Somebody had to be the final seed in the NFC playoff picture and defying all the best efforts of their head coach Jim Caldwell, the Detroit Lions were that team. Because of that they pick in the bottom third of the draft this season and since the draft is especially deep at the positions they most need to address, it should actually work out OK.
The first year sans Calvin Johnson actually worked out better than expected. Though the Lions did back into the playoffs, they still made it. That should mean something, even if I still think hiring Jim Caldwell to coach this team was a mistake. Entering his fourth season at the helm, Caldwell has led the Lions to the playoffs for two of those three years. And while I could point out that this accomplishment has a lot more to do with a bottom-heavy and dissapointing NFC, it’s still two postseason trips in three years. How many NFC teams can claim that?
The Lions didn’t wait around for the draft to start fixing up their team. They were extremely active in free agency, especially on their offensive and defensive lines. That alone should enable Detroit, who has a pretty solid roster already, to just play their board throughout the draft. The Lions have their full array of picks plus an extra sixth rounder with which to do it.
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Round 1, Pick 21: Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan
2016: 97 catches, 1,500 yards, 19 touchdowns
Corey Davis is ranked anywhere from the No. 1 to No. 5 receiver in this draft but even the lower rankings aren’t a shot at his talent. Myself, I put him fifth in my pre-draft wideout rankings and that’s just because I feel he’s too raw, especially in his route running, to really make an impact as a rookie. But Davis, at 6-3 and 213 pounds, is a future NFL star and no one really doubts that. With Golden Tate and Marvin Jones both under contract and both performing at the best levels of their respective careers, the Lions can afford to take Davis here and work him into the offense slowly. At worst, they end up with a clone of Jones, but there’s real potential for something special with Davis, especially with a quarterback like Matthew Stafford throwing him the ball.
Round 2, Pick 53: Duke Riley, OLB, LSU
2016: 93 tackles, nine for a loss, 1.5 sacks, one interception, one pass defended, one fumble recovery
The Lions added the underrated Paul Worrilow from the Atlanta Falcons and put him at outside linebacker this offseason. That’s because they already have their hidden star middle linebacker, Tahir Whitehead, that nobody talks about. The hole in the linebacking corps is now on the right side, with only Antwoine Williams sitting on the depth chart. Riley fixes that problem the second the Lions turn in the card. Riley, like Worrilow, can play both inside and outside linebacker and at 6-0 and 227 pounds, can bring a pop in run support.
Round 3, Pick 85: Jaleel Johnson, DT, Iowa
2016: 56 tackles, 10 for a loss, 7.5 sacks, two passes defended
The Lions have invested a lot of money and draft capital in the interior of their defensive line over the last few seasons. Starters Haloti Ngata and second round steal A’Shawn Robinson are set. They’ve brought in Akeem Spence and Jordan Hill to rotate in with Khyri Thornton, so why draft Johnson here? Because he’d be their best back up defensive tackle the minute he slides on his shoulder pads. He’ll also be able to lay down a pass rush on third downs from the interior, which not even the Lions’ starters can do.
Round 4, Pick 127: Vince Biegel, OLB, Wisconsin
2016: 44 tackles, six for a loss, four sacks
Biegel is a classic 4-3 linebacker, able to play in space and pressure from the outside. He’s struggled with injuries most of his career and that’s limited his stat output, but his full season of work in 2016 was good enough for an All-Big Ten second team nod. Biegal is tall at 6-3 and 246 pounds, and, like Johnson, could play as a situational pass rusher as a rookie.
Round 5, Pick 165: Rayshawn Jenkins, Safety, Miami
2016: 76 tackles, 4.5 for a loss, 1.5 sacks, two interceptions, seven passes defended
Jenkings might just turn out to be a steal at safety in the fifth round. I’m a firm believer that ACC and SEC football stats should hold a little more weight when you look at them, considering the other teams (and NFL caliber talent) the player is facing throughout his career. Jenkins stat line even without that context is impressive. He’s tall for a safety at 6-2 and carries his 210 pounds with ease, running a 4.51 40 at his pro day.
Round 6, Pick 205: Brendan Langley, CB, Lamar
2016: 43 tackles, two for a loss, six interceptions, seven passes defended, one forced fumble
Don’t let Langley’s tenure at Lamar fool you. He was a starter at Georgia before transferring and every scout watching him lay down a 4.43 40-yard dash at the NFL combine knew it. Langley is 6-0 and 201 pounds and completely dominated his competition at the FCS level. He could be this draft’s Janoris Jenkins.
Round 6, Pick 215: Dieugot Joseph, OT, Florida International
No team should exit a draft without adding an offensive lineman and Joseph is the best one left on the board in the sixth round. He’s a good athlete at 6-6 and 293 pounds and was actually recruited at FIU as a defensive end. He never played a defensive down and instead redshirted his freshman year to convert to the position. He started every game at left tackle as a senior and earned a Conference USA honorable mention.
Round 7, Pick 250: Jason Croom, TE, Tennessee
2016: 21 catches, 242 yards
Like so many teams, the Lions have no offensive production depth behind their starter, in this case Eric Ebron. Ebron is a burgeoning NFL star and has gotten better every season since the team drafted him at No. 10 in the 2014 draft. As this offseason began, behind him on the deptj chart was a chasm of nothingness, including Orson Charles who hasn’t caught a pass in the NFL since 2013. That’s why the Lions brought in Daniel Fells as a free agent. Adding Croom here in the seventh round should allow Detroit to play their power tight end sets while still creating a threat in the passing game.
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