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Our Max Gerber lays out an updated Lions mock draft for the team’s three second-round picks
The Detroit Lions made some head-scratching picks in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, taking running back Jahmyr Gibbs and linebacker Jack Campbell much earlier in the process than many anticipated.
That being said, there are plenty of talented players that fell out of the first round, and Detroit now has some extra capital to use in the second round.
With two positional needs already met, here’s what could be expected by the Lions on Friday night.
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Breaking down the different mock draft scenarios for the Detroit Lions in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft
The 2023 NFL Draft is mere hours away. What will happen when the Detroit Lions go on the clock with picks No. 6 and 18 in Thursday night’s first round?
In the latest video in conjunction with the Detroit Lions Podcast, I did my best to break down the various options for Lions GM Brad Holmes with each of the picks. Because of the uncertainty around the picks before the Lions will select, it’s very difficult to know how it plays out.
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Therefore, I presented a few different scenarios that I think could be the way the first round flows for the Lions. It’s all done with the firsthand experience from covering Lions special assistant John Dorsey’s drafts in Cleveland that we’re just not going to know until it actually happens.
This video leans more on how I think the Lions see the draft. For my own personal choices, check out the “What I Would Do” mock draft as a sort of companion piece.
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From @ToddBrock24f7: The Notre Dame star could be the Cowboys’ tight end of the future, and a handful of late mock drafts predict that’s how things will fall.
The drumbeat is getting louder for the Cowboys to address an obvious thin spot on their roster with a prospect who is at the top of his class now… and could be at the top of his position’s class in the pros before much longer.
On Draft Day Eve, more outlets are mocking Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer to Dallas with the 26th overall pick… and they present a convincing case for why the Joneses should make it happen in real life on Thursday night.
The ESPN Analytics Draft Day Predictor pegs Mayer’s chances of still being on the board in the 26th spot at about 60%. The site also has Mayer as the most likely pick for Dallas, with a chance he’ll be the selection at greater than 11%. Jacksonville looks to be the main competition for the Cowboys to land him; the predictor says there’s a 10% chance the Jaguars will turn in Mayer’s card with the 24th pick.
Utah’s Dalton Kincaid is considered by many outlets to have more potential upside than Mayer, but The 33rd Team’s Mike Tannenbaum likes the Golden Domer’s blocking skills better. He has Mayer as the pick for Dallas at 26 in that site’s latest mock draft, echoing most analysts who say the not-yet-22-year-old will step in and be a Day One starter.
Blocking is a key component when talking about any tight end, especially for a Mike McCarthy-helmed club. The head coach spoke just this week about the multiple roles his offense will ask tight ends to fill, and in a scheme that leaned heavily on two-TE sets last year and promises to “run the damn ball” this year, McCarthy made it clear that his tight ends will be doing plenty of the heavy lifting.
Dalton Schultz, the Cowboys starter in 2022, “eventually became a willing, passable blocker,” notes Jake Kemp of D Magazine. But Mayer, he says, “blocks to take the defender’s will away from him” and calls him “a cheat code” once you factor in his abilities as a receiver.
Mayer can certainly do that, too. He “has a little Jason Witten to his game,” Danny Kelly points out in The Ringer‘s mock draft. Considering Big Witt is the franchise’s all-time leader in both catches and receiving yards, even “a little” Jason Witten would go a long way in replacing- and surpassing- Schultz’s production in that department. Kelly mocks Mayer to Dallas at 26, too, forecasting: “He should quickly emerge as one of Dak Prescott’s favorite underneath targets.”
That’s no knock on second-year tight ends Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot. Both played well enough as rookies in 2022 that it was obvious Schultz would be allowed to leave in free agency. But Ferguson was a fourth-round draft pick; Hendershot went undrafted. Either could eventually grow into what Schultz was; Mayer might well turn into another Rob Gronkowski or George Kittle.
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For the Fighting Irish last season, Mayer put up monster numbers in an offense where he was the primary weapon, one that opposing defenses keyed on and still couldn’t stop. What’s more, Kemp notes that Mayer finished in the top ten nationwide in both forced missed tackles and contested catches.
Mayer is a clear-cut first-round talent, but the Cowboys haven’t used an opening-round pick on a tight end since David LaFleur in 1997, The Athletic‘s Jon Machota reminds us. And the Packers never did that during McCarthy’s 13-year tenure in Green Bay. But Machota also sends Mayer to Dallas at 26 in their latest beat writers’ mock, heeding McCarthy’s own apparent openness to the idea at the team’s pre-draft press conference.
“As many 6-4, 250 pound men that can play on four downs: I don’t think you can have enough of that body type on your team,” McCarthy said Monday. “There’s more versatility there.”
Mayer would no doubt give the Cowboys offense tons of versatility, and for many years to come. But whether the Cowboys grab their don’t-think-about-it-again tight end of the future or decide to march to the beat of their own drum come draft night remains to be seen.
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How might the first round of the 2023 NFL draft play out after the Aaron Rodgers trade? Let’s mock it through!
Well, now we know. After nearly two decades with the same team, the Green Bay Packers offloaded their quarterback to the New York Jets, and moved on to their recent first-round draft pick before his rookie contract expired.
But enough about Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. Let’s talk about Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love! On Monday, the Packers traded Rodgers to the Jets for a swap of the 13th and 15th picks in the 2023 draft in Green Bay’s favor, as well as the Jets’ 43rd pick and 207th pick in this draft, as well as a conditional second-round pick in 20234 that turns into a first-round pick if Rodgers plays at least 65% of the Jets’ snaps in 2023. The Jets also get Green Bay’s 170th pick in this draft.
It’s a big haul for the Packers, and now, for the first time since 1991, they get to deal with the same level of quarterback uncertainty that most other NFL teams have had to deal with most of the time.
We don’t really know which version of Rodgers the Jets are getting — he turns 40 on December 2, and his 2022 season was far from his best. But the trade has happened, and here’s how the first round of the 2023 draft might play out as a result.
Instead of predicting what might happen, Draft Wire’s Jeff Risdon lays out what he’d do in the first two rounds of the 2023 NFL draft
Most mock drafts attempt to project what the 32 NFL teams will do with their selections in the draft. This creates some awkwardness when an evaluator has to project a player to come off the board significantly higher, or lower than he’s graded out.
Not in this one. This is the one time where I put the GM hat on and make the picks based on the decisions I would make for each team.
This is in no way a predictive mock.
It’s a reflection on what I would do, based on prospect rating, positional value, team needs in both the short- and long-term, and fit with the coaching staff and style of play. It doesn’t necessarily correlate with the overall big board in part because some players are much better fits for one team than another.
Here are the dream selections for every NFL team without a first-round pick.
The 2023 NFL draft is right around the corner, where teams are finalizing their draft board before things kick off Thursday night in Kansas City.
But while most teams will get to make their moves on Night 1, there are a handful of teams that have to wait until Day 2 to join the fray. The Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos, Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers don’t have first-round selections, with the Broncos, Browns and 49ers not picking until the third round.
Our group of NFL Wire editors that weren’t included in the final one-round mock draft took a look at some of the prospects that could fall into Rounds 2 and 3 — and identified the dream scenario and pick for their teams.
Our NFL Wire editors make their first-round picks in our final mock draft, where quarterbacks go 1-2-3 before a run on defensive players.
The 2023 NFL draft is just days away, where teams are finalizing their draft boards before things kick off in Kansas City on April 27.
There are plenty of storylines to monitor heading into the first round, including how soon we could see a run on quarterbacks in the top 10. Alabama’s Bryce Young is the favorite to be the first overall pick by the Carolina Panthers, and some believe the Houston Texans could take a defensive player at No. 2, which would certainly shake things up.
We’re unveiling our fourth and final NFL Wires mock draft. Our editors made player selections for all 31 picks in the first round. Here are the results.
From @ToddBrock24f7: Want familiar names in expected draft slots? This is not the mock you’re looking for. Dallas passes over obvious picks in every round here.
By this stage in the pre-draft proceedings, fans have seen a lot of the same names over and over for their favorite team. But when the phone lines start burning up for real, the surprises can come early and often.
NFL.com’s draft expert Chad Reuter’s latest mock draft projects “some potential shockers” over all seven rounds.
For the Cowboys in particular, he addresses most of the positions that everyone knows Dallas needs… but he does so with names that may cause even the staunchest of draftniks to reach for their scouting reports. Almost as fascinating as who the team takes in this exercise… is who they don’t, in every single round.
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Dane Brugler made all 259 picks by himself and addressed most- but not quite all- of the Cowboys’ roster needs with their 7 selections. | From @ToddBrock24f7
Dane Brugler, The Athletic‘s draft expert, took on the entire NFL draft by himself and made all 259 picks in his completely comprehensive mock. And while he didn’t include any of the blockbuster trades that will inevitably shake things up between now and the naming of Mr. Irrelevant, the seven-round exercise offers a great way to zero in on each team’s needs and which prospects might be there to meet them as each club goes on the clock.
Brugler has the Cowboys addressing most- but not quite all- of their big holes and known problem areas with their seven selections. A few of the names will be ones that have come up before in previous mocks and projections- and are even known to be on the team’s radar screen through pre-draft interviews and visits- but there are always few surprises when the cards (even hypothetical ones) get turned in.
Here’s how Brugler conducted the Cowboys’ draft, along with scouting reports from Jon Machota, the outlet’s staff reporter who covers the Cowboys, on how each pick might fit into the team’s plans.
Mock draft watch: Breaking down the Detroit Lions’ picks in Dane Brugler’s 7-round mock draft at The Athletic
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler is one of the most knowledgeable and respected NFL Draft experts out there, and he recently took the time to make a full seven-round mock draft for every pick in the 2023 NFL draft.
Brugler gave clear and concise defenses of his picks in the first round as well as a few key selections in the other six. Even without any trades, his projected selections for the Detroit Lions would leave most fans happy.
Here’s a breakdown of his picks for Detroit:
Round 1, Pick 6: CB Christian Gonzalez, Oregon
Brugler opted for one of the more popular choices among Lions fans in Christian Gonzalez.
If this were the pick, it would easily round out Detroit’s cornerback depth chart while providing some hope for the future at the position.
Detroit recently signed cornerbacks Cam Sutton and Emmanuel Moseley in free agency while also trading away former first-round pick Jeff Okudah. Sutton and Moseley should be penciled in as starters for this upcoming season, but only Sutton will be under contract for 2024.
Drafting Gonzalez, while seemingly unneeded right now, will alleviate the long-term need at cornerback for the next few years. As it is one of the hardest positions to acclimate to in the NFL, Gonzalez would get a chance to develop behind Sutton and Moseley and serve as the next man up at the position.
As a player, Gonzalez has all of the physical tools to succeed. He’s strong, fast, and great in coverage. He’s widely considered to be the top cornerback in this draft class and should be available when Detroit drafts at sixth overall.
Round 1, Pick 18: DL Calijah Kancey, Pitt
This pick by Brugler seems right on par with a Brad Holmes draft pick.
While to some, this pick is a little bit of a reach, Holmes has not shied away from getting his guy, regardless of what pick it is.
Kancey is an undersized interior defensive lineman, which seems to be becoming a trend among NFL defenses. He would likely be a starter alongside Alim McNeill, providing physical pass rush in the middle of the line.
Defensive tackle is still a major need for the Lions, and Brugler did a fantastic job projecting him to Detroit.
Round 2, Pick 48: TE Darnell Washington, Georgia
After two straight defensive picks, Brugler flipped the script to offense and selected Darnell Washington out of Georgia.
Washington is a massive tight end prospect who prides himself with his skills as a blocker. He’d best be utilized as essentially an extra offensive lineman, but he’d be a major contributor in the run game for Detroit.
Far too often, Detroit has drafted a pass-catching tight end with the hopes they’d develop as a blocker. Brugler states that this would be the opposite, and that this staff would be able to develop Washington into a receiving option later on.
While this would be a fantastic pick here, many have a first-round grade on Washington. It will be interesting to see if he actually does fall this far.
Round 2, Pick 55: LB Jack Campbell, Iowa
Holmes has gone after linebackers on Day 3 over the past two drafts, so this pick would be a bit of a change of pace for the Lions. At the same time, linebacker is another position that Detroit needs to look at for the future.
Campbell would be a great addition to the defense as a run-defending inside linebacker. He would have to compete with Malcolm Rodriguez for some playing time, but the two together would be a force for many seasons to come.
Round 3, Pick 81: G Chandler Zavala, NC State
With right guard being the only spot on the offensive line without a clear starter moving forward, Zavala would be a smart pick here to either compete with Halapoulivaati Vaitai and Graham Glasgow, or provide key depth behind them throughout the season.
He has the size, but athleticism has been a concern. Regardless, Brugler knew guard was a need for Detroit and took the best option available.
Round 5, Pick 159: WR Michael Wilson, Stanford
For Detroit’s first pick of the later rounds, Brugler went with Michael Wilson out of Stanford. At 6’2”, Wilson would be poised to be a core special teamer while also backing up the outside receivers,
On special teams, he can play gunner and has some experience returning punts. Injuries have been the biggest concern for Wilson, but he would have time to get healthier as he wouldn’t be taking the field too much.
Round 5, Pick 159: EDGE Thomas Incoom, Central Michigan
Maybe Brugler saw the magic that Holmes worked with James Houston last year and hopes it can happen again?
No matter what, a backup pass rusher is an underrated need for the Lions as they relied so heavily on Aidan Hutchinson and John Cominsky last season.
He is a very physical pass rusher and could be a hand-in-the-dirt option behind Cominsky.
Round 6, Pick 183: DT Jerrod Clark, Coastal Carolina
Brugler double dips into the defensive tackle position with this selection and it would be a good depth pick.
Clark is a true nose tackle at 334 pounds and would be a fitting replacement should McNeill or Isaiah Buggs miss some time. Detroit could always use another pass-rushing nose tackle in their toolkit.
Round 6, Pick 194: T John Ojukwu, Boise State
With the final pick for Detroit in the 2023 draft, Brugler projects that they go with an offensive tackle.
As of now, their only backups behind Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell are Matt Nelson, Obinna Eze, and Darrin Paulo. Ojukwu would be a guy who would be able to come in and easily unseat most, if not all, of those guys for a job as the third tackle.
Another upside for Ojukwu is that many see his skillset suitable for guard in the NFL as well, and versatility is always needed in this league.
