It’s that time of year again, the “dead zone” of NFL content. Figured I’d use it to share some random post-draft thoughts. Sharing here mostly because my family is sick of listening to me talk about the Lions 
In no particular order:
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The impact of NIL on the NFL and the Draft is catching my eye, and I’m still trying to figure it all out. I see 3 main areas of impact:
a. $$$. I don’t have any accurate figures on this (and haven’t looked that hard) but at least some players are taking pay cuts to go to the NFL. That’s simply crazy. But there appears to be a direct link between $$ and players staying longer in college than they have in the past. Side note: Not blaming players. Can’t blame someone for taking $$ in hand vs the unknown.
b. Age: because players are staying longer in college, they enter the NFL older. Ratledge and Jackson are both 24… same age as Aidan, Kerby, Alim, Penei, Jamo…all guys already on (or up for) 2nd Contracts. TeSlaa and Frazier are the same age or older than guys like Jack Campbell, Gibbs, Branch, Terrion. A second contract (assuming its 4 years) puts them into their 30’s. Interesting to watch how this impacts the game… and the draft… moving forward.
c. Talent: I saw an article that some GMs are saying the draft has lost 2 full rounds of talent, because so many players are staying in college. For the Lions, a really deep roster = less spots to contend for. This makes Brad’s “trade up for the guys you want” make much more sense. Why draft a guy in the later rounds only to cut him? Brad has most definitely earned the right to go his own direction… just wondering if he is ahead of the trend and factoring in this new reality, or if it’s just who he is and he’d be doing the same thing regardless.
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The Draft: There was a time when I prided myself on accurately predicting Lions draft picks. Now I may as well pick names out of a hat. Bottom line: 4 picks in the trenches? Love it. Drafting for the trenches ain’t sexy, but it wins games. Love what they did.
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TeSlaa: Like seemingly everyone, love the player, worried about the compensation spent to get him. Puts him under the spotlight and I truly hope that public opinion doesn’t take this route: “since he was drafted higher than Amon Ra (PLUS two future 3rds) he should be even better than Amon Ra.” Realistic? Of course not, but I’m worried about unrealistic expectations and what “success” might look like in the short term… especially in a loaded offense like Detroit where he is at best the 5th or 6th option. It’s (almost) guaranteed that his stats won’t justify the pick, especially year 1. But his value long term -could- more than make up for it. Brad is playing the long game here… and I like it. If he develops like we all hope he does, TeSlaa’s real value comes next year when they need to determine whether Jamo gets paid here or somewhere else.
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Speaking of the Long game: Drafting for later rather than now is something we’ve seen nearly every draft under Brad. It’s one thing to draft some projects in round 6&7 and see what happens. It’s a whole ‘nuther beast when they are day 1 & 2 picks like Jamo/Manu/Hooker/Martin/TeSlaa … all guys who were drafted in the 3rd round or earlier AND had low/zero expectations year 1. Is this the luxury of a deep roster, the philosophy of Brad or somewhere in the middle?
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Speaking of the Long game II: Back during the Quinn/Patricia era (ug… I just threw up a little in my mouth) I did some digging into the Patriots drafts to see if I could find any trends. One thing jumped out immediately: they played the comp game amazingly well. Every year, the Pats let at least 1-2 players walk after their rookie contracts and replaced them with draft picks. They did this so well, that for every 4 drafts, the Pats got the equivalent number of picks as 5 drafts. (check my math but 2 comp picks each year for 4 drafts = 8 “free” picks) Success opens the door to avenues we haven’t seen much as long-time Lions fans….but we may be seeing more of it soon as more of these extensions come due. Pretty confident Brad knows what’s coming… trading picks away is easier if you know more are coming.
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Super Bowl Window is Now VS Super Bowl Window is Always: everything I’ve seen from Brad and Dan points to a long term plan: These guys want to build a perennial contender, and NOT sell their soul and the future for a perceived “window.” Not sure that it’s that black and white… and make no mistake….they are loaded now AND building for the future. We’ve seen plenty of teams trade future picks and future cap hell for a shot at the title now. Lions are walking that tightrope as we speak, but all indications are they are NOT selling out the future for the here and now.
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State of the Roster: Those of us who are multi-decade Lions fans just saw something we’ve never seen: a draft where not a single starting position was a true need. Upgrades are always, of course in play… but they are not “needs” as much as they are “desired upgrades.” I look at a “need” as “there is not a single starting-level caliber NFL player” at any given position. Hell, going into FA last year, our corner back room consisted of Kindle Vildor, Khalil Dorsey, Steven Gilmore and Emmanuel Moseley. DB was a NEED. This year, the “needs” (in whatever order you like) were depth on OL, a 3rd Safety, a 4th WR, and a 4th Edge. Damn, this is going to take some getting used to!
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Ya but what about EDGE!!?? The cupboard at Edge is certainly not bare, but if there is ONE thing that remains, it’s a true stud across from Hutch. My belief is Brad has something up his sleeve here…and maybe more than 1 Ace hidden up there.
a. Look no further than the contract they just gave Barnes. For a team that plays only 2 LBs as much as the Lions, it was surprising what they paid Barnes. Not complaining… but I will not be surprised in the least if Barnes ends the season #2 in sacks/pressures on the team.
b. Whether its Za’Darius, or some preliminary discussions on someone like Thibodeaux… I would not be surprised to see another Edge show up before the season starts.
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New Coordinators: I don’t expect to see many radical differences with either coordinator, but I do feel much better about Shep (mainly since he’s been in the system from the get-go) than I do about Morton. Nervous is the wrong word…cautiously optimistic might be better. I’ll be watching closely to see how this plays out, and can’t wait to see what wrinkles are different on the field. Bottom line: Brad and Dan have done such an amazing job of creating accountability and ownership not just in coordinators, but in every single player and member of the org that I expect a near-seamless transition. Fingers crossed!
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If you made it this far, you are either a TRUE Lions fan or just really, really bored. Either way, thanks for listening and GO LIONS!
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Elite pad level. The shovel was sharp. Rod was a leader of men. What could possibly go wrong? Lol