Michigan wide receiver, and Detroit native, Donovan Peoples-Jones met with the media at the 2020 NFL Combine today and Lions Wire’s own Jeff Risdon was present for his press conference.
Peoples-Jones discussed topics like working on short-area quickness, pointing to his preference of slant routes and yards after the catch potential, as well as his contributions on special teams as a punt returner, and when he was asked about potentially being drafted by his local team, he commented, “It would mean everything to me to go to the Lions”.
"It would mean everything to me to go to the Lions", he's a fan growing up local and going to Michigan.
— Jeff Risdon (@JeffRisdon) February 25, 2020
Peoples-Jones is part of what looks like a historic wide receivers class, with most expecting the drafted prospects from this group to potentially double it’s average (12.5) selected in the top-100 picks — meaning we could see as many as 25 wide receivers taken in the first three rounds.
Where Peoples-Jones fits in the mix among those top-25 is still to be determined, and it could be drastically different, as we have seen among analysts. ESPN’s Todd McShay mocked Peoples-Jones in the first-round ($) in October and Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller did the same in his mock draft last December, while our brother site Draft Wire’s mid-December mock draft had Peoples-Jones landing with the Lions in the third round — pick 69 at the time.
Here was my evaluation of the potential selection at the time:
Peoples-Jones would check off a lot of boxes for the Lions. He can play outside and in, is a vertical threat, tracks the ball well, has NFL level acceleration, can high point and win the 50/50 ball, is a strong open-field runner, and a reliable punt returner (he has two career punt returns for touchdowns).
He needs to improve his catch point (he still lets the ball get into his body too often) and scouts will wonder if his lack of college production is quarterback/deep position group related, but he illustrated he is capable of making plays when the ball is thrown his way.
The Lions are in the market for a wide receiver and will certainly consider taking one on Day 2 of the draft. Will it be Peoples-Jones? It’s too early to tell, but he will surely be in the mix.