The Detroit Lions' offense has been their biggest strength during the Dan Campbell era. However, they are slowly acquiring more talent for the defensive side of the ball. Obviously, the biggest acquisition was keeping Aidan Hutchinson in the state of Michigan. He has been everything Lions fans wanted and more.

But while "Hutch" is an absolute animal, he cannot do it all by himself. The Detroit Lions, and Aidan Hutchinson, would benefit greatly by adding another elite rusher off the edge.

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Detroit Lions Need Another Edge Rusher

The NFL has become a league of great quarterback play, and being able to rush the quarterback is paramount in a pass-happy league. Even though Detroit has improved its pass rush, help is still needed opposite Hutch. James Houston showed flashes in his rookie season, but injuries last year made him unreliable. Josh Paschal, the 2022 second-round pick, has been inconsistent and hasn't lived up to his draft price. John Cominsky has only six sacks combined in his last two seasons and might not return. Though there is solid depth here, these players profile more as rotational/situational pieces, and the team could stand to make a splash to add more production across one of the most gifted young pass rushers in the league in Hutchinson. This season, his pass rush win rate of 21.9% ranked sixth amongst qualified defenders, and his 26 quarterback hurries ranked first. However, none of his teammates were even close to matching that.

So, what should they do? In thinking about this team a couple of weeks ago, one thing I would've loved to see that made sense was the Lions picking up Brian Burns from the Carolina Panthers, who was set to become a free agent. The Panthers have been rumored to be willing to trade him for years now, but at one point turned down two first-round picks from the Rams. However, Carolina just franchise tagged him, so they could keep him away from other teams in free agency while trying to work out a deal with him. They can also tag and trade him though, similar to the Sneed situation, so perhaps Detroit could still make a deal for him if they want to go that route. His contract would be large though, and after signing Goff and St. Brown, will they want to spend here as well or look to other avenues?

Another possibility in free agency could be Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones. Although a defensive tackle, adding Jones would still easily make the Lions pass rush the best in the league. As previously mentioned, the Chiefs used their franchise tag on L'Jarius Sneed, so Jones will be a free agent. The Lions have promising talent at defensive tackle with players like Alim McNeill, but no elite pass rushers at the position, as he led the Lions' interior defensive lineman with five sacks last season. Jones had 10.5 sacks for the Chiefs last year and ranked second in pass rush win rate among defensive tackles at 19.6%, despite facing more double-teams than anyone else at the position.

If nothing happens in free agency and the Lions don't take a cornerback with the 29th pick, they could look to add an edge rusher there. Chop Robinson from Penn State would be a great fit, but he is very unlikely to fall that far. Another name to keep an eye on is Darius Robinson out of Missouri, but his stock is rising as well and Detroit could also miss out on him. This team definitely has some decisions to make, but what they can do in free agency will impact how they attack the draft. However they end up doing it, expect the Detroit Lions to fill the void for a second edge menace by the end of April.