Lions predicted to draft Tennessee defender despite quiet start to college football season

The Detroit Lions entered the 2024 offseason with a question mark along the edge, and that question mark still exists today after a recent injury.

Detroit signed veteran Marcus Davenport in free agency to provide some support for Aidan Hutchinson, but he only played two games before suffering a season-ending injury . Now, the Lions are back to square one.

With the Lions likely to be in the market for an edge rusher next offseason, barring a significant trade ahead of this year's deadline, the Sporting News' Vinnie Iyer predicts the Lions will draft Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce at No. 24 overall.

"Marcus Davenport and Josh Paschal combined aren't panning out well to give sack monster Aidan Hutchinson the needed complementary help up front," Iyer explained. "Pearce has slipped a bit during the Vols' season, but his explosive, athletic upside is worth a long look in Detroit."

Saying Pearce has "slipped a bit" is a bit of an understatement. After tallying 10 sacks in 2023, Pearce has just 1.5 entering Tennessee's game against Florida on Saturday night.

If he doesn't pick it up over the rest of Tennessee's season, Pearce could find himself falling out of the first round entirely in next year's draft after once being considered a top-10 pick by many analysts.

On top of being in the market for an edge rusher, the Lions could have a need for an interior defensive linemen depending on what happens with Alim McNeill during the offseason. General manager Brad Holmes could also start to look to the future along the offensive line and go that route.

Quite honestly, nothing is ever off the table when Holmes is on the clock. He's one of the toughest general managers to predict because he won't limit himself to drafting for need, no matter how strong a position is.