To me the debate if we stay at seven is now pretty clear:
Chase/DeVonta Smith V. Parsons V. Sewell.
WR V. Best Defensive Player/LBer V OT
There is a damn good reason to take every one of these guys but we can only have one.
What is available later in the draft plays a factor. Which position is likely to be good in rd. 2, 3 and even 4? OT seems really, really good this year and deep too making me think taking a tackle later is smart.
Those two WRs have me dreaming of watching Calvin again. That feeling of a WR breaking open a game.
Parsons is the guy I wanted at the end of 2019. This defense has no leader or personality. Getting a top defensive player in the draft two years in a row (Okudah in 2020) makes me really happy. There are other sound LBers later in this draft too. This WR class is also very, very deep too though.
AND…we have two 1st in 2022 meaning I can see waiting on a LBer as we have Jamie Collins now. NEED isn’t that high for Parsons compared to WR.
Overall as much as I LOVE Chase and Smith I think I am holding my nose and taking an amazing defensive player. I let him learn from Jamie Collins in 2021. I play them together a LOT.
I think I am simply looking for WRs in rd. 2 and OT in rd. 3.
I think safety is looking like a rd. 3 pick for me this season too at this point.
Imagine a draft like this:
LBer Parsons
WR Kadarius Toney
Safety Ar’Darius Washington
4…2nd 3rd rd pick) OT Jalen Mayfield
Something like that would really, really make my year. I think I am a Parsons guy at this point.
I’ve come back around to the idea that if Justin Fields is there just take him. IMO he’s going to be a superstar. I do think Goff is better than he’s generally given credit for. I also agree that otherwise Sewell is my clear preference.
I love Waddle at WR as well. If I remember correctly you’re not as high on him.
Trade down blows this all up. I like that folks are saying its deep for WR and T.
Trade back, snag one in the first, and one with one of our 2nd rounders.
3 or 4 starters in the first 3 rounds.
If you trade back you miss out on the talent that is clearly better than the rest.
Regarding a QB I am leaving that out. There are many other threads for that. I don’t think the Lions are going QB in 2021,
I am thinking the WR talent that may fall is simply likely to be much better than the LBer talent available in that draft position.
Is D. Smith becomes the next Marvin Harrison or Chase becomes Calvin that will hurt. If Sewell becomes the next great OT that will hurt. But if Parsons becomes a better Spielman or D. White (the Bucs MLBer) I am okay with that.
Right on HSV. I edited my post as I was thinking a top defensive player in general in Okudah. Chase was the top D guy in 2020 for sure and he had a solid rookie season.
Pairing Parsons with some of our younger defensive guys would be very nice (Okudah, AO, Romeo Okwara- who is just 26 in June, Julian Okwara and so on).
I have ZERO issue with Sewell of a WR (I LOVE Smith…those are my top two guys). But I want a face for the defense. A guy who forces teams to play offense differently against us.
In the end, I’ll be surprised if Lions don’t take the best WR on the board when they pick at #7, Sewell still available or not. If you don’t take a WR the Lions are setting up Goff to fail and might as well just take a QB to red shirt for the season at that point.
If Sewell IS the generational player he is being sold as, then the running game will save Goff. Interesting that he was decent at selling play action. What’s REALLY interesting is so was Stafford even though he HAD no running game. Time to throw and a running game over comes the WR issue. I’m on the fence, I have said since day 1 that I would take Smith w/o a trade down scenario. Now, the depth of the WR pool makes it worth discussing the options.
I can live with most options that are likely to be available;
My preferences-
Pitts
Sewell
Fields
Chase
Smith
Waddle
I would understand a Parsons pick but I’d be puckering in the anus about his mental makeup. He makes me very nervous. He’s a great player, though. No doubt about it.
big no to Smith if he is so good why is he hiding his weight he wouldn’t weigh in or run at senior bowl then 6 weeks later he finally weighs in an is really small after he likely ate 24/7 for the 6 weeks an then wouldn’t run.
This is a guy who is hiding his size an ability to run like he should at a good weight. If he weighs in an runs like he should with a solid weight then look at him. Saying just take me based on film an he wants to go top 10 he will fall further than 15
I don’t see a big drop off in WR talent, I think we could grab one in the 2nd that will give us similar impact to what is generally considered the top guys. There is no Calvin Johnson in this draft. I do see a huge dropoff in LB after Parsons. You can make a case for JOK at LB except for his size limitations which will scare some teams off. So I’m going Parsons all the way.
There’s a small piece of me that wants the Lions to draft Kyle Pitts, not because he’s good (he is very good!), but because I want to witness the reaction of one @wesleysh21.
The draft is a LOT of art meaning not a sure thing on any level. For anyone. GM’s and fans are trying to predict what guys will do based on college production, stats and potential based on athletic talent. But the line is never straight. Real life gets in the way.
I don’t understand the pimping of Pitts at all. He has 1,419 yards TOTAL in his college career and 18 TDs. He makes amazing contested catches and that in and of itself is a flag as why is he covered so often (but makes the play!)? Folks want to think he is close to Calvin but CJ had close to 3,000 yards total at Georgia Tech with 28 TDs. Calvin averaged1.5 YPC more per catch than Pitts. I like Pitts drafting for potential in a top ten pick is a mistake regardless of position. But what is Pitts? Drafting a tweener can also be a problem. Can he create separation in the NFL If not he is a TEand a TE that high is a mistake period. It always is.
Someone said there is no Calvin in this class and while the skill set might be different Chase and D. Smith are amazing. Period. In 2019 Chase AVERAGED 21.2 YPC. That is better than Calvin AND he had 20 TDs. That is stunning. DeVonta Smith has an average over catch that is incredible and his production over three seasons is also amazing. 43 career TDs is jaw-dropping. This guy has a feel for the position that is better than Calvin. He is an incredible talent.
Parsons’s skill set is also equally amazing. GREAT athletic traits, 6.5 career sacks as a LBer, he can cover and play the run well. His missed tackles are VERY low for a LBer. 6’3" and 240 pounds and ran around a real 4.4 I believe. Even if it is a 4.5 that is still good. That is elite for a LBer who, unlike Pitts, produced while still learning the position. Considered the top defensive player in the draft.
Between Chase, Smith and Parsons one cannot make a bad choice. Sewell is also a guy worth the selection without a doubt. 330 pounds, great feet, strong…yep, solid on every level.
Pitts? I am not seeing it guys. I also am not seeing a QB in 2021. To me it is the guys I listed OR a trade down and if we trade down I want a Pro Bowl level player in exchange instead of ONLY draft picks.
For my $ for example…if I trade down it will be with the Washington Football Team and I take DT Jonathan Allen AND their 2nd rd. pick so they get their QB. That puts us in the conversation for maybe the top safety, a fine WR, a LBer still and so on. But I want an Allen level guy to impact this team immediately in 2021.
Can’t get with this level of absolutism. He “does” have a Pro Bowl TE and one of the best young do it all RB’s in the league. He has a PB Center and a franchise LT. I am absolutely for taking a WR, perhaps 2 depending on how many picks we end up making. But WR at 7 or setting Goff up for failure? Naw… You can add a slot guy that can take the top off a defense like Tutu or Stevenson later on. You put a guy like that in the mix with our taller speedy outside WR’s and Goff will have plenty of places to go with the ball. Don’t sleep on Hunter Bryant either.
Given the current roster, I believe the greatest impact would come from Parsons, and that is open for debate. Everyone obsesses with a trade down, myself included, and if we could land one of the WRs, Sewell or Parsons and add another pick that is the ideal situation. A trade down with Denver and still grab Parsons, perfect. A trade down any further though, and I think you loose the opportunity for Parsons and are content with an OT or a WR.
Consequently, it will take a very good offer for the FO to move down, but this team needs stars and starters alike. There are as many stars at the back end of the first round as there are at the top…well not really, but close. Just don’t miss! We brought in a number of profesionals regarded as good talent evaluators, trust the process.
Sewell would be the catalyst for everything that the offense wants to do. He helps secure the success of the run game (with then one of the top 10, maybe 5 O lines in the game). When the run game is successful, Goff is successful, with 67% comp %, 100+ passer rtg when he’s behind a 150 rush yd per game avg (though that would be true with many QBs I suppose, but same still holds). Its also safe. You see WRs on the market all the time. Not so top flight OTs.
Chase is my second. Smith, however good he may be, is likely to be great the half season he regularly sees the field since his diminutive weight beckons a persistent injury situation with him. Parsons will likely fall and for that reason alone I pass up on him at 7. Trade to 15 and still see Parsons there? I’m all over it…
And yet virtually every draft analyst in the world is seeing it. I don’t want Pitts either but it’s only because of positional value and that’s it. To try and make him seem like a lesser player is absurd. He’s a total stud.
