I have to agree with you and @StormGuyNovi. He is controversial. There are significant red flags that should give you pause in the first round when there is so much OT talent on the board at 17.
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The good thing about my experience watching both Proctor and the Lions means that I know this “report” we’re interested in Proctor is a complete smoke screen. Absolutely no chance in hell will we draft him.
That’s all ignoring the time of year that this “report” came out in the first place.
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It will be interesting if it is a smoke screen and Daniel Jeremiah, one of the big draft analysts, helped spread it. (Insert conspiracy theories). I am really interested in the outcome.
It just seems like such an obvious thing for someone else to have put together - I was saying back in November we were going to have to live through an entire draft cycle of Proctor being mocked to us everywhere - that it’s also easy to imagine it just took off and became legit from there.
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I saw a recent mock draft, I think ESPN, that had the Bears taking Proctor. The funny thing is, I’d love for that to happen. For my own amusement I thought about the fact that Ben has been poaching ex Lions and wondered if the Lions put out the “word” they love Proctor so the Bears take him instead. 
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DJ is highly respected….but this time last year he had similar reports of the Lions loving certain guys…..and they never became Lions. Just saying….
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In fact the only one he’s gotten right is Hutch, and a LOT of people got that one right. Not exactly rocket science.
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I’m not seeing him @ 17, much rather have him as a second or third-round pick, Bear’s might jump at him early, but I don’t want to see us paying him first-round money, if we could get him at a reasonable price, I wouldn’t mind him.
From NFLDRAFTBUZZ.com (NOT behind a pay wall):
Scouting Report: Summary
Proctor’s combination of size and movement is uncommon. A 352-pound tackle who posts a 32.5-inch vertical and runs in the low 5.2s is not someone you find in every class. The combine confirmed what the film suggested at his best: he can move people in the run game and has the range to handle NFL speed when his technique is right. His best fit is a gap or power scheme where he can fire off the ball and create movement. He has the feet for zone concepts, but he is most effective attacking defenders rather than mirroring them laterally.
The tape tells a more complicated story. He gets beaten inside more than you want to see from a three-year SEC starter, and the arm length from the combine helps explain why. For his size, the arms are shorter than expected, which shrinks his margin for error on hand placement and makes his technique inconsistencies more costly. Footwork and pad level flash at times but rarely come together for a full game outside of that Georgia performance. The weight questions are fair, too. His pass protection tracked directly with when he got below 360, and teams will want to know the 352-pound version reports to camp.
This is a thin tackle class, possibly the weakest since 2015, and that context matters. Proctor’s tools and SEC experience will keep him in the first-round conversation despite the concerns. The ceiling is a starting left tackle who anchors a line for years. Getting there requires weight discipline, better hand technique to offset the arm length, and real development in pass protection. The raw material is rare enough that the investment makes sense.
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I will not cry if we pick him. But he isn’t my first choice. The thing NFLDRAFTBUZZ seems to have right is that the OT class is thin and I think you can find warts on any of them if you look hard enough.
I like Monroe Freeling better. I like a trade down and Blake Miller better IF we draft an OT. But I read some of the summery stuff, watch some highlights, and catch some miscellaneous tidbits here and there. So there are many with more educated opinions than me.
The one thing I would say about Proctor is that I do not believe the lazy tag is accurate. Beginning of the season he was certainly overweight. One of the stories I read is that two of his older brothers who played in the NFL told him to get his act together and he lost 50 pounds over the course of the season. Like all rookie lineman, I think he needs that year to mature his body for the NFL. But if lazy is the concern, I think that isn’t going to be the issue.
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I am not sure on him. I said earlier: glad I’m not making the decision. Risdon thinks he’ll be gone anyway, from what he’s heard he’ll be top 10.
But I did find this pretty funny: “Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson once compared Proctor’s explosiveness to a hippopotamus coming out of the water with a “big ole pfft.”
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The thing to remember is…..Sewell is going to LT. It’s a lot easier to replace a RT in the NFL and he doesn’t have to be a homerun all-pro……so I am not suggesting the Lions invest in a OL in the first and expect mediocre returns it’s why i think they might go elsewhere in the first.
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Off topic but this is how I feel about Cam Boozer
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I’ve heard that. Not supposed to be the toughest guy.
So you’re giving him the Teez Tabor treatment?
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This is actually why I think Proctor might work. They aren’t asking him to play LT. They are asking him to play RT. And I know that means less in today’s NFL, but traditionally teams could live with less than stellar pass blocking if you got a dominant run blocker to run behind. And the Lions are very high on setting the tone up front and dominating. Its their identity which is why you see him constantly mocked to them. And he should absolutely give them that in the run game. The weight thing is a concern they will have to judge, but when he is down in that 345 range I think he’ll be a helluva player (if he can live there).
But if all you’re looking for is a dominant run-blocking RT, why spend 17 on it?
I think Proctor could hold up in pass protection for a team that takes 3-5 step drops and gets the ball out. His feet are just too slow to sustain a block for any length of time. With a stationary pocket he can cheat to the inside and force a wide arc to get around him. He gets in trouble when the QB takes a deep drop or doesn’t stay in the pocket. In the deep drop it gives the edge rusher the option of crossing his face or the arc and Proctor does not move his feet well enough to cover both and just takes a lunge as they go by him.
I also don’t see this great run blocker everyone talks about. I think he could be an effective gap scheme run blocker as an OG but again it comes down to moving the feet to stay on your block. Being huge does not make a good run blocker at OT. He is nowhere near the run blocker that Fano is or even Blake Miller is.
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I feel sort of forced into defending him, but I’m honestly just trying to stay balanced unlike SOME people here haha. My answer to you would be you draft him to give you an identity in the ground game (or maintain your identity) with his sheer mass and ability to move the pile, and you have confidence he has the traits to develop his pass blocking skills. You do that and now you are getting a complete tackle with dominate traits. Not just a run blocker. To me, that is worth 17. But again, you and I see things differently in terms of taking risk and projecting development a little.
Honestly I have no problem with that sort of approach. I think in this instance the main difference is that we see the prospect differently. But that’s how evaluation goes, I’m just really surprised by so many of the takes on Proctor. I’m usually not quite so contrarian, especially when I’ve watched a guy a ton. I can at least “get” where the other side is coming from. That’s not the case this time, I honestly think Proctor is sort of a jag.
Now if I’d actually had a chance to see him playat 330 and seen flashes of some of these things people say might happen for him at that size, that could be a different story. But I haven’t.
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