It gets lost a bit in the build-up to the 2024 NFL draft, but free agency signings are still happening around the NFL. Sure, the pace slows tremendously in the month leading up to the drat, which takes place from April 25-27 in downtown Detroit, but there are still a lot of free agents out there who can help a team like the Lions.
For a free agent to sign with a team this close to the draft, one of two things needs to be true. Either the player realizes he’s unlikely to get a better offer after the draft and will risk his new team selecting someone at his position in the draft process, or the team values a player that much more than what they think they can realistically get out of the draft.
Here are five remaining NFL free agents who could fit in with the Lions and be valued enough to merit signing before the draft later this month. This also should provide some indication of the level of talent that is still on the free agency market.
S Justin Simmons
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One of the NFL’s best back-end safeties over the last few years, Simmons was released by the Broncos unexpectedly. It’s also somewhat unexpected that the 30-year-old hasn’t found a new NFL home just yet.
If he’s still looking to ink before the draft—and he might not be—Detroit makes a ton of sense as a landing spot. Like the departed C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Simmons can effectively play any safety spot. He’s at his best in a split-safety role in coverage, although his man-coverage skills have declined some with age. He’s the only player on this list who would definitively start in Detroit, usurping one of Kerby Joseph or Ifeatu Melifonwu in the starting lineup. He also is likely to cost quite a bit of money.
OL Andrus Peat
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Peat has a couple of things going for him in the eyes of the Lions. First, he’s played for the Saints since 2015, meaning head coach Dan Campbell and other Detroit staffers who came from New Orleans know him well. The 30-year-old Peat was a three-time Pro Bowler while they were all there.
Secondly, Peat offers positional versatility as a depth lineman. He is nominally a guard and does his best work at left guard, but he kicked outside to left tackle in 2023 and got better as the year progressed. He’d instantly be the top reserve tackle in Detroit, sating perhaps the biggest remaining thirst on the offense.
TE Geoff Swaim
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Swaim doesn’t likely move the needle much, but he’s an experienced in-line tight end with reliable hands. His career catch rate is almost 80 percent, and he does have two seasons with more than 25 receptions.
It’s run blocking where Swaim adds value as a potential replacement for Brock Wright, if he leavws. He’s the most proven commodity still on the market in that aspect, and he’s done it across multiple offensive schemes with four different teams since entering the league in 2015, most recently with the Cardinals in 2023.
OG Laken Tomlinson
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Yeah, that Laken Tomlinson. The Lions’ first-round pick back in 2015, Tomlinson has proven to be an effective and durable starter throughout his career. He has started every game since the 2017 season, first with the 49ers and then the last two seasons with the New York Jets.
Tomlinson still plays very much how most Lions fans remember him. Now 32, the veteran left guard is good in pass protection against power on the inside, and he can reliably open up a hole in the run game. Just don’t ask him to move beyond one gap or pick up second-level pass rushers as a habit.
WR Tyler Boyd
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Boyd is unequivocally the best receiving option still available. His consistency as a slot who can also work effectively out of bunch formations and in motion stands out. The 29-year-old has caught at least 67 passes in five of the last six seasons for the Bengals, including 2023. His downfield work and blocking have tumbled a bit, however.
There has been some reported interest in Boyd by Detroit, as well as several other teams. Price appears to be an issue, as it was for the Steelers. If Boyd still wants to get in the $8 million ballpark for 2024, Detroit almost certainly is not for him. But if the potential suitors keep getting more scant, a compromised deal to fill the Josh Reynolds role in the Lions receiving corps could work.