Most Lions fans seem pretty excited about how the team has handled the first part of the NFL offseason. Signing Cam Sutton, David Montgomery and others to largely affordable deals has definitely helped the positive perception of the Lions as a team on the rise.
Quantifying just how much better the Lions have become is a little more difficult. Fortunately, we now have a way to scale the Lions’ offseason compared to the rest of the league.
Kevin Cole of Pro Football Focus updated his Improvement Index through the latest action in free agency and trades. It includes the Lions’ recent addition of S C.J. Gardner-Johnson and LS Jake McQuaide.
The Lions come in fourth on the list. While that’s pretty nice, consider that the other teams in the top five (Chicago, Houston, Carolina, Cleveland) all began the offseason significantly behind the Lions in the win column and odds to win next season.
Note that the list also subtracts value lost from players no longer on the roster. On that end, the Lions have only lost WR DJ Chark, RB Jamaal Williams, S Jalen Elliott, CB Mike Hughes and OL Evan Brown. That’s some talent exiting Detroit, but the incoming players emphatically outweigh the losses in the index.
