Ten unheralded signings that will define NFL free agency

5. T.J. Lang, guard, Detroit Lions

Two new Lions additions consecutively. There’s a reason we went this route. It’s hard to really focus on just how much Detroit dominated free agency without pretty much lumping the two together.

In letting starting right tackle Riley Reiff depart to the Vikings in free agency, Detroit was able to spend an additional $6.2 million annually while adding two plus-level offensive line starters to the mix. We’ll focus on Rick Wagner a bit below, but the addition of Lang is about as good as it gets.

Lang, 29, saw his market take a little bit of a hit after he suffered a hip injury late in the 2016 season. Instead of demanding north of $12 million annually, he settled on a three-year, $28.5 million deal with Detroit.

A six-year starter with the Green Bay Packers, Lang is coming off his first Pro Bowl performance. In reality, it was the best performance of his already stellar career.

Lang is a marked upgrade over free-agent departure Larry Warford, who seemed to top out as a slightly above-average right guard during his tenure with the Lions. That’s a pretty big deal for Matthew Stafford, who is coming off the best season of his career as well.