Overall, I am very pleased with the draft, as most of us are. I think there are a few thoughts I have on the draft looking back on it.
I generally loathe the idea of a trade up in the first round, especially a big trade up. But there is an exception for every rule. The exception would be to grab a premium player at a premium position , not trade up further than you have to , grab the last guy in that positions tier before a big dropoff , and get good value in the actual trade . All these things make me very okay with the trade up and I am ecstatic to see him healthy and contributing this season.
You can’t tell me this was a pure BPA draft. This was clearly getting guys they loved at positions of need. They knocked out needs with every pick in descending order of need, pretty much. I think most would agree we needed an Edge, a WR, an extra DL, S, TE2, LB and maybe a depth corner. Most wanted a LB earlier than they took one, but otherwise they went pretty well in order of need. The only thing they didnt hit was a depth OL and they picked up a couple intriguing OL guys as UDFA’s. I am not criticizing this strategy, just pointing out what I see.
The biggest question I have on this class is taking Paschal at 46. I hope I’m wrong, but he seems like just another guy in the DL. Kind of like Onwuzarike was last year. I suppose he will replace Nick Williams snaps as a 3T and also offer some versatility to play anywhere on the line, but I don’t see this being a home run. Seems like the upside is a double. Pretty much every other pick I understood right away and was excited about but this one confused me. I really wanted Jaquan Brisker at this spot and he went to the Bears a couple picks later. Hopefully Kerby Joseph shows me that I’m an idiot for wanting Brisker instead of him.
I can’t wait to see the next “Inside The Den” episode giving an inside look at some behind the scenes stuff, particularly the trade discussions with the Vikings for 12.
I hope our medical staff is really good. Drafting two guys coming off ACL’s and rehabbing 2 key defensive players coming back from achilles injuries (Plus Jerry Jacobs ACL) is critical for the team this year.
Paschal is getting under valued due to not a ton of pre draft love. He is a football player with versatility. I think he’s going to be a big asset for us. That being said, I would’ve preferred a trade down and selected him 10-15 picks later if possible. But I’m not disappointed at the player at all.
I too really wanted Brisker. Although he isn’t a great match for Walker, I think Brisker has a long career in the NFL and has ability to play both safety spots (probably a better SS though). Drafting Kerby Joseph made the Paschal pick even better for me. Kerby is new to the position, and has always showed to have a lot of promise as center fielder. I think more college WRs should consider a switch to FS when they probably have no shot at the NFL. The appeal of a ball hawking safety is huge for me personally.
I think football fans are slowly coming around to what the NFL has already known - the WR position has officially entered into that “elite position” tier of importance on your team. It used to be left tackle, pass rusher, heck even running back a long time ago (QB is in its own category). But WR is up there at or near the top in the eyes of the modern day nfl
Paschal’s measurables, production, and tape impress me more than Levi’s did. Honestly, Levi felt like a lottery ticket pick for a team desperate for trench guys in an extremely poor DL class. Paschal probably goes earlier in last year’s draft due to the scarcity at that position. Him and Aiden are going to significantly improve this unit. Any improvement from Alim, Levi, Harris, etc. and we are looking at a vastly different line. Not to mention if Romeo rediscovers his form, watch out.
Paschal is like a slightly smaller Porcher (1992 Rd 1, No. 26 overall), slightly larger Tracy Scoggins (1992 Rd 2, No. 53 overall), who is more athletic than either.
Porcher was a marginal athlete
but had an exceptional career with the Lions from 1996 through 2001:
Tracy Scroggins was a smaller faster DE-OLB type
who was a solid starter when healthy (his playing time in 93-94 was limited by the trade for Swilling):
Cliff Avril did 27 reps at 225, had a 1.55 10 yard split (but reportedly bettered that with a 1.51 10 yard split when he ran an electronically timed 4.51 40 at his pro day), but Paschal’s 1.57 10 yard split isn’t far off…
Paschal’s a better athlete than many are giving him credit for. If Paschal performs somewhere between Porcher and Scroggins, he will have had a fine career with the Lions.
I see the Lions building position groups it seems. First oline, last year and this year dline, reciever, while selecting position groups here and there as they go through the draft, free agency, UDFA players. I think next year will be the year they invest in LB more and other areas. I am very worried about our LB core. I just don’t see how they can say they like the group, but nothing I can do but trust the process. The rest of the team I think will surprise us this year: reciever, secondary, RB, etc. To me backup QB could be the biggest concern, if Goff goes down we are screwed based on what I saw last year.
Who that Pittsburgh QB that Scroggins sacked? Mike Tomzack maybe? Gonna have to see if I can find the video. Was a monster hit. Always expected Scroggins to take that next step but never did.
From what I read, they want him to be what they wanted Arden Key to be when they went after him in FA (he signed with Jax). He is a bit of a tweener. Not sure if they are going to have him gain some weight or play where his listed weight is now, but I expect him to play up and down the line and form a good tandem with Hutch.
Cheers to this. Been too excited about too many drafts around these parts for me to drink any kool-aid without first seeing some Ws on the schedule. Not pessimistic at all, I’m rooting hard for it, but just being a realist with my expectations and what moves the needle for me (literal actual progress).
Me as well, this LB group is pretty bad. I’m sure there will be people ready to disagree, which I respect, but there were people defending the state of the WR position last year too. It’s ok to say a turd smells like a turd. The LB group just isn’t a huge priority in this rebuild just yet, which makes sense. They’ll most likely go hard after either a FA or high draft pick (or both) next year like this did this year at WR. Looking forward to the days when there aren’t position groups that are totally scary like this though, hopefully in the not too distant future.
From an MLive article that Kyle Meinke wrote here he quotes Brad Holmes:
Asked about the edge rushers at the top of the draft, Holmes said, “I do think that there’s a lot of different qualities that they can all bring. That will depend on edge rusher for what scheme, for which technique you want to play. Is it an edge-rushing wide-9 or a wide-5? Is it an edge-rushing 5-technique? So when you just say edge, I get it. I often just say, ‘rush.’ Look, man, who can rush?
“I do think that they can all come in different flavors. But at the end of the day you want them to get after the quarterback. They can get to the quarterback in a lot of different ways, but I do think that they can all be different.”
Personally, I would think Paschal is a rushing 5t primarily, and Hutch is more of a wide-9. I also thing that Aaron Glenn has shown his excitement about both of their versatility, so if Hutch kicks down into a wide- or even a 3t alignment at times, it won’t come as a surprise.
I remember Woodson blowing out a knee watching Barry scamper on past him.
And Scott (Scared) Mitchell bailing out on pretty much every pass play.
And Benny. Benny Blades. I liked watching him play. They were putting a team together then. Then guys started getting paralyzed and run over by trucks and it all kind of fell apart.