There was once a time when LSU cornerback [autotag]Derek Stingley Jr.[/autotag] was considered a potential top-five pick. After a dominant true freshman campaign in 2019, the sky was seen as the limit when he was finally draft eligible.
That time has now come, but Stingley’s career didn’t exactly go as planned. He was limited by injuries over the last two seasons, most recently suffering a Lisfranc fracture in 2021 that limited him to just three games.
He’s still seen as a first-round pick and potential top-15 pick, but he’s lost some luster. With that being said, however, at least one insider thinks he could go significantly higher.
Mark Dominik, who served as the general manager for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, said in a media conference call on Tuesday that he thinks the Detroit Lions should consider taking a cornerback with the second overall pick.
Dominik said if pressed, he would take Stingley over the other top cornerback in the draft, Cincinnati’s Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner.
“I like Gardner a lot. I like Stingley better,” Dominik said. “So the best way to say this, Ahmad has probably got a better floor. Stingley has a better ceiling, so that’s the risk-reward that you have to decide what you want to take.
“There’s so much talent in that young man and it’s so good, and so when you watch the early tape you’re blown away, and to me he tested out still that same way,” Dominik said. “You’re holding your breath in terms of injury, his arc, but that’s where you have your orthopedic doctors really play a huge role for organizations.”
Some may scoff at the idea of taking a cornerback that high, especially with this being such a deep class at edge rusher, but Dominik pointed out that with the expanding cornerback market — which was reset by Denzel Ward’s record-setting $100 million contract earlier this week — it would make some sense to go corner at No. 2.
“Since salaries at cornerback now are over the $20 million mark,” he said. “Anybody that’s over $20 million a year now in terms of NFL talent, it’s not hard to take them that high and look, (Stingley and Gardner) are going to go in the top 10. I’ll be shocked if they don’t, and you’re not going to get another chance to get one. So if you like them, you’re going to have to go take them and in this day and age.”
Taking a corner with the second pick would make some sense, although the Lions are just two years removed from drafting one in the top five in Jeff Okudah, who has had a disappointing start to his career and missed nearly the entire 2021 season with an injury.
Shoring up that spot with a player like Stingley would make a good deal of sense, though it still seems more likely the Lions take a player like Georgia edge rusher Travon Walker.
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