The problem is Wolf that Marvin like Amendola is an aging veteran WR. He’s finished two seasons in a row on the IR MJ also is on the final year of his contract and is likely to draw interest in FA. Top that off with the crazy numbers WRs are getting in FA and it makes a lot of sense to get younger.
With that thought in mind we’re entering the deepest WR class we’ve seen in a long time. There are 6-7 WR’s with first round grades on them. Real difference maker types. The Lions drafting at the top of round two and round 3 could get a steal on a WR.
One guy I like in round two is LSU Justin Jefferson. This guy tore it up against top competition. Had a great bowl game 227 yrds and 4 tds. I think he has above average route running abilities and good size. He was 3rd in the nation in receptions and yrds and tied for the most TDs.
I think this is the year the Lions will draft a WR.
NFL free agency is loaded with defensive talent so I’m expecting us to be aggressive looking for immediate impact FA’s.
That will free up the Lions to draft an offensive playmaker in the first 3 rounds.
I’m really starting to like this Brandon Aiyuk. He’s like Michael Thomas, but quicker and more explosive. I see him going around the end of the 2nd in most of the current mocks, but pretty sure it’ll take a late-first or early-second by draft day. IF we got WR in the 2nd, he’s someone I hope we consider.
Good player. Better athlete than Thomas but not the technician (who is?). I get more of a Roddy White vibe from Ayiuk. I don’t think he’s quite that good but stylistically.
You really think he goes in the top 40-50 picks in a WR draft this deep. Depends what he runs I suppose but with a WR draft this deep well think he goes late day 2 to early day three unless his workout is special. Personally I prefer Michael Pittman Jr. when it comes to PAC 12 WR prospects. I like Shenault a lot but have big time durability concerns with him
I like Pittman too - not as much as Aiyuk - but to me he’s the sort of guy you can get later in the draft… the tall, catch-point guys who are average athletically like Mims or Hodgins or Claypool or Gandy-Golden or any number of guys like that - there’s a ton of them. What separates the guys at the top - usually - is athleticism. That’s one of the reasons I liked Tylan Wallace before he decided to go back to school, and I think Aiyuk has it in spades too. It’s fun watching him explode past a defense.
Part of the reason I expect him to go higher than that is because I do expect him to test very well. If he doesn’t obviously he won’t rise so high. But the pre-draft process is made for guys like him.
What are your thoughts on Cephus from Wisconsin? The guy is a beast in traffic and with the ball in his hands. He’s got a bad attitude (in the good way) and does a good job of catching contested throws. Reminds me of Anquan Boldin.
Of course let us remember that Have not and Won’t are 2 seperate things. It is possible that with another year of Development any one of those 3 might become viable WRs. Too early IMO to just dismiss them, but on the other side I am a firm believer in getting WR and CB every draft just because injuries do happen all the time.
While I have not even started looking at the WRs in teh draft yet, I would think that the 3rd or 4th round might be the best place for the Lions to grab one. I believe the Lions will have better option in both the 1st and 2nd round to address other areas. I also think that the overall depth of the position in the Draft, like Air mentioned, opens up good possibilities that the Lions will be able to grab a higher graded player in those rounds.
On a side note thanks to everyone for helping me get a list of guys to look at as I start my research.
I would love for the Lions to break away from safe.
We lack real talent and depth at WR and Air’s points are valid
Now the guy has issues but his talent is undeniable . WR Antonio Callaway unsigned FA who has served 7 of his 10 game suspension would be a risk free incredible talent to take a shot on and hope he has matured.
Jalen Reagor, WR, TCU is a 3rd round prospect that I love. He fits everything we lack as far as a guy with real deep threat speed and a guy that can take it to the house on any play…not a polished route runner but has potential and is a kid that will not be caught from behind .
I think Ayiuk is twitchier than Pittman but I think Pittman is going to surprise a lot in testing. He’s not strictly a 50/50 ball guy. Pittman can take the top off the defense and his acceleration in YAC scenarios is impressive given his size and strength. Impactful blocker as well.
Ayiuk is definitely a terrific athlete. Good deep threat and YAC guy. He may be a bit better than Pittman in both of those facets (though I think it’s close) but Pittman is far superior in contested catch situations.
I expect Pittman to run 4.45-4.50 at 6’4” 225lbs. I could see Ayiuk being a high 4.3 type. Darby is actually the fastest ASU receiver but I don’t think he’s in this draft.
Mims is going to run pretty well as well thing. My only issue with Mims is his concentration lapses. He makes the most amazing catches and then drops the easy ones.
Claypool reminds me of Vincent Jackson. I think he’ll be a good pro as well. He seems more like an upper 4.5 guy to me but I wouldn’t see him measure out as near Megatron size.
If we’re looking for another Golladay, Hodgins would seem to fit that bill. Not sure that he’s quite as physical as Kenny G but he’s probably a bit smoother.
Never seen Liberty play so I can’t really comment on Gandy-Golden.
In a perfect world I’d love to trade down enough to have the picks for two WRs. Duverney is my preference for the slot. Pittman is my preference on the outside but I’m fine with any of the guys that you mentioned. Just a crazy good class for the outside guys.
Yeah I’m not putting Raegor in the slot …he is a Z receiver all day long on the outside a guy that can play off the line in motion and have the space to defeat a jam ….a potential slot guy but not ready and his route running is a work in progress . A Marvin replacement with Kenny at the X
Ah, Okay. To each their own. He’s smaller than I’d like. I’m not going to lie though. I haven’t watched TCU enough to know how good he is at defeating the jam.
We need more play makers so WR has to be in the conversation. I like Lamb a touch above Jeudy. Lamb was in an offense that was built around passing so Lamb got a little more exposure to the passing game. Jeudy was maybe a little more pro style built around a running game and play action.
Either would look good in Honolulu Blue but just not at #3 IMO. I also think many 1st round WR never live up to expectations and a lot of high quality guys come from later rounds.
I’d have him outside too, but I definitely think he’ll be gone by the 3rd (especially once he blazes his 40) and he’s got some problematic hands. I’ve watched him drop a lot of catchable balls over his career.
You think Pittman’s that athletic? I didn’t see that kind of juice but I’ve certainly been wrong before. If he tests that well he’ll definitely go higher, though I’m more interested in his explosion/quickness testing than his long speed. Keenan Allen ran slow but watching him he’s so electric in and out of his breaks that it doesn’t matter.
I actually agree on Mims, he’s the most intriguing to me of the guys in that area but he’s just so frustrating. I wouldn’t spend too much capital on him but he’s likely to be one of the better athletes for that size.
I haven’t seen much of Liberty either only one game cut-up but it confirmed to me what most say about him: big catch-radius monster, average athlete. I’ll be interested in his testing as it is harder to get a read on athleticism against that competition.
One guy that I keep seeing as a day 3 pick is Taylor Vaughns who plays opposite Pittman at USC. He is the more athletic of the two. I would definitely take a flyer on him.
I’m pretty confident that Pittman is going to run 4.5 +- .05 in the forty. I’m less sold on his agility but I also think he’s passable in that regard. He got a helluva a lot of seperation this year but when you’re in the air raid and Amon-Ra St. Brown (who I love in ‘21), Tyler Vaughns and Drake London are on the field that might be expected. So I guess I have to admit that the degree to which he can get seperation on shorter run routes remains in doubt.
As for Raegor, I just don’t see the value there if he’s going in the top 45 picks. But I didn’t like Paris Campbell either so I guess it may just be differing tastes.
Pittman to me is the perfect understudy to MJ. If we can somehow snag both he and Duverney then I think we’d have a really fantastic WR group 2021-23 with a cap hit of only around 20m.
Is he even coming out? Vaughns’ body control is elite. Makes some Gumby like catches. He seems kind of soft. That’s why I like Pittman. He’ll block like an H Back in the run and screen games
I think Raegor is more dynamic than Campbell but I just can’t get over the drops. I wouldn’t touch him myself until the 3rd, and I’m certain he’ll be gone by then. I didn’t like Campbell either but it was because I thought he was simply an athlete who didn’t know how to play WR. I don’t think that of Raegor - he’s got WR skills - I just really don’t trust his hands.
I’ll have to go back and watch more of Pittman. I’ve seen quite a bit of him but not nearly as much as I’ve seen of Wallace or Raegor or the other Big 12 guys. I was trying to think of a comp for Pittman and the thing that popped into my mind first was his bust of a dad, lol, so maybe I’ve got some biases I need to sort out.
Durvernay, to me, is the hardest guy to figure out. I actually really liked their slot from last year, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, and then he ran a lot slower than everyone thought he would. The thing is, I think he’s faster than Duvernay. At least to the eye test. I have no doubt Duvernay will actually run faster given how slow Humphrey actually ran, but the eye test told me something different. And while I don’t think Duvernay’s fast or even that quick, there’s no denying he’s got the knack with the ball in his hands. He just seems to see things better or faster than everyone else. I can’t really explain it. And his hands are great. I just don’t really know what to make of him.