Valenti's summary of the Super Bowl?
"The Eagles lit a garbage can on fire and beat Kansas City to death with it, and they did it with their front four," says Valenti. "Not that any Lions fan gives a rip because ‘Let Brad Cook,’ but they didn’t blitz one time. Here’s how you win a Super Bowl: you don’t blitz. And your four can’t be blocked by their five or six."
His takeaway for the Lions?
"If you have half a brain rattling around your skull, it should be, we need Myles Garrett. Or Micah Parsons, who the Cowboys are having internal discussions on. Or Maxx Crosby. Or Trey Hendrickson. The bottom line is, here’s your offseason plan, and it ain’t Letting Brad Cook, so you can put the apron away. Get one of those four, draft a D-tackle and then have Marcus Davenport back on a one-year, prove-it deal for 15 bucks and a taco. There’s your offseason.
"Or, keep doing the safe crap you want to do and get hit in the face by the Eagles next year, because they’re not going away."
Valenti says that the Lions, "who don’t value the D-line, don’t prioritize it and don’t spend big money on it, gotta go all-in and fix this or they’re not going to win a Super Bowl." And it starts with getting one of the four aforementioned edge rushers, even if that costs the Lions their first-round pick and more.
Garrett had 14 sacks and 22 tackles for loss in 17 games this season and is under contract through 2026 with annual cap hits of about $20 million. The 29-year-old has asked the Browns to trade him to a contender.
Parsons had 12 sacks in 13 games this season and is entering the final year of his rookie contract. The Cowboys have reportedly had internal conversations about the idea of trading the 25-year-old versus extending him.
Crosby had 7.5 sacks and 17 tackles for loss in 12 games this season and is under contract through 2026 with cap hits of about $28 million and $25 million. The 27-year-old's future with the Raiders is reportedly "up in the air" as the organization starts over under yet another new regime.
Hendrickson had 17.5 sacks in 17 games for the second season in a row. The 30-year-old is under contract next season with a cap hit of $18.5 million, but has asked the Bengals to either extend him or trade him this season.