Happy 2020 NFL Draft eve! While we all anxiously await the big day tomorrow, perusing mock drafts and parsing through rumor after rumor, I decided it was time to share some of my thoughts on the Detroit Lions and what they are thinking for this draft weekend.
These are not news reports or anything other than my opinions and takes on the situations. Treat them as such.
I think Jeff Okudah is still the choice at No. 3
Barring Chase Young being available, his Buckeye teammate Okudah will be the Lions’ first-round pick at No. 3. If Young is there, I’ll be flabbergasted if the pass rush phenom is not the pick.
I think the public thinks the Lions like Derrick Brown more than the Lions actually do
The last few days have seen a huge shift towards favoring Brown as the No. 3 pick. I can verify the Lions have done extensive homework on the Auburn defensive tackle the last few weeks. I know the Lions like Brown and think he’d make a very good player (I do too).
But I also think the speculation about how highly they regard him is overblown. It doesn’t mean Brown won’t be the pick, and he’s more in play at No. 5 or 6 than at 3, but I never got the sense he was a “must-have” as some have painted Brown to be.
I think any trade back from No. 3 will not net the Lions more than one extra third-round pick
Quinn has made it pretty clear he doesn’t want to move back too far, which means no more than 3-4 spots at most. Those teams won’t have to give up more than a third-round pick to make the value exchange work. Quinn and the Lions will ask for more, but you can’t always get what you want…
I think the Lions feel a lot better about their OG situation than fans want them to feel
There is still a loud clamoring from many fans, and many in the Detroit sports media as well, for the Lions to address the offensive guard spot in the draft. I don’t see it happening before the picks get into the 100s. Like it or not, the Lions do not value the guard position that highly and they believe the rotation from last season worked out just fine.
However, taking an offensive tackle in the first three rounds and kicking Hal Vaitai inside is a scenario that I think can play out, too.
I think Terrell Lewis is a legit candidate to be the team’s second-round pick
Lewis is a perfect fit for the Lions defense. The long OLB from Alabama plays the EDGE and has dominated good blocking at times. He’s fallen well under the radar because of his injury history; Lewis missed all of 2018 with a knee injury and he had an elbow injury the year before.
He played on the South roster during Senior Bowl week. While the Lions coached the North squad, they did meet with Lewis in Mobile. And in Indianapolis at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine. And via a teleconference visit. Other than medically, Lewis checks every single box the Lions covet at EDGE.
I think at least one pick on Day 2 will be a wide receiver
This is admittedly a hope of mine, but it’s hard to fathom the Lions not tapping into a crazy deep WR class. Considering the team doesn’t have a single WR under contract after 2020 ends, it should be considered negligent if they don’t. And I think they know that.
I think the prospect of trading for Jaguars RB Leonard Fournette is very real
I don’t know the Jaguars asking price for the enigmatic running back. I don’t know exactly what the Lions would surrender to get him. But I know this front office regime (pre-dating Matt Patricia as coach) loved Fournette as a prospect in the 2017 NFL Draft.
It doesn’t mean it will happen, but keep an eye on Fournette’s situation with the apparent sinking ship in Jacksonville. I think the Lions are watching quite closely.
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