Oh I don’t think we’ll draft him or anything. Just think he’s got some pass rush juice.
Gun to my head Gabe Jacas is the most Lionsy of the Edge prospects.
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He certainly is. Very Paschal-y.
But I think we could really like Faulk, Bain, Zion Young, DDS, Lucas, Overton, Daley, Smith and Malachi Lawrence too. A lot of guys fit us this year.
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This. My exact thought before posting was.
“He’s basically pre cancer Paschal and apparently we loved the sh!T out of that.”
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Unless you’re Philly, in which case they never seem to get hurt.
Maybe we just aren’t doing the right voodoo
I know this sucks to think about after all the DTs we’ve spent capital on, but what are thoughts on drafting a pass rusher 3T this draft? Is Alim good enough and maybe TW develops or Levi comes back? Because I think that should be part of the calculus. Its not just that we need a DE IMO. Or we need a hyper athletic pass rush specialist to force the issue at least sometimes on these 3rd and longs where the QB has all day.
We need some pop from the 3T spot for sure (though overall I agree with the philosophy of first stopping the run), but we have more roster demands than there is supply, and some of them will have to be kicked down the road. Given the paucity of highly-rated 3T options in this draft, I would probably try and fill it inexpensively for a year.
We could also get lucky. A lot of the productive 3Ts through the years have been added cheaply because they’re often on the smaller side or from small schools. Starting all the way back with Randle, there’s also Grady Jarrett, Geno Atkins, Sieler, Madubuike, Kobie Turner, Shelby Harris, etc…I was hoping Wingo could be that guy for us, but it doesn’t seem that will be the case.
I DO like Caleb Banks a lot, but he’s more of a Chris Jones type than a straight 3T. He’ll also turn 25 during his rookie season and has foot problems. But man they don’t build them like him very often, 6’6 330 with 35+ inch arms and freaky juice. He’s the prototype every team is looking for.
Finally, a lot of the highest pressure defenses don’t actually get a lot of heat from inside. The Texans, Chargers, Jags and Packers for instance don’t have DTs with high pressure rates. So clearly there is more than one way to skin this cat.
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Okay, here is another question to the experts: Does Brad Holmes struggle picking CBs, or does our system ask the impossible and our CBs are actually decent players? I feel like the best CB we’ve had was Carlton Davis and he left us/we didn’t offer enough. Looking at McCoy and wondering if he’ll be a target.
McCoy is one of my favorite prospects so I hope he’s on our board.
I think in general we’re dealing with really small sample sizes. I don’t think Brad is any worse at drafting CBs than he is good at drafting, say, WRs or LBs. We just don’t have enough data to say one way or the other.
We don’t have rock solid proof, but every indication is he was all but certain to take Witherspoon at 6 had he made it to us, and he’s turned out pretty good (though missed a lot of time too). A lot of fans say he’s not good at drafting edges either - that Hutch was obvious and anyone would have taken him - but he apparently had a huge man crush on Will Anderson and tried to move up for him.
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DT is by far the deepest position on the team.
Alim is coming back from injury and is still getting pressure. I don’t think there is an issue at 3T.
In addition, You mention the capital, in the form of a $25M AAV contract and 1st rd pick used on the DT position in a little over a year. I really don’t see Holmes investing any major resources in the position any time soon.
Furthermore, Holmes is extremely patient with his picks. Alim, Tyleik, and Wingo will all be under contract next year and they love Lopez and will likely try to bring him back. Wheat, Lacy, Paschal and Levi can all be resigned cheaply as well.
Part of the pass rush issue is scheme and part personnel.
Shepp was playing a little too much 5 man front and either dropping the LB usually Barnes and rushing 4, or not getting home with the LB.
In the 5 man front there just isn’t enough juice on the line with a 4i that is not a pass rusher. They tried using Alim some at 4i but OT’s can handle him much better than centers and guard.
Shepp used the 5 man front a lot less against Dallas and AQM got to play more in 4 man front. It will be interesting how he plays against a team like the Rams that can run the ball.
On the personnel side the Lions don’t have as many guys that can rush the passer well from the inside. In the past they would have Alim and 3 edges on obvious passing situations. Now they are leaving Reader, Tyleik or Lopez on the field instead of replacing the NT with an edge. They tried AQM inside but it didn’t work. Lacy & Wheat are just not as good as Levi or even Paschal was at creating inside pressure.
With AQM, Davenport, Wheat, Lacy, Paschal, and Levi all having expiring contracts DE / 4i is an obvious area or need even if a few of those guys are brought back.
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I agree, I wouldn’t dispute that. But I do think we need some pass rush inside beyond what we are seeing now. Hopefully we can sign Levi back cheap and he stays healthy
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What if we grab two edges rather than one.
Anthony Smith in round 2 as a can crusher that can slide inside on pass rush downs and then Malachi Lawrence in round 4 as the flamethrower.
The problem is that our draft needs suddenly feel plentiful.
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It’s still early, but if Brad pulled that off I would have to change my underwear.
But can we afford that. We need a Center, a Tackle, a nickel and now probably a safety.
Maybe we can go FA value hunting or maybe our unfortunate injuries frees up some coin. Not sure. I know that we can get out of Kerby’s cheaply after next year but I don’t even want to think about it. Three of my favorite seven or eight Lions might have had their careers altered in a couple week period. Brutal stretch. I of course doubt we get worst case on all three but it is possible.
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We’re not gonna be able to fix everything, as long as we keep adding talent at those spots I’ll be happy. Like, I really liked Starks last year, he came within one pick of falling to us, (I wonder if we would have taken him?) it wasn’t a crying need but it was something we could have used, and I would have loved the pick. Of course we never could have foreseen our injury issues at S, but still.
So give me guys I love at those positions and I’m happy. And honestly I’m still not sure Tate isn’t the plan at C. We still need to add to the interior, but the way we’ve nailed iOL in the late rounds of late with Frazier and Mahogany, we could wait there.
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If Tate is the plan at Center then I’m fine with only adding a Tackle. But I think that OT has to be a first two rounds pick.
Safety I’d be fine with a day 3 solution. Maybe we could get Kader Cahou on a prove it deal at Nickel and pair him with a day two pick.
Then we could do 2 Edges and OT into round 4. But man I want Ponds so badly.
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your thoughts on Caleb Lomu for our new LT of the future?
going through film, wouldnt hate the pick tbh
I wouldn’t hate it but I don’t know that he’ll be our FO’s type (I also think he’ll probably be gone by our pick). @CuriousHusker is a bigger fan than I am so he’ll have a different take, but I like Blake Miller almost as much, he’s a similar type, and won’t cost nearly as much.
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I like him but I don’t think he’s ready. If we had Taylor for one year and Lomu could just focus on man straight then I think he’d be a good starter year 2. Currently his play strength is below average in the BigXII amongst starting tackles. Fortunately that is something that can be addressed. @Thats2 worries more about grip strength and heaviness of punch still being issues even as he gets stronger. At least I believe those were his primary concerns.
Utah also protects its tackles. Though so do we when we’re operating how we want to.
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They are indeed.
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