The latest updated mock draft from Pro Football Focus and analyst Mike Renner offers perhaps the best-case scenario for the Detroit Lions in the first round. At the top of the three-round projection, Renner offers up a trade and a bounty that Lions GM Bob Quinn surely couldn’t refuse.
The projection here sends the Lions’ No. 3 pick to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for No. 5 and No. 26, which the Dolphins previously acquired from the Houston Texans. And the man the Lions would have picked at No. 3 is still there for the taking at the five spot: Ohio State CB Jeff Okudah.
Detroit still gets its guy after trading down. The Lions still have a massive hole opposite newly acquired Desmond Trufant left by Darius Slay that Okudah can fill. On 31 targets in man coverage last year, Okudah allowed only 15 catches for 178 yards and one score.
The choice with the second first-rounder would not likely be a popular one. USC offensive tackle Austin Jackson gets the nod to Detroit at No. 26. While he’s just 21 and had some success at USC, most contemporary projections have Jackson some 20-35 picks lower than where the Lions take him here.
The rest of the PFF picks:
Second round: A.J. Epenesa, EDGE, Iowa
Third round: Raekwon Davis, DT, Alabama
Third round: Robert Hunt, OG, Louisiana