Detroit Lions draft: 1 - OT Penei Sewell 2 - DT Levi Onwuzurike 3 - DT Alim McNeill 3 - CB Ifeatu Melifonwu 4 - WR Amon-Ra St. Brown 4 - LB Derrick Barnes Love this haul. Super competitive and talented dudes. This is a foundational class for Detroit.
I can’t even believe what I am watching with the Lions… insane draft my God. On top of an already stellar class the Lions just added St. Brown who had a 2nd round grade from me and Derrick Barnes who had a 3rd round grade from me.
That’s where this equality/everyone-has-a-voice vibe came in. Brad might have pulled the trigger for Levi in a trade-up and he said he was lathering for the Syracuse cornerback in a trade-up too. In both cases he was talked off the ledge, presumably by Agnew and Dorsey. Beyond his expertise, Dorsey was probably a great calming asset for Brad this weekend as someone who has been in that position before.
If both pop?.. that’s exactly what you’d hope, right? LBs stay cleaner. Teams will need to get to the edge to gain yards by running. The edge guys don’t get double teamed the way they were… cbs have less time to cover, more 3 and outs… more we run it down their throats and chew clock. I like the approach.
Playing nose tackle and regularly taking on double teams ensures that your sack total will be low. He won’t be playing those tackle in Detroit very often.
Alim McNeill is more likely to play nose tackle and get double teamed with Detroit. He was asked why his sack total went down in his final season. He said that was because he was always double teamed.
To be honest… I think we made a big mistake taking Sewell over fields. Some people think goff is a good QB, citing things like QB wins. I think during this rebuild we are going to need a QB and one fell in our lap. And we passed. So now next year and the year after we will be in a position trying to jockey and waste resources to get a QB. And next year’s QB crop isn’t very promising compared to this year.
Aside from that. Sewell is a big time talent. So he will be a long term answer here.
I was not a fan of the mcneil pick. Taking a 1 technique tackle that high is a waste of a big resource.
I like amon ra, I think the cb from syracuse is an Uber athlete. So overall the class was pretty good.
On an overall talent level we did pretty good. I’m just weary of the approach. Building from the inside, taking the tackle over the potential elite QB, taking 2 high DTs, just doesn’t fit the modern nfl mold for success. The elite teams were adding to their weapons to keep pace in the modern game. Or look at the jags who in their rebuild, got their QB, a speed RB, a top corner, etc. All playmakers. Now some teams do run contrary styles and succeed (titans for example). So this could work… but I’m a bit hesitant to call this a resounding success.
At first i thought Day 2 was a disaster but it has grown on me as I learn more about the players we’ve taken. We got great value at 101 and day 3 - not sold on the LB, but at least we got one. I also don’t understand why we didn’t take a S.
Just have to trust the process.
We hit it out of the park with Penei. He is special.
The UDFA Adams will be fun to watch. We also got the 6th ranked C - I think GB got the 4th ranked C in the third round.
Detroit only had one “reach” and that was the pick we traded up for.
All the other picks were right around where they were supposed to go.
Sewell was the #2 overall player in the draft according to most websites. Getting him at #7 is amazing.
Levi was late 1st round in many mocks and likely the BPA on Detroit’s draft board.
Alim went right around where he was supposed to go. I think most people were thrown off (I know I was) that we went DT with 2 picks in a row after getting Brockers. It tells me that they weren’t particularly happy with what we had at the position.
3b. We needed to get bigger at the position. All the guys I was looking at were 6’2" or bigger. Ifeatu fits that mold.
Amon Ra was probably BPA and fit a position of need. I looked at him a lot but I liked other 3rd round WR’s better and would have probably gone in that direction. Either way, we needed a young playmaker and we got one. He has some issues that can be cleaned up with coaching but he is a good WR.
4b. Barnes was a reach IMO. I believe the new management is trying to say “We want to run the ball and stop the run”. Barnes is a run stopper. If he can pick up the defense and make the calls, he should pass Tavai on the depth chart this season. If he doesn’t end up beating Tavai then this was a terrible pick.
Likely would have been a UDFA but getting them to throw in this late pick in the trade deal allowed us to get a guy with a chip on his shoulder that has a serious chance to earn a roster spot. If he shows the coaches he can block the free rusher, he makes the team for sure.
Barnes highlight tape was awesome though. So he must be good because highlight tapes never lie. I mean really it was more impressive than the guys we drafted higher.
I’m reeeeally intrigued to see Alim get it on out there. I think he has a high ceiling. I liked Fairley more than most of you guys did, and wonder how near that sort of player he could be (hopefully healthier)?
Excited to see al of them, really.
-I feel like I have a very good idea as to what to expect from Sewell. He’s a 330 lb Samoan tank that eats lightning and craps thunder. Dude is not at all a normal human (physically). He’s a friggin man eating giant.
-Onzuwerike (sp?) is gonna be a good contributor, but his ceiling and how well he translates to NFL is TBD.
-Alim (yeah, we’re on a first name basis) is the same. He’s gonna be great in short yardage situations and run stopping, at the very least. Seems to be very mobile and high motor for a man nis size. I predict he adds a ton of strength and does what he does, only better.
-Barnes - haven’t seen him operate without Noble yet, but he’s another dude that has a high ceiling. I hate to say that it’s possible he could have a. low floor too. From what I’ve seen, in college, he was rangy and not caught up in the wash much. He was coming through clean a lot on his tackles, especially blitzes. I think we have the specific strategy that DL creates havoc and also keeps the LBs clean. If the DL can accomplish this, Barnes appears to be a sure tackler with a mean streak. His hi lights didn’t have much pass coverage in 'em. Will that be something he can learn? Does he do it already? TBD. Like the pick though. he ups the Nasty factor.
-CB has great measurables, size, etc. I feel like he’s a safe pick because of commitment and effort level he puts into it. All of our picks seem to have commitment. He looks raw, but nasty. HIs commitment and measurable make him more coachable. Commitment to an identity gives you faith in that identity. If our coaches are who they claim to be, we’ll be constantly drafting and winning with this type of player.
RB - Watched a few hi lights of him, and wasn’t initially impressed. After watching a different reel of his, more speed (both top end and initial burst) looked much better. He could be GB Williams, or more with work. As long as he shows up for himself with faith and guts, he has potential to develop into a nice player. @Air2theThrown has given me more faith in the dude. I think I was being a little pissy-pants over not getting my guy, initially. Nobody’s film (from this draft) looks good compared to his, IMO, so of courses he’s not gonna be impressive to me…initially, anyway. LOL.
I definitely saw some third round grades being thrown around on Barnes. Great athlete. Unique skill set. Raw as an off the ball LBer bc of the switch but he’s a big time take by.
I would’ve been fine with that two. We obviously had a very high grade on Barnes. I can see why. There’s a lot to like. Once he flashed coverage traits at the Senior Bowl he was definitely on the day 2 radar for some teams. The Lions likely had him as comp. 3rd target that they really liked.
I imagine that Barnes and St. Brown were two of the last guys on that wish list.
I’m still skeptical of the wide receiver and linebacker corps and I think that will be obvious once the season gets going.
The biggest issue on this team for years has been lack of QB pressure and tackling. The two DT picks, if they develop correctly, should go a LONG way in preventing opposing QBs from throwing wherever and whenever they want.
Patricia and Quinn had the idiotic idea that you build coverage first and that lets the DL make plays. Absolutely absurd paradigm with today’s quality of wide receiver. Completely asinine.
Holmes built from the line out, which I appreciate. QB pressure forces bad throws.
Forgot to mention - I see one chink in the armor for Brad.
I think he is too ready to trade-up - he might fall in love with a single player to the exclusion of all others a bit too often. I didn’t like that he explored trade-up options in round 1, for Levi (round 2) and that the staff had to talk him out of it. And whether it was necessary to give away a fourth next year for the LB is a real question. Plus he said he never really considered a trade down through the whole process.
I think he may have a bit of impulsiveness on draft day. He says he listens to alot of others in the prep for the draft. But once he locks onto someone, he may get a little trigger happy, when plan B is usually the better option rather than trading up.
The staff must really like Anzalone for our coverage linebacker. I’m a little skeptical. I really thought we’d double up on coverage LB…if the braintrust watched tape of how we let up a record-setting number of points, they had to see that we let TE’s and RB’s do what they want on receptions over the middle…time and time again. Thought for sure we’d get a bonafide coverage LB, if not two. … So the way you feel about any RB compared to J WIlliams - I’m kinda like that with any LB compared to JOK, Cox, Collins, etc. But please Barnes - prove me wrong, dude. Play in space. Bring it!