We got a late 2nd (~#59) in exchange for a 4th (#118) and Hockenson.
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AND been 8-2 since. Turns out Brad’s a bit psychic.
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I believe he was showing up on the injury reports with an Elbow.
Previous to that, though, MCDC said Hughes had earned the right to play, too. That’s another way of saying that they’re grading Okudah poorly enough to consider Hughes a better option.
Factor in yesterday’s comment from Dan of this being like a rookie year for him, I think it’s fair to say they’re not overly thrilled with the way he’s fitting in.
My guess is we’re not going to see his 5th year option picked up. I think someone else mentioned something about him being in his own head and too hard on himself. I think this is true. Further, I think they’re looking past him similar to how the last regime would have looked past Ebron, as a failed pick of the previous regime. I expect them to take a CB early. #6 early.
How’s that for a dose of Wednesday afternoon speculation?
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Elbow, Flu, concussion were the 3 issues he was dealing with down the stretch I saw listed. Really doesn’t sound too fun.
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Gut feel, well, it feels like an accident waiting to happen. 100% depends on what they do in FA and the draft.
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Haha! Nothing like it, man! 
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Hock played up to his contract and was a probowl level player. Okudah does not play up to his contract and is a questionable starter. No one is trading for him because his long term outlook is very much in question.
His play initially fell off when Elliot got hurt and the Lions stopped giving him as much safety help over the top.
Okudah is a boarderline CB2 he’s not worth 11mil.
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Easy to say after the 22 season. Do you remember the talk after the 21 season? Not nearly as promising.
I don’t necessarily disagree with you @Air2theThrown, but I don’t see the 5th year option much different that a #1 pick on an unknown college player. At least we know El Jefe’s mental makeup. The cost factor is not much different on picking up his 5th year option vs. a #1/2 draft pick.
You are greatly undervaluing the stretch of play he had. He was playing like a legitimate #1 guy for 6-8 games with a couple hiccups in there (he struggled against the Pats).
Also, as I mentioned above, CB2’s will be making 11mil in 2024.
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I’m out, but the way I would phrase it to Jeff is that we would like to have you back but our message HAS to be that we reward production. Yes, injuries aren’t your fault but they aren’t ours either. This is exactly the same speech I would give Chark.
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No I’m not. Smoke and mirrors my friend. Okudah’s success was greatly impacted by how we were playing Safety and providing him help with Elliot.
I pointed this out with video examples earlier in the year… but believe what you choose to.
I tried to explain to posters last year when they argued to extend Oruwariye that he wasn’t worth it and that the INT’s were smoke and mirrors. His play didn’t dictate and extension and now look at him now.
Okudah’s play doesn’t reflect an 11mil contract. He’s not worth it but choose to believe otherwise if you want to.
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We will have to agree to disagree. I had the same feeling you did with Amani and even stated that here several times. Now I didn’t think he would turn into one of the worst CBs in the league, but I didn’t see him as a starter and worth investing in. I hoped I was wrong, but that wasn’t the case.
What your saying is all WRs can be locked up with any old mediocre CB if you just provide help over the top. Good to know.
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I don’t think that’s what’s being said, and it’s a bit overly dramatic. Over the 25 games we’ve seen from Okudah he’s never shown to be much more than a mediocre starter. The pro-option crowd doesn’t have anything to point to other than potential, hope, and a 4 or 5 game stretch earlier this year where the opposing team’s stats weren’t great. But even then I think Air is pointing out it wasn’t like Jefe is out there shutting anyone down, it was clear he was part of a double team. If Okudah needs to be part of a double team in order to have success that’s fine, but I’m not sure you pay 11 million a year for a corner who needs safety help.
Bottom line for me - Jerry Jacobs has been just as good, and arguably more reliable than Okudah the last 2 years. Would you re-sign Jacobs for 11 million a year? If not, then why are we having this conversation?
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It may have been a little over dramatic, but so is the assertion that putting a saftey over the top of Okudah is the reason he had that early season success. A safety over the top allows a CB to play aggresive so they dont get beat deep. If we could line up Okudah on Jefferson and keep a safety over the top to shut him down I’d pay 11mil all day for that. I’ve seen Jefferson double and triple covered and still abuse a defense.
Most here can agree Okudah did not stand much of a chance his rookie year. From all reports, Okudah looked fantastic all off-season in 2021 and then we lost him before the first game of the year was over. As Holmes mentioned, this year was essentially his rookie year, and he was coming off a devastating injury.
Who here thinks Okudah’s play far exceeded the play of Darius Slay in his rookie year? CB’s are one of the most difficult positions to adjust to for a young player. Okudah showed more than enough early in the season that it would be very reasonable to expect him to take a jump next year, espeically being a full year removed from an achilles injury.
Air, correct me if I’m wrong, but you championed the difficulties all off-season about coming back from an achilles injury. You thought Okudah wouldn’t be ready to start the year and expected him to struggle. Did he show you more than you expected? Would you not expect him to get even better another year removed from an achilles?
Last point I’ll make in a recent example. Akers defied the odds last year and returned for the playoffs, but he never looked quite right. In fact he looked pretty bad at times. This year, especially these last 6 weeks, he looked like a completely different player.
As far as Jacobs, its a different conversation. Okudah was billed as one of the best CB propsects of the last 5-10 years. Some may disagree, but that was the general consensus. Okudah has the physical ability that a player like Jacobs just doesn’t have. Those guys get more chances than normal. Thats why a player like Sam Darnold got his option picked up by Carolina even though his play definitely did not deserve it. I understand that move was a mistake by Carolina, but talented players get the benefit of the doubt more often than not.
And yes I would pay Jacobs 11mil a year if he keeps trending the way he has because he has shown the ability to develop into a quality starting CB.
I think you’re right - better to just agree to disagree. We see our CB situation differently. If you think the starting CB combo of Okudah and Jacobs is worth investing 22 million a year into, just no point in continuing the conversation. Appreciate your input as always tho.
One more thing to add to the conversation- over the last two months of the season, or 8 weeks, the Lions worst graded corner back was…… any guesses? Okudah. Not trying to sway anything but I thought that was worth mentioning. Wasn’t like he had a bad game or two. That’s half the season of being the worst CB on the team. So I know someone else above was mentioning how he’s getting better after the injury but it actually feels like he’s getting worse.
One more interesting thing to note: highest graded CB on the team this year? Will Harris as the nickel. That surprised me. If Okudah and Jacobs are worth 11 million a year each, maybe the team should franchise Harris lol. Just messing. But good for that dude for turning himself into an actual useful NFL player
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I have no ill will towards anyone here. We will all disagree form time to time, but debating is the fun part.
Do I believe that Jerry Jacobs is currently worth 11mil? I do not. Do I think he will be if he keeps on improving as he did from year 1 ro year 2? I definitely do. He too was coming off injury as well. He missed all the development time of another off-season. Hell he missed a ton of development time his rookie year as he has buried on the depth chart and didn’t get the quality reps the guys ahead of him did.
Okudah was average to just plain bad the 2nd part of this season. The deep pass against Carolina was absolutely terrible. Did Okudah just completely forget how to play CB like he was earlier in the season? Or was he body getting fatigued down the stretch from an off-season of grueling rehab and playing the most games in a season he ever has? Only the staff truly knows the answer here. I think whether they pick up his option or not will be very telling.
PFF grades are tricky. They have no idea what each players resposibility are on every play which is a big reason their grades can be deceiving, especially with certain positions.
I love to use PFF grades as a reference, but they are not the gold standard. Common sense tells you Jared Goff was not the 20th best passer this season and that Jacoby Brisset and Andy Dalton are not top 7 QB’s.
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