Martin Mayhew's Shrewd Moves Have Lions Positioned for Playoff Run

The Detroit Lions improved to an impressive 5-2 with the Week 7 win over the New Orleans Saints. This win provided a great validation of general manager Martin Mayhew's work over the last two years.

Trailing 23-10 late in the fourth quarter, it was two key Mayhew acquisitions spearheading the unexpected victory charge. 

First came wideout Golden Tate's invigorating what had been a sluggish, ineffective offense with an outstanding individual effort:

"

Re-watched the #Saints-Lions for the third time & I still can't figure out how Golden Tate went 73 yards on that harmless 10-yard out.

— Jeff Duncan (@JeffDuncan_) October 20, 2014"

It was the defense's turn to make a play, and Glover Quin responded:

Quin was a primary Mayhew free-agent target in 2013. Tate became the big-ticket signing one offseason later. Both have paid handsome dividends.

"

Today was a home run for Martin Mayhew. His top free agents of the past two years, Glover Quin and Golden Tate, carried the Lions to a win.

— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) October 19, 2014"

Mayhew's solid run extends far beyond the New Orleans game, however.

Tate has been a godsend to a sputtering offense which has played almost all of the last month without top receiver Calvin Johnson. He's been worth every penny of the five-year, $31 million contract Mayhew quickly signed him to shortly after free agency began. 

Compare his impact in Detroit to some of the other receivers signed to new teams this offseason:

	Catches	Yards	TDs	1st downs	Contract
Golden Tate	48	649	2	26	5 yr./$31M
DeSean Jackson	26	528	3	17	3 yr./$24M
Eric Decker	24	323	3	19	5 yr./$36.25M
Hakeem Nicks	17	141	2	7	1 yr./$3.975M
James Jones	30	363	3	19	3 yr./$11.3M
Emmanuel Sanders	38	514	1	24	3 yr./$15M

Tate currently ranks fourth in the NFL in receptions and sixth in yards, doing so despite playing in a new offense and catching balls from a very different type of quarterback than he had in Seattle. 

The goal in signing Tate was to get an accomplished, legitimate No. 2 receiver to help balance the offense from its heavy reliance on Johnson. Yet Tate has proved he's a viable No. 1 with Megatron's absence.

Quin's arrival a year earlier came with less fanfare but has been just as integral to the team's success. 

The former Houston Texan brought instant stability and versatility to the Lions secondary in his first Detroit campaign. As with Tate, he was an upper-echelon target but not regarded as the most desirable, according to Walter Football. It ranked him below his 2013 teammate, Louis Delmas.

Pro Football Focus (subscription required) graded Quin the 10th-best safety in the league for that season. He did that playing a role where he and Delmas often switched between "strong" and "free" safety designations; both were simply safeties in an interchangeable system in head coach Jim Schwartz's defense. 

In 2014 Quin has been the designated free safety, playing to his cornerback roots. Having a more defined role clearly suits Quin, as he now sits third in PFF's current safety ratings. 

Quin has meshed nicely with another Mayhew signing, former Baltimore Raven James Ihedigbo. The 30-year-old journeyman signed for two years and $3.15 million to stick with new Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, his position coach in Baltimore. 

"Dig" made a couple of critical contributions to the comeback victory too:

"

James Ihedigbo has been all over today. Stepped over the cut block to sack Brees on that blitz.

— Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers) October 19, 2014"

"

James Ihedigbo's big game continues. Recovers a fumble there. I think it was Ziggy on the FF.

— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) October 19, 2014"

The two safeties make a dynamic duo, demonstrating much better communication and reliability than Quin and Delmas had. In fact, their veteran savvy and experience keyed Quin's huge interception:

"

Quin said he and Ihedigbo made a switch in the cover 1 call on the interception play to try and fool Brees. They switched their coverage.

— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) October 19, 2014"

Letting go of the popular Delmas was a controversial decision. He was a fan favorite, a Western Michigan product widely seen as the emotional leader of the defense. Mike Klis of The Denver Post summed him up nicely when discussing his potential to sign with the Denver Broncos: 

"

Delmas is a strong run defender so he would fill a Broncos need. He also had three interceptions last season. He brings Brian Dawkins-type energy to the field and leadership to the team.

But Delmas, who turns 27 in April, has undergone three knee surgeries since 2011. He doesn’t practice much during the week, although he did play in 98 percent of the Lions’ defensive snaps this year.

In short, Delmas is a very good player but a risky investment.

"

Delmas ultimately signed a one-year deal with the Miami Dolphins for $2.25 million. He's been OK for a decent Miami defense. Meanwhile, Ihedigbo is an impact player on a Detroit defense which has ranked at or near the top in many statistical categories for most of the season. 

	Tackles	Forced Fumbles	PFF Grade	Sacks
Ihedigbo	23	2	3.6	2.5
Delmas	25	0	0.2	1

Mayhew took a risk, and it paid off. He had similar success in cutting loose veteran wide receiver Nate Burleson, another fan favorite and locker room leader, in order to free up the money to sign Tate. 

He also has succeeded with some low-profile moves. Finding defensive end George Johnson from the street has proved a fortuitous boon. 

Johnson has 26 tackles and four sacks as part of a deep defensive line rotation. He's making $730,000 this season to replace Willie Young, who signed a three-year, $9 million deal with the Chicago Bears after a season where he netted three sacks for Detroit. 

Young has seven sacks for the Bears and is playing quite well. Yet he was a luxury the cap-strapped Lions couldn't afford. Johnson has already outperformed Young's contribution last year in just seven games in a part-time role. 

It's those kind of shrewd moves that good teams make. Mayhew's cost-benefit analysis on players like Delmas, Young and wideout Kris Durham have all been proven sound. 

Not every move has worked. 

First-round pick Eric Ebron has struggled to make an impact on a needy offense, catching just 10 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. Fellow tight end Brandon Pettigrew came back to Detroit for a four-year, $16 million contract when no other pastures proved greener. He has just nine receptions, only two of which have gone for more than 10 yards. 

"

That's just 6th catch this season for Brandon Pettigrew. #Saints at #Lions

— Paula Pasche (@paulapasche) October 19, 2014"

Mayhew had to eat some crow—and several millions of dollars—when his faith in cornerback Chris Houston proved faulty. The team opted to release the oft-injured corner, who is still out of football. 

Still, the positives outweigh the negatives. His dedication to some younger developmental players has paid off with the new coaching staff.

Corey Fuller is a great example. The 2013 sixth-round pick was buried on the practice squad as a rookie, a greenhorn with lots of size and speed but little actual football ability. 

"

Maybe Stafford should look for Corey Fuller more often - 2 big catches ... #Saints at #Lions

— Paula Pasche (@paulapasche) October 19, 2014"

He has blossomed under the new coaching staff. Jim Caldwell and his assistants are much more cognizant of player development than the Schwartz regime, which catered to veterans and spent little time instructing.

This was very visible during OTAs and training camp sessions which I attended. The new staff isn't afraid to give reps to young players at the expense of the veterans, while the opposite was true under Schwartz. There is tangible attention paid to teaching finer points, an area often ignored in recent years. 

Again, this plays into Mayhew's plan. When he drafts a "project" like Fuller, or Larry Webster or even Darius Slay, he now has confidence the coaching staff can nurture those raw talents into successful players.

Slay is perhaps the best success story. He was shaky as a second-round rookie in 2013, giving away his starting spot thanks to numerous gaffes and lacking confidence in his own play. 

This year, with the help of strong mentorship from Quin, Slay has emerged as a very good cornerback. 

"

Suh said Glover Quin has taken Darius Slay under his wing this year, a key part of the secondary success.

— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) October 19, 2014"

He had a rough day against New Orleans, but the rest of his sophomore campaign has been a revelation.

	Coverage Score	Run Score	Overall Score	QB Rating Allowed
2013	-3.6	-3.8	-7.1	118.1
2014	2.3	0.4	3.4	75.2

Slay has improved to 20th overall in PFF's corner rankings, up from 92nd a year ago. Mayhew's faith in his investment has proven sage in the face of so many fans and pundits screaming at Detroit to spend another premium draft pick at cornerback. 

Mayhew has also admirably restrained himself from committing large chunks of precious salary-cap room to players like Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley. While it's scary to think about the potential of both starting defensive tackles—each an impact player—leaving when their contracts expire at the end of the season, Mayhew has smartly learned to let the market come to him.

This represents progress. Mayhew and the Lions set the market when they gave lucrative extensions to Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson. As a result, the team has battled with salary-cap issues for years. He's not making that same mistake with this group. Suh might be a painful loss, but Mayhew has learned that keeping him with a pre-market deal would severely cost the team elsewhere.

The Lions are 5-2 and in very strong position to maintain their winning ways. A big reason why is because general manager Martin Mayhew has assembled a more talented, more cohesive, more logical team. It took him some time and missteps, but he deserves credit for his shrewd work. 

All contractual information is from Spotrac unless otherwise specified. 

You can follow me on Twitter @JeffRisdon and ask questions or discuss all things Lions.