With the 67th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions selected Notre Dame EDGE rusher Julian Okwara.
Though many fans are upset with the team waiting until round three to select a pass rusher, this selection did not disappoint.
Okwara is versatile and I could see him taking either the JACK linebacker or down defensive end role. He has an intense burst right off the line of scrimmage and uses his athletic tools to his advantage to rush the passer.
This pick is a big win for Detroit for a lot of reasons. First of all, this is the highest that an EDGE rusher has been drafted by the Lions since Ziggy Ansah in 2013. In fact, general manager Bob Quinn hasn’t taken a pass rusher earlier than the fourth round in his four years with the Lions.
All of that changes with Okwara. The Lions landed a physical defensive end whose specialty is the pass rush. This is something that they have seriously lacked for a long time. It’s looking like Okwara will start opposite of Trey Flowers, with Da’Shawn Hand and Danny Shelton anchoring the line from the interior.
Detroit needed to upgrade their pass rush, linebackers, and defensive line, and they got all of that in one package by selecting Okwara in the third round.