role in Detroit than he ever did with Dallas.

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Adam Taylor McKillop is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Adam Taylor also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username atmckillop. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.