Worst Offensive Players
- TE Sam LaPorta: 36.7
Beyond that excellent point, LaPorta was taken with a bonus second round pick [No. 34 overall], that the Lions didn’t have when Round 1 started.
And it’s clear that didn’t value LaPorta as a 1st Rd pick because they took Jack Campbell ahead of him.
Obviously, they valued him more than Branch, but it sounded like a close call.
Anyway, I don’t think many had any objection to drafting LaPorta in Rd 2 because Rounds 2 and 3 are where TEs should be drafted, not Rd 1.
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Just 16 snaps on offense.
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I have about a half dozen saved mock drafts that included us drafting LaPorta.
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Will give you credit for Kincaid at No. 21:
R1 (25) BUFFALO BILLS (VIA JAX): TE DALTON KINCAID, UTAH
Pick Grade: Elite
The Bills make a small jump to land the premier pass-catching tight end in the draft in Kincaid. This is a huge value pick for the 10th overall player on the PFF big board. Kincaid was the focal point of the Utah offense and led all players at the position with a 91.8 PFF receiving grade in 2022.
But, suggesting the Lions trade down to take Kincaid with a premium pick in Rd 1 is not the same as them taking LaPorta in Rd 2 at No. 34 overall. And, it doesn’t rebut anyone’s position that taking a TE in Rd 1 is a poor use of draft resources relative to other options or positions available.
You traded UP to get Kincaid in the 1st round. Your scenario played out like the actual draft. The difference is you didn’t wait for LaPorta or any other TE. You traded into the 1st round to grab a TE.
Perfectly said. When the idea of taking a TE in the 1st round comes up, most of the board cringes. But as soon as the 2nd round starts, the feelings change rapidly. There are a handful of posters who specifically said that LaPorta in the 2nd round would be a pick they could support. I remember @Jman really liked Tucker Kraft in the 3rd round. That was a really good “called shot” because he not only identified the player, he nailed the value.
In his post he didn’t trade down to take Kincaid. He traded UP with the Chargers to take Kincaid. If you relate his post to how the real draft unfolded, Brad would have still taken Gibbs and Campbell. But he wouldn’t have waited at 34 for LaPorta. He would have traded back into the 1st round to grab Kincaid.
Piecing together the conversations, it appears that Branch might have had a higher “grade” than LaPorta. Taking LaPorta was not a pure BPA choice. Dan apparently had a mancrush on Sam, and Brad was smart enough to know that if they passed on Sam at 34 he would be gone by 48. The way Dan explained the Brian Branch pick to Sheila makes me think that the staff saw him as a little redundant to CJGJ. So while Branch may have had a higher “grade,” the role he would play, the character score and how the draft was playing out all led to taking LaPorta and taking the risk of losing Branch.
I’ve heard it said there are perhaps only 20 or so true 1st round worthy picks in this class. With that in mind I’d like to trade down, while also finding a trade-up partner.- YAC/ Catholic Ninja
Yeah, that’s not exactly what you said. Like @Air2theThrown said, just own it. Own what you said. You clearly wanted to trade back and get more picks, take Breese and then trade-UP for Kincaid. Is that not what you wrote?
I especially like how you came back after getting kicked off the board and acted like it was your first time ever seeing the board.
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Thank you.
Not gonna front, taking a TE at pick 34 was early for me. But after day 1 I told the board get ready the pick is gonna be a TE LOL.
I woulda deferred to Brad after Skoronski was gone. Thinking he would say:
Nolan Smith & Calijah Kancey. Nope!
Gibbs & Campbell - two guys I loved, early than I thought. Oh well.
Round 2/3- I woulda went Branch NB, OCyrus RG, and Hyatt/Tillman WR or Tucker Kraft TE
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Its hard to pinpoint exactly which direction Brad is going to go because they put personality and football character so high on the list. There are things about the players we have no clue about that can move a guy up or become a deal breaker for Brad. I think Gibbs vs Bijan is a good example. We can debate all day long on which guy the staff would prefer. But we would have had no clue that there were things about Gibbs character and background that made the staff fall in love with him.
I think LaPorta is another one of those guys that had “it.” Goff talked about how many guys we have on the team that showed up on Wednesday with a positive attitude and ready to do battle. Whether we win or lose the previous week is irrelevant. Those guys show up as the same person every single week. Goff said that stuff is infectious to the rest of the team. But what he thinks is special about the types of guys Brad and Dan bring in is that they don’t need someone else to motivate them on Monday. As you might imagine, they identified LaPorta as one of those guys.
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It’s true. But when I look back at drafts there’s always the comparisons.
This year for me will be Laporta and Hooker vs OCyrus , Kraft, or Tenn WR.
Branch is a stud his vs Quan Martin NB Kerbys teammate went a few picks later.
Brodric Martin or was waiting being patient to see if he makes it to round 4 or just take NT Cameron Young Miss St , was that the right move.
I personally would have waited and not traded up.
Then you have “your guys” Ivan Pace, Darius Rush, Stetson Bennett, Deuce Vaughn, etc
Always follow them and look back on drafts and be like damn he made it or damn can’t believe he didn’t make it
I think LaPorta vs other TE options will definitely be something we will all be looking for. Personally I believe O’Cyrus wasn’t a scheme fit for us. He would limit what we could do on offense, and he wasn’t good enough IMO to justify it.
If I recall correctly, you brought that up on draft night. And sure enough, Cameron Young was available with our 4th rounder. He actually went with the very next pick after our original 4th rounder.
Personally I am okay with the move. But I am a person that doesn’t really care about picks in the 5th round and later. To me the “real draft” is rounds 1 thru 4. Picks in round 5 and later are better used to acquire existing NFL players or as chips to move around in the first 4 rounds. One thing we didn’t know was that Brad made getting a NT a priority, because he knew that Alim had lost a bunch of weight and would be used differently this season. With that being the case, I am okay with making sure he got his guy. The guys he sacrificed to get Martin were 5th round picks. And I doubt many of those guys are going to be much of anything in the NFL.
I also believe that a team can only support X number of rookies in any given year. Even with the trade up for Martin we have 8 draft picks plus a handful of interesting UDFA prospects that have a chance of sticking on the roster or the practice squad. I feel like that is plenty. The only guy I personally liked way more than the teams did is Texas A&M Safety Antonio Johnson. I gave a comp to Kam Chancellor. Its interesting that both of them went in the 5th round.
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I’m fine with it. Martin’s traits are freaky. Outside of Dexter Lawrence there isn’t another comp I could find. Obviously a ways to go but they clearly believe in this particular moonshot so let’s see.
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Yes I did bring that up immediately on draft day about Cameron Young. Psycology it’s hard to grasp after months of getting a guy round 5/6 in mock drafts such as Brodric Martin or Cameron Young knowing it’s a steal…to see us load up and go to round 3 to get him using 3 picks.
Ocyrus not being a fit seemed to be the theme. But I sure loved the idea of drafting OCyrus & Darnell Washington and playing bully ball.
Yes!! Like when we got Sims OG, Lojack DE, Julian Peterson I think? etc back in the day. Mathew did well at that.
You either trade late picks for veterans OR
use them to move up like we did Okudah pick to get Branch
OR use the pick and get Rodrigo/Houston.
You NEVER trade the pick for an unproven ‘talent’ … that’s why I HATE the Trinity Benson move.
Goes against the Rule. Plain and Simple. Just hit the waiver wire.
You might be on to something here…there’s always a Kam Chanchellor, Hufanga, Justin Simmons, etc safety that goes much later than he should…
I have no problems ever throwing darts day 3 at LB, RB, and S…or OL development guys
As we have said, Brad cares about more than just game film. As much as we can critique Martin as a player, Brad had his reasons for elevating the kid. We have seen that Martin has a good personality, and is upbeat. Brad identified him as a guy who is going to show up on Wednesday as the same guy every week…win or lose. Brad also pointed out the hustle plays he saw from Martin, and that it is rare to see that kind of hustle from big guys. When Brad said that it instantly brought up images in my head of Haloti Ngata. When Haloti ended RG3’s career, it wasn’t in the pocket. It was 13 yards downfield. Think about that for a second.
Speaking of pyschology, Brad used 2 picks…not 3. The other pick was the pick to take the player. And it would have happened whether we stayed put or not. So he used (2) 5th rounders to elevate his 4th round pick to a 3rd round pick.
That being said, your feelings on it are justified. Even when you listen to Bro Mart tell the story, he was in the middle of setting up his draft party for the next day when he got the call from the Lions. 
Brad feels like he earned the right to be aggressive on Martin by being patient earlier in the draft. Even when he knew he wanted Hooker, he still traded down twice.
lol, what exactly is “hard contact football discussion”?
I’m really hopeful this is a bit, like espnbaby but not as funny.
Sometimes I wonder just how many accounts a few of these guys have posted under. Notwally37 hasn’t been around in awhile either, hmmmmm. YAC, Ninja, and Wally are never around at the same time now are they. 
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3 picks then lol
(2 5ths and a 4th)
Right on. We started the trend because the 9ers decided to dictate their own draft by taking Jake Moody end of 3 as well.
Didn’t wanna miss “your guy” so dictate the draft
That Ninja is a tricky one.
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