They’re always behind, yeah. That’s why I like to input the picks myself as much as possible. Yes it takes a little longer, but not much with all of the needs laid out for every team, and I feel like it’s much more realistic. At least until we start to hit round 3-4 or so where the draft tends to go off the rails anyway.
I think after the combine Beau will be a day 3 guy and I think he can also play center which he did at the senior bowl. I like Bisontis, Pregnon, and Dunker “as an OG”. I would also be open to Iaone in round 1 if Tate is playing center. Then Mahogany and Frazier could battle for the RG spot.
I think Beau probably falls to day 3 as well and I absolutely love him there, though he is admittedly your classic good enough athlete/good enough physique day 3 guy. He’ll have to prove he meets the thresholds, but I think he pretty easily will. That type of profile hits all the time though.
Dunker is tough because the stuff I didn’t like about him I really didn’t like, though I can admit the run blocking tape was excellent. But he just looks so, so stiff on tape, like as stiff as anyone I watched all year. His body doesn’t seem to have any flexibility or fluidity to it.
But then through the process he’s started to look more athletic. So I have to wonder, was he playing hurt? There’s been no mention of it. Personally I think he heard all of the critiques of his game and really worked hard to fix them as much as possible through the process, which actually says a lot of good things about him. But I also worry he could revert back to the guy on tape once it’s over. I’d really love to sit down with him and find out what’s up honestly.
I want to like Pregnon, he’s maybe the best mix of athlete and strength in the class, but man the pre-Oregon tape is rough. He wasn’t just a non-entity at USC, he was a liability. Kudos to him on improving, but guys like that make me very nervous.
I’d be OK with Ioane in the 1st, but there are multiple guys I prefer. After a trade-down perhaps.
I have come to the conclusion that Stukes is the best fit out of Secondary players.
I think he has the underlying traits to be a plus single high defender if Kerby is never same and then can also be a terrific nickel if we do find our way to more positive Kirby outcomes. If we end up in one of those typical Lions situations in which every outside CB is injured then he can probably hack it out there for eight games.
I think one thing that Ben did so well was designing plays that fit our guys up front. For instance knowing who can execute their blocks at the 2nd level. Based on the defensive look he knew when he could run certain plays. With a guy like Dunker you know he can hold the double team block while Sewell or Tate can slip off and get to the 2nd level. I don’t trust our staff to do those things anymore. in a sense he knew his personnel and call the plays accordingly. He could hide guys from their deficiencies and maximize what they do well. Now we need O’lineman who are just outstanding at everything or they will be exploited.
Stukes is a very intriguing option for us, absolutely. What do you think he’ll cost? 51? Also, is he already 25 and about to turn 26? I knew he was old but not that old, if so. I’m trying to sleuth it out but the FB post that mentions his age has been changed. September 11th birthday, might have actually been born in 2001.
I’m hoping Petzing fixes that. If it was down to Ben, it can be down to Petzing too.
Oh i get it believe me. I wrote that after reading about him, reading some rumors and watching a bunch of tape. He’s “wired” right for this team. That power, that run stopping, and he fits what they love about DE’s. The pass ruish is suspect like you said, but in 2024 he was good and he had 7 sacks. There’s some questions on whether or not the coaches played him right. The upside is crazy.
He’s my guy right now. If they can teach him, and develop the kid he could be special.
I also saw this:
I don’t doubt we’ll like him. He’s our type, both play-style wise and from a personality perspective. Personally, I want more pressure out of that spot, but I know the FO is likely to lean more towards a Faulk type player.
Honestly though, run-stuffing edges who don’t get a lot of pressure should be able to be found later. In fact in this class alone there’s Gabe Jacas who I might actually prefer to Faulk overall. He’s not as good against the run, but a far better pass rusher, and has all of the plus character stuff we love too. There’s also Dani Dennis-Sutton.
I honestly don’t really listen to Charlie until we get closer to the draft. He’s not an evaluator, he’s an information-collector like Gosselin (the mock draft GOAT) used to be. Granted the combine just happened so his information is starting to improve, but I also know from some of the insiders in here that he was regularly used to disseminate misinformation, so we’ll see.
I also don’t like that every time I go to that site, my computer/phone tries to implode.
I’m hoping that round 2 is a possibility bc of his advanced age and the glut of big, fast secondary players.
This 
With everything else I get it. But its not like drafting Wingo of Paschel. This guy might be a legit top 10 pick. I don’t think he’ll be there at 17. We’ll see what happens. The fun is starting to kick in.
IF he’s turning 26 in early September, 51 might be a little rich for my tastes honestly. That is a really advanced age. I don’t think he should be that old based on his graduating, but there’s a couple of posts out there wishing him a happy 25th. Also while I’m not overly worried about the ACL, he did miss a couple of games last year as he finished recovering from it, so there’s a small chance he might not be ready to hit the ground running either.
Feldman seems to think Stukes has a lot of fans in the league.
https://x.com/ledyardnfldraft/status/2029032896539812016?s=46
Outside of the age, I don’t know why he wouldn’t. He checks pretty much every box. Oh I guess for a nickel you’d like him to hold up against blockers a little better, but mostly DBs go the evade route anyway and he’s fine at that.
I actually think his upside is highest in the Kerby role. Obviously more risk of him not fulfilling that upside.
I wonder, is he older than Kerby?
Pretty close I’d imagine.
Demmings really looked good at the senior bowl practices. Looks very good in man or press man and shows some ball skills. Of course there was no tackling during the practices so it was certainly his time to shine. From what little film I have seen he is rather thin and not very effective in run support. It’s like we can get a list of the 20 top CBs and there are 18 that don’t fit the Lions criteria even before the background checks.
We are very particular, definitely makes it more difficult. I don’t disagree with the approach necessarily, I really do think people who love football make for better players and teammates long-term, and it’s hard to fault them for wanting guys who can tackle. I’d love it if we were a little more flexible early in the draft though, especially with guys we avoid for scheme reasons like 3-4 OLBs or Kyle Louis type overhang WILLs
Another guy I think we could move up for if he makes it to day 3 is Julian Neal from Arkansas. He is a long and physical CB who can play press man. His length makes him a real player at the catch point and he is not afraid to stick his nose in the action in run support. He is another one I could see as a 2nd rounder. He only ran a 4.49 at the combine but he is one of the few that participated in every event. If he can’t make it at outside CB I think he has the ball skills and tackles good enough that he could move to safety. Neal is 6’2” with 32 and 3/4” arms.
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