Sometimes a little perspective is good for the soul. While Detroit Lions fans have offered their opinions on how they have approached free agency for the past week, sometimes they (myself included) can be a little too narrow-focused. It’s easy to get caught up in your own problem and not see how it compares to everyone else’s.
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So while national free agency grades are relatively meaningless—as are most “grades” in this business—they can at least offer a different perspective on things. So let’s take a look at what some people are saying about the Lions’ moves thus far in free agency.
D.J. Reed free agency signing grades
- Sporting News: A+
The Lions pay a bargain price for the best corner and defensive player overall on the market to upgrade from Carlton Davis.
- The Athletic: A
After serving as the Jets’ No. 2 corner, Reed joins the Lions, who just saw Carlton Davis agree to join the Patriots. Reed could wind up establishing himself as one of the top shutdown corners in the league. Reed last season recorded 11 pass breakups and 64 tackles while holding opposing quarterbacks to a passer rating of just 87.1.
- ESPN: A
Almost every time I write about cornerbacks, I’m compelled to include a note about how volatile players at the position are. But the 28-year-old Reed is an exception, a consistent player year in and year out and, in my view, a long underrated player. I liked it when the Jets signed him three years ago, and I like this signing by Detroit.
Here are Reed’s yards allowed per coverage snap from 2022 to 2024: 0.6, 1.0 and 0.8, respectively. That’s three straight seasons better than average (1.1) in the category relative to other outside corners. Dating to his time in Seattle, Reed has been better than average in five consecutive seasons.
He also averaged a 13% target rate in his three seasons in New York, slightly lower than average despite playing opposite Sauce Gardner!
- USA Today: A-
The Lions lost Carlton Davis in free agency but may have landed an upgrade in Reed, who hasn’t allowed a passer rating greater than 91.7 in a season since the 2019 campaign. Having both Reed and Amik Robertson in the same cornerback room could be challenging since both are on the smaller side at 5-9, but Reed’s veteran presence will be welcome as the Lions look to develop Terrion Arnold.
- Bleacher Report: A
An argument can be made that the Lions actually upgraded here. Reed has toiled away on bad Jets teams, but he’s a sure tackler who has allowed a passer rating below 90 in each of the past five seasons.
The Lions needed to improve a pass defense that struggled last year even before Davis bolted for the big bucks in Beantown. Landing Reed for significantly less than what the Pats paid Davis was a coup for Lions general manager Brad Holmes.
- Sports Illustrated: B+
Reed, 28, has developed into one of the league’s better corners. In New York, he flourished under former coach Robert Saleh, starting 29 games opposite Sauce Gardner.
With the Lions now having their version of Gardner, Reed will be asked to cover the opponent’s top receiver. That’ll be a new challenge, but one the veteran appears to be up for.
Other Sports Illustrated grades:
- EDGE Marcus Davenport re-signing: D
To this point, the 2018 first-round pick has been a career disappointment. He’s amassed only 24 sacks and, outside of having nine in 2021, has never been more than a rotational talent from a production perspective.
- LB Derrick Barnes re-signing: C
With Barnes having played starter snaps over the past two seasons, the Lions are relying heavily on him to return in fine form with stars Aidan Hutchinson and Alim McNeill also coming back from significant injuries on the defensive side.
PFF grades
- LB Derrick Barnes re-signing: Below Average
- CB D.J Reed signing: Good
- DT Roy Lopez signing: Average
- DT Levi Onwuzurike signing: Good
- WR Tim Patrick re-signing: Average
Over The Cap grades:
- LB Derrick Barnes re-signing: C
Give credit to Detroit for not jumping in the way some others have. The numbers here are more or less in line with the mid tier LB market though the 2nd year guarantee at signing is not. Given some injuries I think pushing for more per game protection might have been a good thing.
- EDGE Marcus Davenport re-signing: B
I am a little surprised that Detroit decided to go back to Davenport, but a one year flyer at just $2.5 million is better than what they did last year. If he is healthy and motivated he should easily live up to this 1 year number.
The 33rd team grades:
- WR Tim Patrick re-signing: B+
- QB Kyle Allen signing: C
- DT Levi Onwuzurike signing: A
- NT Ray Lopez signing: B+
- CB D.J. Reed signing: A-
Other assorted grades:
- The Athletic — Levi Onwuzurike re-signing: B
A rotational player for the bulk of his career, Onwuzurike is disruptive (he recorded 13 quarterback hits in 2024), but isn’t as impactful as he could be, managing only 1 1/2 sacks in 16 games. But he fits what the Lions do, has room for improvement and comes at an affordable price.
- Sporting News — Levi Onwuzurike re-signing: B
The Lions keep a strong rotational player for a pretty reasonable price.
Overall free agency grades:
- Yahoo Sports: C
Why: Swapping out Carlton Davis for D.J. Reed is lateral. And the rest was fairly quiet
- CBS Sports: B
The Lions did lose Davis and Melifonwu, but one could make the argument that they upgraded by adding D.J. Reed, who was Pete Prisco’s No. 8 ranked free agent overall. They also made the solid move of re-signing both Marcus Davenport and defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike, allowing them each a reset with the organization after suffering injuries in 2024.
- USA Today: A-
The Lions lost Carlton Davis in free agency but were able to add D.J. Reed, a slight upgrade over Davis, on a cheaper deal (three years, $48 million). They also retained defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike on a reasonable one-year deal to continue in rotation with D.J. Reader and Alim McNeill and managed to keep versatile swing tackle Dan Skipper.
The only blight on Detroit’s free agency is that the team released Za’Darius Smith before anyone could see him play across from Aidan Hutchinson.
- The Sporting News: C (ranked 24th)
The Lions replaced Davis in the secondary well with Reed, but after a few big offseasons, they were bound to have a limited net haul. At least they kept some defensive line depth. It has been a tough offseason so far with Glenn and Johnson leaving for head-coaching gigs.
- Pro Football Network: B-
Swapping out Carlton Davis III for D.J. Reed is roughly a wash in a vacuum, but Reed came at a cheaper cost than Davis. That makes him a better value, particularly given Davis’ more checkered injury history in comparison.
While Detroit did well in its cornerback swap, cutting Za’Darius Smith to save $5.7 million in cap space is a curious move for a team in need of more pass-rushing depth. Aidan Hutchinson will return from his broken leg, but Alim McNeil [sic] is a question mark after a mid-December torn ACL. Until the Lions beef up the pass rush support around Hutchinson, this can’t be considered a truly successful offseason.
- PFF: B
