Detroit Lions: What’s the best part of the NFL offseason?

The NFL offseason can be a long grind as we wait for Detroit Lions football to return but it has its positives. What is the best part of the offseason?

If you’re a Detroit Lions fan, chances are good you like football. But what about during the parts of the year that there isn’t any actual football to be played? You know, like right now?

I previously asked what the worst part of the NFL offseason is so let’s flip that around and ask, what is the best part of the offseason? If the last one felt like it had a negative tone, let this one turn that frown upside down.

Free agency

For 31 of 32 teams, the season ends with disappointment of one form or another. Perhaps it is being so close to a championship before falling short or maybe it is ending a season in which the team was never really even competitive. Regardless, there is only one Super Bowl champion each year and free agency is the first step in the process of building or rebuilding the team for the following season.

Free agency is a continual process but the first few days are when most of the big bucks are spent as eligible players choose new homes or sign deals to remain with their former club. Since all the action is with current NFL players, there is often more name recognition for more casual fans with free agency than in the NFL Draft, particularly later in the draft.

NFL Draft

The fun thing about following the lead up to the NFL Draft is that fans can get as deep into it as they would like. Rankings and mock drafts make it easy for those wanting to just be informed of some of the basics while some fans prefer to get into the tape and put together their own draft board.

Smart teams use free agency with caution while counting on the draft as to build the roster’s foundation in the short and long term. That puts an added emphasis on these roster additions over others.

Talkin’ ’bout practice

Seeing a roster take shape on paper in free agency and the draft is one thing while starting to see how those players might come together as a team on the field is another. Once OTAs and minicamps hit, the offseason roster is mostly set save for some swapping in and out at the bottom.

Jobs may not be won or lost until training camp hits but there is intrigue in starting to see where guys line up and who is taking first team reps, particularly with rookies.

Rankings season

Every offseason brings a new round of “ultimate this” or “all-time that” lists. And of course there is the annual NFL Top 100 players list, of which Darius Slay was just named the 49th ranked player int he league.

https://twitter.com/Lions/status/1001263489363599362

The reaction to these kinds of things can be overblown but rankings and lists can be good fun while we pass the time until football season returns.

Fantasy football

“Fantasy football guy” can be over the top with his constant talk about his fantasy team but there is no denying the popularity of the game. This won’t be the choice for best part of the offseason for those who don’t participate but it could be for many fantasy football players, some of whom may already be deep into their draft preparation by this point in the offseason.

For me, the NFL Draft is the best part of the offseason. How good of a draft class a team can put together can have a huge impact on the trajectory of a franchise – good or bad. We’ve certainly seen that as Lions fans as bad draft classes ultimately cost former general managers their jobs. There is reason to be hopeful Bob Quinn finds better results but that will be proven out over time.

Next: Craziest moments in Detroit sports history

Now it’s your turn. Is there something I missed worth considering? What do you think is the best part of the NFL offseason? Let us know with a comment below or a tweet.