In a surprise move, the Detroit Lions traded with the Indianapolis Colts to move up ten spots in the third round to select Jonah Jackson, an interior offensive lineman from Ohio State University.
Going into this offseason, it was painfully clear that the right guard position was the biggest liability on Detroit’s roster. On top of that, their situation at left guard wasn’t ideal either.
Drafting Jackson, who can play either guard spot and center, can be plugged into any of those roles, and start for Detroit. At the other guard spot, it’s Joe Dahl’s job to lose.
Jackson is a strong run-blocker, meaning that the Lions have some extra support for second-round pick D’Andre Swift. He’s slightly smaller than most of the other interior linemen on the roster, but his physical tools help him compensate for that. He possesses explosion in his initial step and some lateral speed that will help him win battles at the line of scrimmage.
As for the pick itself, the Lions swapped their third- and seventh-round picks with the Colts and only truly lost one of their two fifth-round picks. This gives the team one more pick in each of the remaining rounds in this draft.
Overall, the Lions were able to trade up a decent amount without giving up much of anything to secure a starter at a position of need.