Evaluation of Bob Quinn's 2019 Offseason with First Quarter of Season Done

What grade should Lions GM Bob Quinn receive for his offseason acquisitions?

© Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

As an NFL general manager, you have to be active and come to accept the fact that you're going to swing and miss on players. 

Lions GM Bob Quinn went out this past offseason and certainly made it a point to be active on the free agent market.

In fact, on March 14, he officially inked three players to contracts: Defensive end Trey Flowers, cornerback Justin Coleman and tight end Jesse James.

The best acquisition of that bunch so far has been Coleman.

The standout defensive back recorded four tackles, two passes defensed and one forced fumble plus recovery in the Lions' Week 4 loss to the Chiefs.

Justin Coleman with an absolutely perfect punch 🥊 @JustinColeman27 pic.twitter.com/zkpvKCa1zd

— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) September 29, 2019

After week 4, #Lions CB Justin Coleman is tied for an NFL-leading 6 pass break-ups while CB Rashaan Melvin is tied for 6th most w/ 5 PBUs.

Pair those two with Slay -- who has the most PBUs in the NFL since 2013 --> 👌#OnePride pic.twitter.com/cijjW4z99Q

— Logan Lamorandier (@LLamorandier) October 4, 2019

Flowers got off to a slow start, but has been good of late. 

Over his last game, he's record five solo tackles and 12 combined, including eight total in Week 3 against the Eagles. He also sacked Carson Wentz in the contest.

So, fair to say, 2-for-2 on those signings from Quinn so far.

James, meanwhile, has been overshadowed by Quinn's 2019 first-round selection T.J. Hockenson.

The former Iowa tight end has had an impressive start to his rookie campaign, although he exited the Lions' Week 4 contest with the Chiefs due to a concussion. It is yet to be determined if he will be cleared in time to play in the Lions' Week 6 contest with the rival Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football. 

Through the first quarter of Hockenson's rookie campaign, he has caught 11 balls for 166 yards and two scores. 

He also broke the record for most yards accumulated by a rookie TE in Week 1 when he hauled in 131 receiving yards -- to go along with a touchdown catch -- against the Cardinals.

There was a sect of Lions fans that thought Quinn was crazy to take a tight end at No. 8 overall. But so far, albeit over a small sample size, Hockenson has proven to be the type of impact TE worthy of a top 10 pick.          

Many fans, as well as pundits, thought he also reached for Detroit's second-round selection, linebacker Jahlani Tavai . 

Many draft pundits pegged the University of Hawaii product as a fourth or fifth rounder at best. These same pundits said that he lacked explosiveness and needed to work on his tackling technique in order to become more than a backup three-down linebacker.    

Quinn & Co. didn't care about all the pre-draft criticisms, and decided to "take the plunge" with Tavai. 

So far, it's been worth it.

The 23-year-old has posted 12 combined tackles, including nine solo, as well as one sack and a forced fumble.

His best week came in Week 2 against the Chargers when he recorded six solo tackles along with one tackle for loss and the aforementioned forced fumble.    

And some NFL writers, including our Logan Lamorandier, believe he should be receiving more playing time.

As Lamorandier says in his piece on Tavai for Lions Maven, "In the first two weeks, when Tavai was seeing extended playing time, he had the second-most pass rushes for all off-ball linebackers in the league. In that span, he had five total quarterback pressures, including one sack. Fair to say, he was producing." 

It definitely gives credence to the fact that Tavai deserves more playing time moving forward.

Another solid move by Quinn was picking up veteran cornerback Rashaan Melvin in free agency.

Melvin had a hot start to the season, recording 12 tackles and five passes defensed in the first two weeks.

His five pass break-ups are tied for sixth-most in the league. 

Along with fellow corners Coleman and Darius Slay, he has helped spearhead a Lions secondary that has combined for 11 forced incompletions (tied for third) and a completion percentage allowed of 52.8 percent (third), according to Pro Football Focus .

While Quinn has struck "gold" on guys like Coleman and Melvin, not every signing from the offseason has worked out for him.

Example A: Veteran running back C.J. Anderson. 

The Lions inked him to a one-year deal worth nearly $1.5M, and he didn't even last past Week 2 of the season. 

He was cut after rushing for 43 yards and no scores in two games. 

Example B: Former Packers defensive lineman Mike Daniels. 

The one-time Pro Bowler agreed to a one-year, $8.1 million contract this past offseason, with $7.8M of it guaranteed at signing.

And what has Daniels done to repay the Lions after they took a chance on him after he was cut by the Packers? Diddly squat.

The eighth-year pro has accounted for just two tackles and zero sacks in three games. 

And he didn't play in Week 4 against the Chiefs after injuring his right foot a week prior against the Eagles. His status remains uncertain for next week in Green Bay. 

The other notable player signed by Quinn during the offseason was former New England Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola.

As you can tell, Quinn really made it a point to acquire former Patriots -- Amendola, Flowers and Coleman were all Patriots at one time. 

Amendola has been the least productive of the bunch so far. 

The veteran wideout has played in three games, and has produced 141 yards and a touchdown. However, 104 of those yards and the TD all came in Week 1 against the Cardinals.   

Also, he was inactive this past Sunday due to a chest injury, and his status for Week 6 remains undetermined.

Once he's healthy again, there's hope that he can return at least close to his Wk. 1 form and be a solid slot receiver for Lions franchise passer Matthew Stafford.  

Vito's Final Thoughts

Quinn should be commended for being active in free agency over the offseason. Sure, he missed on some guys. But all in all, his acquisitions have helped the Lions get off to a 2-1-1 start. Not bad for a team that some thought would only finish 3-13. I'm looking at you, Nate Davis. 

My grade for Quinn's offseason acquisitions: B