#11 Carolina Lions

While it's surprising to see a team coming off back to back finals appearances ranked this low, once you look at the roster most of the shock goes away. The Lions may only have a few pieces on their team that have real solid value (Stacy/DJax) and not much going on in the way of future picks (no pick above a 3rd rounder until 2016), but I've seen Luke get it done with less. It's nearly becoming a league tradition for the Lions to be ranked towards the bottom in the offseason only to rise one spot away from the very top of the league. The question now becomes can they put together a similar shocking season in 2014 or has their break the bank win-now approach finally caught up to them leaving them destined for a rough year and eventual rebuilding process?






2014 Projected Starting Line Up *() = 2014 season age

QB Tony Romo (34) - For better or worse Tony Romo is the Carolina Lions, his up and down nature suits the team like no other quarterback could. Capable of putting up 40 one week and 8 the next Romo is still firmly a low end QB1 and a solid starter for the Lions. With the weapons surrounding Romo he should still have 2-3 more years of low QB1-High QB2 production leaving the Lions looking more or less okay at the QB spot for a little bit longer.

HB1: Zac Stacy (23) - Stacy isn't going to set the world on fire but he is a feature back in a league where they are currently few and far between making him a fine back end HB1 option. Add to his resume that he is really young and the Rams seem committed to him and Luke should have a fine HB1 or excellent HB2 (if he acquires a top flight runner) for the next 3-6 years.

HB2: Joique Bell (28) - A great starting option when Bush is out, but with Bush healthy he is the lesser part of a RBBC and a mere flex option at best in good match ups. The Lions have been rumored to possibly be using the same RBBC approach that Lombardi installed with the Saints and splitting carries between Bush/Joique and even LeShoure seems likely which hurts the value of the whole backfield. Add in the fact Bell is already 28 and the Lions should definitely keep their eyes out for new HB talent.

FLEX: HB Stevan Ridley (25) - Talent alone Ridley could be a very nice HB2 in the Pats' system, but with Belicheck not believing in him and Blount looking like he may come back, it's impossible to rely on Ridley in your starting line up like the Lions may have to do. As long as Ridley is stuck on the Pats in Belichecks runningback shuffle he will be up and down (mostly down) and hard to trust even as a flex play unless given majority of 1st and 2nd down carries again.

WR1: Desean Jackson (27) - Following the same structure as the majority of the Lions' team, DJax is also a very boom or bust type of player, but in Chip Kelly's offense you could do worse for a WR1, although it would be a heck of a lot nicer to only rely on him as your boom or bust WR2. If/when the Lions decide to rebuild DJax may be the guy I try to cash in and get some picks/youth for, because although 27 isn't that old for a receiver, when it comes to a player who solely relies on his speed like DJax if he loses a step or two he will plummet from a borderline WR1 to a WR3 over night. While he should still have 2-3 more years it may not be a bad idea to look to sell if/when the Lions start the rebuild process.

WR2: Terrance Williams (24) - Terrance has some potential for sure, but he is still very raw and let's make no mistake this man's ceiling is only that of a mid WR2. Not a bad dynasty player to have as he could very well become Miles Austin lite in the next year or two, I just don't think I'd want him penciled in as a starter for 2014.

TE1: Jared Cook Jr. (27) - Measurables are off the charts, I myself went out of my way multiple times to attempt to acquire Cook prior to last season and even made a trade for him towards the end of 2013. This man has top 3 tight end upside, but I'd say at this point there is about a 1% chance he ever gets to that point, but you could do worse in your starting line up especially with a healthy Bradford. It's hard to find a high scoring TE, Cook is fine for the time being, as the Lions need to worry about a lot of other things before worrying about their freak underachieving TE.

BENCH

HB Rashad Jennings, WR Jerrel Jernigan, HB Donald Brown, WR Kenbrell Thompkins, WR Golden Tate, WR Denarius Moore

This bench doesn't have much to look at, but if Jennings and D.Brown end up back in starting jobs they should be okay starters if Luke is looking to make another run or he should be able to flip them for a pick or two maybe depending on situation. Golden Tate could be decent on a more pass happy team, Jernigan has a real shot at being a nice WR3 if Nicks is gone. There's not a ton of hope anywhere else, and I would consider cutting ties with players like Roethlisberger and Eli who don't offer much if any upside and only mid QB2 stats when pushed into play.

Draft Picks

2014: 3.35 - Let's be honest holding the next to last pick in the entire draft probably isn't going to add anything of note to the Lions.

2015: 3rd (DK), 3rd (SM), 3rd (Gio) - Again (3) 3rd round draft choices are most likely not adding a real fantasy option for the Lions.

2014 Evaluation

It's going to be tough. The only thing in Luke's favor is that he could potentially be deep at running back if Ridley gets the starting job and Rashad/D.Brown do as well, which sometimes being deep at the HB position can go a long way into a successful season. Also with draft pick prices skyrocketing with the draft fast approaching it is a terrible time to think about going full rebuild as he most likely wouldn't get good value for players like Rashad, D.Brown, or even his main pieces like DJax or Stacy. So staying the course and looking for lightning to strike a 3rd time may be the Lions best bet. Realistically though it would be downright shocking to see the Lions have a 3rd straight winning season in 2014, but if you go through the blog's archives you'll see similar things written about them before. I wouldn't put it past coach/gm Zente to find a way to bring this team that everyone doubts to a 3rd consecutive title game...I just think there's a lot better chance of them being a toilet bowl team this year.

Future

Right now things don't look great, as the only player that really seems a lock to be a solid future player currently on the Lions roster is Stacy and they are stuck behind the 8 ball when it comes to draft picks for the next two years. However as bleak as the future may look right now dynasty is funny sometimes as things can be turned around pretty quickly all it takes are winning a trade or two, finding the next big thing on waivers, or finding that 3rd round rookie that makes it big. Luke is a great GM as evidenced by his 2012 and 2013 championship appearances and while he had to give up a lot of future assets to make that happen I think he'd tell you that a 50/50 shot at the title was well worth the cost. A rebuild may be on the horizon or it may not be Luke continues to shock the Ultimate Dynasty world and whatever path he chooses I wouldn't expect him to be down for long.