The 2020 NFL Draft is in the books, which means that the national media have broken out their red pens and handed out their grades for the year.
And if the media’s initial impression of the Detroit Lions 2020 draft class is any indication, General Manager Bob Quinn may be angling to do his drafts from home permanently. Many prominent national draft experts loved the Lions draft class and came away believing that the Lions were among the teams that helped themselves the most during draft weekend.
Starting with USA Today Draft Wire, the site gave the Lions an “A” for draft, calling running back D’Andre Swift “great value” and Jonah Jackson and Logan Sternberg “two of the year’s best guard prospects”:
Bigger needs aside, Georgia running back D’Andre Swift was a great value at No. 35 overall, and gives the Lions a dangerous 1-2 punch in the backfield with Kerryon Johnson. Was there a better moment than watching Notre Dame defensive end Julian Okwara realize he would be playing with his brother in Detroit?
The Lions scored big by doubling up on two of this year’s best guard prospects in the third and fourth rounds with Ohio State’s Jonah Jackson and Kentucky’s Logan Stenberg.
Pro Football Focus also loved the class. The Lions drafted a number of PFF’s favorites, including the site’s top-ranked running back in Swift. PFF gave the Lions an “A”, with high praise for both the Julian Okwara and Jackson selections:
Of all the players that we at PFF were high on this year, Okwara is the one who I can’t understand why he didn’t get more love. Usually, edge defenders who check-in among the top 10 on Bruce Feldman’s ‘Freaks’ list get over-drafted in the NFL and not under-drafted the way we see Okwara. Although he’s undersized, Okwara is already one of the best bull-rushers in the entire draft class and can convert speed to power exceptionally well.
Jackson is quite easily my favorite pass-protecting guard prospect in the entire draft. On 460 pass-blocking snaps last season, Jackson allowed all of 10 pressures. Of those 10, only one came via a true one-on-one pass-rushing situation. This was nothing new, though, as he allowed even fewer pressures in 2018 (seven) on 398 pass-blocking snaps at right guard for Rutgers before transferring.
Sports Illustrated agreed that the Lions had a great weekend and improved the team in several spots. Like Draft Wire and PFF, SI gave the Lions an “A” grade:
Offensively, the focus was on the running game. The Lions resumed their ongoing efforts to find Barry Sanders’s replacement. The latest swing here, D’Andre Swift, was a highly refined zone runner at Georgia and will operate mainly out of those designs in coordinator Darrell Bevell’s offense. Swift has the lateral agility to create his own space, and his potential explosiveness as a receiver could do wonders for a Lions offense that must regain some aerial balance after becoming heavily skewed toward vertical throws in 2019. With sustaining third-year back Kerryon Johnson aboard, expect Swift to fill an Alvin Kamara type role.
To buttress the swift pick, Detroit added third-rounder Jonah Jackson, who has a chance to start immediately at right guard ahead of middling veterans Oday Aboushi and Kenny Wiggins (who has been a quality backup but turns 32 in August). And fortifying the Jackson selection, the Lions also pursued his likely backup in Logan Stenberg, a blue-collar scrapper who might even be able to compete for a starting job with Joe Dahl.
NFL.com also had high praise for the class the Lions are bringing to Detroit. The Lions had “A” or “A-” grades for each of the three days of the draft, and an “A-” overall grade for the class as a whole:
On the first two days of the draft, the Lions secured a shutdown cornerback, explosive running back, much-needed interior offensive line help and brought together two family members in a literal sense. They hit the offensive line again with Stenberg, who has exactly the type of nastiness and strength you want up front — at times it got the best of him during his collegiate career, though, so maturity will be a factor in how fast he can contribute. Cephus was a third-round talent with a seventh-round 40 time (4.73). He’ll be a factor in the Lions’ offense sooner than later. Huntley can be a special teams ace. Penisini meets the team’s need for a backup nose tackle.
Mel Kiper over at ESPN liked the class as well, but not quite as much as some of his colleagues. He thinks the Lions filled many of their needs, but gave the class just a “B” grade:
Overall, for a coaching staff and front office that needs to win now, the Lions did about the best they could, though this class won’t wow you.
Finally, someone had to be a contrarian, and this year that award went to Rotoworld.com’s Thor Nystrom. Thor was not a fan of the Lions draft, giving the class a “D” grade:
The Okudah pick made sense, of course, and I loved the Okwara and Cephus selections. Outside of that, I didn’t get it. The Lions had too many holes to use a premium pick like 2.35 on a running back … and then they turn around and use a fifth-rounder on (another) receiving back? And then there were the reaches.
On the whole, the reaction to the Lions draft was as positive as it has been in many years. Now Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia have to make sure when these same experts look check back in on the class in two or three years, the grades remain just as high.