Two new mocks, CBS Sports and Fansided/With The First Pick, have the Lions picking the same player …
Jerry Jeudy, WR, Alabama
Ryan Wilson at CBS: Jeudy falls to No. 6 because the teams above have more immediate needs, but Matthew Stafford isn’t complaining. Yes, Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones are Detroit’s top targets but both have contracts that expire after the 2020 season, and Jeudy is the most dynamic route runner in college football.
Alex Barnett at Fansided: A wide receiver with generational talent has to be the pick. Matthew Stafford was signed to a big contract because of his production on offense despite sensational talent. Jeudy will be the most talented receiver that Stafford has played with since Calvin Johnson. This just might get them over that playoff hump.
My initial reaction is a reflexive facial twitch and immediate reversion to the Matt Millen-Roy Williams-Charles Rogers-BMW days. Wide receiver?!?
Sorry, the need for defensive talent is probably too great.
Jeudy is a near can’t-miss #1 receiver. I’m actually a CeeDee Lamb guy, though.
But then there’s that factoid that Golladay and Marvin are both free agents after the 2020 season. I could foresee the Lions moving on from Jones, especially with a WR like Jeudy having a year to get into the swing of things. And what if Golladay pulls a Suh and rejects all overtures to stay here?
It still feels like I’m trying to talk myself into something that would be a wrong move. I like Jeudy at 6 a whole hell of a lot more than I liked Hockenson at 8. But still, defense.
Like I’ve said, this team needs playmakers and difference-makers and Jeudy is one of those guys. I’d rather it was on the defensive side of the ball but as long as we quite drafting OG’s and TE’s I’d be happy!
Our last 6 drafts:
2019- Tight End
2018- Offensive Guard
2017- Linebacker
2016- Left Tackle
2015- Offensive Guard
2014- Tight End
They currently don’t have any outside WR’s who can gain separation. I haven’t seen Jeudy play but have certainly heard how great he is. Jones is probably gone and Golladay may be too expensive to re-sign. They needed a speedy WR last year and Quinn failed to deliver.
Maybe go defense will the rest of the picks. IDK… The draft is still 1/2 a year away.
It all depends on what the Lions do in free agency.
Maybe they can get a Robert Quinn, Shaquil Barrett, Mario Addison, Bud Dupree, Arik Armstead, Everson Griffin, Derek Wolfe, Clowney, etc. There’s a lot of defensive players to choose from.
I’d still prefer the Lions to create an elite D, fixing the trenches, and run game before drafting another WR high.
WR is the 2nd to last position you fill on a team, in my opinion, only behind TE. You can fill that WR group later in the draft or thru FA. Other teams let WRs walk all the time. No need to waste your top draft pick on that position group, ever.
If a team lands a high end offensive tackle, they seemingly never let them go. That’s what you need to draft, because they don’t find them in the open market very often. Edge rushers and defensive tackles are another positions of high value that make sense to draft high. And of course an elite QB is a no brainer at the top of the draft.
So, a good GM would look at our roster and our holes and have a DT, DE and OT in mind and if you don’t like what is available when you are on the clock, you trade down and add picks where it makes sense to take luxury positions like TE, WR, RB, etc.
If you are using the market approach, I’d say that high end TEs rarely hit the market. Teams tend to hold onto them. I still can’t justify spending a 1st round pick on one though. CBs on the other hand, teams regularly trade or let top CBs hit the market. Its an important position but for whatever reason its abnormal in the amount of top guys that are available on a regular basis.
I think the reason they hang onto them is because that position group isn’t terribly expensive. We wasted millions of dollars on James AND blew a top pick on Hockenson when the best tight ends in the entire league only cost like 10 million bucks.
Why not do what New Orleans did and sign a guy like Cook for 2 years 15 million? Instead we got married to James for 4 years and his contract is pretty crappy going forward.
For some reason Quinn back loaded James’ contract and got it pretty cheap for this year, THEN NEVER SPENT THE OPEN MONEY, LIKE A MORON.
The next 3 years, he costs:
2020: $5.3 million
2021: $6.4 million
2022: $7.2 milion
Pretty brutal, unless he all of a sudden becomes useful in any way.
They might not have breakaway speed at receiver but Golladay and Jones find ways to get open and win almost all 50/50 balls. They were ripping up the league before Stafford went down, still are even with the backups.
Also, there’s absolutely no way they don’t sign Golladay IMO. I’d be shocked if they didn’t. Jones is another story, he’ll likely be dealt before he reaches free agency like Tate was so it wouldn’t be the worst idea to fill that need now.
In any event, I wouldn’t hate the Jeudy pick, he’s a special player, but they can’t simply ignore edge rushers forever.
If it’s a choice of lets say, Jeudy and Epenesa I’d probably choose Jeudy because he’s more of a high impact player but I’d feel uneasy about them ignoring the defense again in the 1st round.
I could see them being big on Derrick Brown. He fits that Quinntricia mold of big and strong in the middle that they seem to covet.
