I recruited Jalen Sundell out of HS, loved his film then, love his film now. Please don’t put me in the no one category, I liked his film way back when for a reason
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Let’s hope Ben Johnson’s bald best friend can do what Kubiak can do
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Sooo… Demarcus Lawrence as a vet DE pushed Boye Mafe to the bench in a season he was turning 33…
Bosa
Jordan
Clooney
Why isn’t is plausible to pick one up, draft a stud OT and take a situational edge on round 4 possible?
PS- that is what will happen
DET Lions Position of 1st Drafted Player
Offensive Lineman
−175
Defensive Line/Edge
+200
…
…
…
Cornerback
+550
Linebacker
+1200
Wide Receiver
+3000
Safety
+3000
Tight End
+3500
Running Back
+6000
Quarterback
+6000
Kicker/Punter/Long Snapper
+25000
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I think we need to prepare for Brad to not do what we think. Nobody thought we we going to take Gibbs, Campbell, Jamo, Tyliek, etc. I would not be shocked if he took a corner, and there’s one that is highly rated and coming off an ACL tear (Brad drooling intensifies). It just seems so freaking obvious that we need a edge and tackle that it just won’t happen. If it does actually happen then I never want to hear Brad say that he doesn’t draft for need. If we go tackle and edge with our first two picks in either order, we are absolutely drafting for need
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2024 was a pretty obvious drafting for need draft
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62.7 isn not a bad pff grade. In fact, if that’s your worst lineman’s grade, you probably have a pretty solid OLine.
And I know Sam Darnold isn’t Steve Young, but Goff makes him look like him in regards to mobility. It’s absolutely pivotal to this teams success to have a ++ offensive line. We’ve won 36 games over the last 3 years with a nothing burger opposite Hutch. We won 9 games last year when the line wasn’t good.
Your argument is valid and holds truth…but so does the opposite side. And there’s more evidence to support the side of going OT over EDGE based off of this teams past success.
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I’d rather Wonnum be the starter… He doesn’t play 100% of the snaps like an OT… I also think he’s a better DE than Borom is OT
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And I had him in my deep dive post of day 3/UDFAs we might like. It was clear he had something, the only question was whether he had the girth to hold up. Went to the right system and that helped, but pretty resounding success overall.
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That’s when the magic happens.
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To win a Super Bowl the team is going to need to be more balanced because no matter how good your offensive line is you are going to have to get some stops consistently.
And since PFF grades are apparently the gospel the Lions line wasn’t bad in 2025 according to them
Also you guys do this a lot on here. Yall will trot out a PFF grade as proof a player is bad or good then totally ignore it to down play something positive about the Lions.
Saying 62 PFF grade isn’t bad then saying the Lions offensive line was bad last year when PFF had them 12th is a prime example.
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But this shit works both ways ,lol, so of you guys put it up there as a positive for the Lions then down grade it if it’s from another team or player , Decker sucks but Mogs is great. PFF isn’t a know all , it’s just a piece of information that you can use with alot of other information. Problem is a lot people argue it both ways when it suites there argument.
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Uh… yep. There’s this… Is there a 2nd round NT from a small school with a high RAS score out there… Slam dunk with a slight trade up in the first.
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I agree with the OP. I also won’t be surprised if they go DE.
Our safeties are sus at the moment with are two studs on IR.
We have a strong secondary but there are enough ?’s that a corner early is viable.
We have a lot of holes on the defensive side of the ball.
We have one of the best units, if not the best in football in our offense. RT’s are easier to replace then LT’s.
We have an all-world at LT.
Easiest quickest way to help the defense is to speed up the qb bc he is aware of pressure or scared of getting hit or actually getting hit/sacked.
So draft a strong impactful DE round 1 and the entire defense is better immediately.
Draft a RT round 1 and the team is marginally better on offense.
DE allows the defense to be average. Average defense with this all world offense is enough to win the super bowl.
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A lot of valid points there.
I am not on exactly the same page, but only because Brad and Dan’s offseason makes very little sense if I’m wrong in my beliefs.
A) I think they took the Ragnow situation pretty personally, and the with Decker’s flirting with retiring, Glass’s my body is failing, Monty wanting more touches, Anzo wanting more money… Brad and Dan were like “let’s get younger and hungrier now!”
B) There is no chance they are willing to “run it back” sans their veteran leaders, and hope to get back to the top of the division… THE AMOUNT OF HOLES WE CURRENTLY FEAR CANNOT BE FIXED IN THIS DRAFT…
C) Arnold, Tyliek, Mac, Kerby, even Jack all had 49-63 ratings as rookies. Only Branch and Hutch hit right away… I just don’t see 3 defensive starters who are plus level players to replace Anzo, Branch, Reader and AQM from this class
D) So I have to assume Laporta, Arnold, Reed, Mac and Kerby are guys our brass feels pretty good about for 2026….
Hutch/Tyliek/McNeill/Wonnum
Barnes/Jack Campbell
McCreary/Arnold/Reed
Joseph/Iziem
- we obviously don’t love that.. and Levi, Rodrigo, and Rock as depth is okay
But… Brad speaks his mind, and he was overly specific that we weren’t done… more to sign before the draft, after the draft and after June cuts….
- it’s hard to imagine more than 2-3 players in the entire draft class being more impactful that Jordan, Bosa, or Clowney were last year or could be…. Same with a few of the CB, DT, and WLB still out there.
I agree that a slight uptick in the offense won’t be as impactful as bust becoming average on D…
However we have one year left of CM and Manu after this year and Scruggs and Borom are FAs.. one more locked in player for 4-5 plus years at a 4M per clip as a plus starter would be huge
Cam Jordan, Logan Wilson, and A Maddox in FA…. Gabe Jacas, Will Lee, and Landon Robinson in the draft make the D look pretty good
The add Fano/Miller, Koziol, and a RB- keeps that top O intact and loaded for 3 more years.
I would personally go oline (guard or tackle) depending on who’s available because keeping goff clean and healthy while creating running lanes for gibbs should be priority #1 imo. The lions offense can score on anyone if the oline can hold up.
I’m pretty sure Logan Wilson retired.
This is my position as well. I can hope for draft picks to come impact the situation, but that is an unknown.
As for the draft, I am, and remain, a BPA guy. I am hoping that BPA aligns with OL or DL this year. But that will sort itself out on draft night. Until then, Wonnum at this point in time.
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1000%^
Also….
Uchenna Nwosu- 7 sacks in 580 snaps after 2 years of light usage and production due to injury. Prior was a 5-9 sack guy
D Lawrence- 6 sacks in 620s snaps as a 33 year old free agent
B Mafe and D Hall- 4 combined sacks in 980 combined snaps. Mafe was in final year of his rookie deal, and Hall is going into his final year. His production dipped big time from 24’ to 25’ though as many of his snaps went to Lawrence.
How did Seattle in a SB with just 17 sacks coming from their “edge rushers” and nobody above 7? Keeping guys between 450-650 snaps helped to keep guys fresh in my opinion.
- they also got 1500 snaps and 14 sacks from B Murphy and L Williams with 7 each, and rotating in NT J Reed for another 2.5 sacks and 400 snaps, and 3.5 from LB Drake Thomas in 700 snaps
Now let’s do Detroit? Keeping in mind Detroit had 2 more sacks from Seattle, but it was uneven production and virtually none came from the secondary (2 from Branch)
Hutch- 14.5
AQM- 11
Jack Campbell- 5
D Barnes- 4
Branch- 2.5
- that’s 37 of our 49 right there. That’s bad, and when you factor we got like 5 total sacks from the interior… it’s even more glaring.
How do we fix it?
The Seahawks extended Reed, Nwosu, and signed veteran D Lawrence (the big one) last year… What can Detroit do RIGHT NOW to fix our unbalanced pressure and poor D?
- Sign Bosa, Cam Jordan or Clowney
- Sign Campbell, Onyemata, Daquan Jones
As many suggested… trade down looks amazing, but we need a partner…let’s say we do-
Drop to late 20s and pickup a 3rd and a 3rd or 4th next year…
Chris Johnson- size, ball production, crazy athleticism, 91 plus rating… lock down CB? We only have 2 years left with Reed and Arnold and one each for Rock and McCreary…
Gabe Jacas- my favorite edge for the price in the draft. Captain, RAS, Production in Power 5
K Proctor- inside juice
D Crownover or Kage Casey- we get an OT battle it out with Borom… lighting on a bottle home run Brad pick?
Kaytron Allen- he already stated he and Singleton loved emulating “Sonic and Knuckles,” and he was Knuckles… replaces Pacheco in 2027
D Bentley- Laporta contract insurance and gives us a top 3-4 TE room in 26’
B Boettcher or J Jefferson- coverage centric LB for ST, or maybe we get lucky and replace Anzo cheap?
Nick Barnett- another rotational DT to eat 350 snaps
Sawyer Robinson- athletic QB who posted some solid passing numbers in 25’ as well… a little bit T Shough to him, and cheap QB3
Travis Burke- the Brad Holmes “specimen” pick without using 3rd rounders this time
Sewell/Borom/Manu and either Crownover/Casey I think gives us a nice shot of having a solid RT and an All Pro LT
McNeill/Tyliek- Daquan Jones, and Proctor/Barret gives us a really nice mix inside adding a thumper and 2 guys with Juice
Hutch/Wonnu/Clowney/Jacas/Levi O is a really strong DE room with guys who can get 7 plus sacks and set the edge
Kaytron and Bentley are two picks I love to solidify both RB and TE rooms…
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Don’t you wish that evil on me Ricky Bobby.
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