The Detroit Lions just might have found themselves a real value in the seventh round with rookie Jashon Cornell. The defensive lineman from Ohio State earned the 4th-highest grade from Pro Football Focus in 2019 among players who were in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Cornell finished just behind top-10 overall pick Derrick Brown from Auburn in PFF’s grading.
Context behind the grades certainly matters. Cornell didn’t play nearly as many snaps or as high of a percentage of reps as Brown or the others above him. And he did his damage often playing next to No. 2 overall pick Chase Young. But it’s still impressive that Cornell fared so well in PFF’s metrics while transitioning from playing primarily strong-side DE to DT in 2019.
Highest-graded rookie DTs:
1. Jordan Elliott, Missouri – 92.4
2. Garrett Marino, UAB – 91.1
3. Derrick Brown, Auburn – 90.4
4. Jashon Cornell, Ohio State – 90.2 pic.twitter.com/D8MHK8rS6W— PFF College (@PFF_College) June 17, 2020