Pro Football Focus produced an interesting list for the upcoming NFL free agency period, which begins on March 19th. PFF looked at which pending free agent would be the ideal fit for every NFL team. The results, published via ESPN, brought out some interesting names and ideas.
For the Detroit Lions, the answer is linebacker Cory Littleton. He doesn’t get much publicity outside of the Los Angeles area, where he’s toiled quite nicely for the Rams for the last four seasons. But the 26-year-old Littleton has emerged as one of the best off-ball LBs in the league over his two seasons as a primary starter, and he’s ready to cash in on his coverage and tackling abilities.
After noting the relatively poor play of returning veterans Jarrad Davis and Christian Jones, it’s easy to buy into PFF’s advocacy for signing Littleton,
Littleton would step in and elevate the group, particularly in coverage. His 90.6 coverage grade over the past two seasons ranks third in the NFL behind only Lavonte David and Luke Kuechly. The days of run-stuffing specialists at linebacker are over, and players like Littleton who are versatile in coverage add the most value to NFL teams.
Just for good measure, Littleton has proven he can make plays in the backfield, too. He has 7.5 sacks over the last two seasons to go with his 159 total tackles and 15 TFLs. Not bad for a former undrafted, undersized LB from Washington.