Last offseason, the Lions brought in several experienced veterans on one-year contracts, but the outcomes were difficult to gauge.

NFL free agency, by its very nature, is a bit of a gamble, despite all the work teams put into finding the right fits.

For the Detroit Lions, matching a player’s fit to their needs is just as important as their on-field ability when deciding to sign a free agent.

It can take more than a year to truly assess the success of a free agent signing, but a one-year deal gives an immediate evaluation. The Lions made a few of these signings last offseason, and they are now ready to analyze them.

Dalton Wasserman from Pro Football Focus has listed each team’s top and least successful 2024 free-agent moves. For the Lions, the decisions were straightforward.

Zeitler, who missed two games this season, including the playoff loss to the Commanders, had a great year.

He ranked as PFF’s third-best guard overall (86.8) and had the second-best run-blocking grade (87.2) in the position.

Wasserman pointed out that Davenport had a strong Week 1 performance (six quarterback pressures, half a sack), but after missing Week 2 with a groin issue, he suffered a season-ending triceps injury in Week 3. He played just 89 snaps on defense.

Zeitler’s wife made it clear on social media that he’s not retiring, mentioning “Year 14” after the season’s end against Washington.

He’ll likely have a strong market for his services in free agency, and even at 35 years old, a multi-year deal is possible.

The Lions will likely make a strong push to re-sign Zeitler, and it’s possible he’ll accept a smaller offer to stay for at least one more season.

The Lions took a gamble on Davenport knowing his injury history, which is why his contract was cheap.

The 2024 injury was unfortunate and caused by a dirty play from Cardinals tackle Paris Johnson, but it’s undeniable that Davenport has only played six games over the last two years.

The Lions clearly went 1-for-2 on Zeitler and Davenport in 2024 free agency.

As for which one they’ll focus on re-signing this offseason, or at least give more effort to bring back, that’s just as clear.