Every year during Day 2 of the NFL Draft, Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn surprises fans with a selection most are unfamiliar with.
In Quinn’s first season in Detroit, he played it safe, but year two of the Quinn era saw the addition of little known Northern Illinois’ wide receiver Kenny Golladay in the third round. The next two seasons saw Quinn target the defensive side of the ball and land two more lesser-known players in Louisiana safety Tracy Walker (third-round pick in year three) and Hawaii linebacker Jahlani Tavai (second round of last year’s draft).
Golladay and Walker are already two of the most important players on the Lions roster, while expectations are high Tavai steps into a much larger role in 2020.
So, who is this year’s player not enough Lions fans know about but could end up being selected on Day 2 by Quinn? Here’s my best guess:
McTelvin Agim, DL, Arkansas
Agim was a five-star defensive end in high school, winning the Arkansas player of the year award, and electing to stay in-state to attend college instead of accepting offers from several larger schools, including Alabama and LSU.
Agim started at defensive end as a Freshman at Arkansas and was named to the SEC Freshman All-American team. Over the next two seasons, Agim continued to start in Arkansas’ multiple front, racking up 11 sacks and 23 tackles for loss.
Entering his senior year, the Razorbacks asked Agim to add weight and shift inside to the 3-technique, filling a hole on their roster. He accepted the new challenge and went on to be named a captain.
After his senior season — adding another five sacks and eight and a half tackles for loss to his resume — Agim accepted an invitation to the East-West Shrine game and dominated, earning a call up to the Senior Bowl.
At the Senior bowl, Agim was placed on the North squad and practiced under the tutelage of the Detroit Lions coaching staff. Here’s a picture of Agim (on the right) giving coach Matt Patricia a Gatorade shower after the victory.
Because Arkansas operates a multiple defensive front, it’s common to see teams like the Lions — who run a similar scheme — tap into their system for defensive linemen. The Lions’ Trey Flowers and Patriots’ Deatrich Wise are great examples of how an Arkansas defensive lineman can find success in the NFL in this scheme.
Athletically, Agim fits the mold of what the Lions look for in a defensive lineman. At 6-3, 309 pounds, and 33.5″ arm length, Agim was able to add weight last season without losing any of his athleticism.
My Quinn Influenced Benchmarks (QIB) system looks for a defensive lineman to have high marks in the 10 yard-split, broad jump, and short shuttle. Agim (a FULL QIB qualifier) passes each with flying colors with a 1.76 10y/s, 9’1” broad jump, and 4.66-second short shuttle.
On the field, Agim continues to check the boxes the Lions prefer. Here are some of his positive attributes:
- He is durable, never missing a game
- Capable of 2-gapping
- He is excellent against the run
- Penetrating skills are improving with experience
- Uses length to create leverage and hold ground at point-of-attack
- Aggressive hands
- Uses hands to hold gap and shed blockers versus the run and pass
- 4-years starting experience in Arkansas pipeline
- Team captain
- Intelligent with high character
McTelvin Agim, DL, Arkansas
1st clip Agim is to quick for the C – he gets the TFL.
2nd is same play but C tries a cut block – Agim is to quick/balanced and avoids it.
3rd Agim uses Patricia's favorite bull rush to get the TFL.
4th Agim lines up at 0T, stack and shed for stop. pic.twitter.com/QlrDPxqpzU— Erik Schlitt (@erikschlitt) April 11, 2020
He does have some areas where he needs to improve:
- Needs to get stronger, as he can get out leveraged when he gets upright too early in the rep
- Struggled to shed double teams
- Only one year experience inside which has led to him being behind in interior technique development
From a Lions perspective, Agim is one of only three defensive tackles to check every box both physically and athletically and is the only one capable of immediately contributing in year one in the NFL.
Agim’s positive attributes heavily outweigh the negative and all three negative areas can be improved/corrected with NFL coaching.
If Agim is Drafted by the Lions, he would fill a need as a rotational defensive tackle, alternating snaps at the 3-technique and as a BIG DE with Da’Shawn Hand, Nick Williams, and Kevin Strong.
Most NFL analysts have placed a fourth-round grade on Agim — though his agent Nicole Lynn notes the buzz surrounding him suggests his value is much higher — and as Quinn has shown in the past if he has his focus locked in on a player he’s not afraid to go get that player ahead of the curve.