I firmly believe that if the Lions stay at 3OA that Okudah is the favorite for BQ to draft. Most mocks feel he’s the most complete CB since Jalen Ramsey. However the stats do not support it.
Im not totally against Okudah but I say no to Okudah at 3OA and let me explain why.
Disclaimer these rankings come from PFF. But I do think there’s some validity here.
Single coverage rank:
The Lions put their CB’s on an island more than any other team. So a CB on the Lions defense needs to be good at single coverage. 5 CB’s ranked higher than Okudah is single coverage rankings. Those 5 were in order of rank. 1st Amik Robertson, Trevon Diggs, 3rd Damon Arnette, Jaylon Johnson.
Clean Pocket Throw %
The Lions give the QB more time to throw than any other NFL team. When QB’s aren’t pressured the CB has a much more difficult time defending. Okudah ranked 8th on throws where the QB wasn’t pressured. The 7 ranked ahead of him in order are. 1st Amik Robertson, Trevon Diggs, 3rd Javaris Davis, Kristian Fulton, 5th Jeff Gladney, and Bryce Hall.
3 seconds or less throw rank.
We play a lot of press man coverage. The purpose in this is to take away the quick pass and to knock. WR’s off their routes and out of time with the QB. Okudah didn’t even rank in the top 10 at stopping the quick pass throws. This is an indicator that his press abilities and physicality are reason for concern. The top 5 in this category are. 1st Trevon Diggs, Amik Robertson, 3rd Jaylon Johnson, Kristian Fulton, and 5th Javaris Davis.
Contested Catch rank.
This is also another indication of how physical a CB is. How often did he give up a completion when battling for the ball with the WR. Okudah once again didn’t even rank in the top 10 in this category. The top 6 were. 1st Amik Robertson, Zane Lewis, 3rd Kristian Fulton, Trajan Bandy, 5th Bryce Hall and Jeff Gladney.
Deep Play Completion %
For some reason PFF did this rank over two years. This stat is based off how many big plays a CB gave up on a percentage basis. Okudah once again didn’t even make the top 10 in this category. Which I find odd since I know he didn’t give up a single pass past 35 yards last season. So I dug in deeper and found that this stats is based off passes they went 15 yards and longer. Here are the top 5. 1st Travion Banks, Kristian Fulton, Marcus Strong, 4th Amik Robertson, Cameron Dantzler.
I happen to notice that LA Techs Amik Robertson shows up on a lot of these stats. He was also 2nd in the NCAA in passes defended. (A category Okudah didn’t even make the top 25 in) He’s been my sleeper CB for the Lions. I was hoping somewhere around round 3-4. But after taking a closer look at the stats I wonder if he may go higher than projected.
Interception % per game. Okudah didn’t even make the top 50.
I do believe Okudah brings things to the table that don’t show in stats. Like measurables for instance. However if love to hear the counter argument as to why Okudah deserves to go 3OA.
Do you think Okudah deserves to be the Lions 1st pick or no? Let’s hear your arguments for drafting him or not!