They’re having Kenny Pickett in for a visit, and John Dorsey attended Drake London’s individual pro day.
Hmmm…
Neither of those two with be in play for 2 overall. And both will be gone before 32.
So they seem to be either doing due diligence on trading down from 2, or up from 32.
It is NOT guaranteed Pickett will be gone by 32. Plenty of clues, smoke and red flags that suggest he might not be looked at as a sure fire 1st rounder.
Standard due diligence boys.
IF they were to get a trade down they liked, and London was sitting there, they’d have been derelict in their duty if they hadn’t evaluated him.
What if they don’t trade down but he is there at 26 or 29 ? Do they like him enough to give up a 3rd rounder next year to jump up there and get him?
Kenny Pickett? Well, what if for some reason he slid to 32 or 34 or down into the 40s? Not likely, but entirely possible. They will have wanted to have done their due diligence on him if there’s even a 1% chance they think he might be a franchise QB and potentially available at one of those picks.
Interesting but not at all a head scratcher or smoke show. This is what NFL personnel execs do for a living.
What about USC DE Drake Jackson?
Also, USC LB Kanai’ Mauga
Kenny Pickett will not be better than Goff, so why waste a pick going nowhere at the QB position?
That’s the debate. Understandable to be on this side. I’m on the other. I think the guy could be a good one.
And it’s looking more and more like he won’t cost a premium pick, and he’ll get to hold a clipboard for 4-8 games, if all goes to plan.
Hoping a qb falls in our lap next year, or taking the one that does fall this year. I think there’s a solid strategy in getting a year of experience this year, instead of throwing to the fire next year.
And hell, maybe Goff proves me wrong, lights it up and gets an extension. Now we have premium trade fodder.
Because you can cut Goff after next season and get him for a relatively low price and use the money saved on other positions.
Due diligence extends beyond the teams immediate picks. First, every GM should be spending their time trying to get a complete book on as many prospects as possible. These are the guys that will be available in free agency in a few years or via trade. Good GMs often recall “going back to the initial evaluation process” on a player before pulling the trigger on a trade or FA pickup.
The next thing you need to know is what other teams might be seeing. This helps you stack your board to know where certain guys might get drafted, and it helps to evaluate trades. Even if you are a team like the Jets who know you aren’t taking a QB this year, you want to know what other teams are thinking when they pick or when they call for a potential trade offer. Having some prospect sound like Peyton Manning in private meetings is pretty damn important to evaluating how you approach things…vs the top guys sounding like Jamarcus Russell.
If Goff plays well in 2022… are they gonna cut him to play a QB they didn’t feel was good enough to need to take at #2 OA???
Conversely… if Goff does NOT play well… the Lions are heading for a top 10… top 5… maybe even top 2 pick again in 2023.
If they are picking that high in 2023… there will be options at QB.
I am a big proponent of drafting a QB as often as it takes until you get a top 10 kind of guy… but I see zero logic in drafting a QB at #32 if there isn’t a QB good enough to take at #2 OA (or a few picks later if a trade down is arranged).
Indeed. It’s gotta be mighty tempting for the boys to consider snagging a shiny new QB, but they’ve structured this rebuild with Goff as a two year bridge at minimum. He had very little to work with last year. If you take a guy this year, well the die is cast and you’re trading one of the two next year, or a high draft pick is sitting (like Love has been in GB) regardless of how well Goff plays. That’s not ideal.
Lions put themselves in a win/win if they wait it out this year. If Goff plays great, then they continue building around him. If he doesn’t have what it takes, then @Phunnypharm is dead on; they will be picking top 10 and in a position to get a highly rated QB in 2023.
It’s unlikely either make it to 32 but there’s a chance for sure.
Start projecting out positions not players and you quickly realize that some of these guys have a possibility to make it to 32.
That’s the position GB put themselves in when they took Love. I’d hope Holmes would not that stupid.
I like Goff. I REALLY like his girlfriend… but…
I am not sure I can compare the Lions’ situation to that of the Packers with their 1st ballot hall of fame QB.
Yepper! Finding Goff’s replacement is not going to be as easy as a lot of folks think.
They forget about the QB’s we had between Landry and Stafford.
They were just checking 2 things. Picketts hand size has it changed? And how hot his girlfriend is.
I think the odds are a lot higher they trade up from 32, I don’t think anyone wants #2.
No one can be certain how the 2022 season will play out for the Lions, individually or collectively as a team. The schedule seems softer than in 2021 & the upcoming roster should have a number of upgrades with greater depth. What we can’t foresee are the casualties that every team faces. Goff ended the season well & that, I would think, should be encouraging with a stronger wide receiver group. It seems to make more sense, for this organization, to defer on any possible QB until the 2023 Draft when the talent pool will be, hopefully, much deeper. Unlike most I feel Goff can be the long term answer given a strong supporting cast.
Hey the grass is always Greener , lol.
A little reminder of the difficulties we’ve had finding solid starting QB’s.
We’re lucky to have Goff!