Karnage84 Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 As we sit here watching Holmes and Campbell bring back nearly the entire roster from last year, I wanted to take a look at a different look for a draft. I know it won't be beloved but it's at least an interesting exercise to see how things could shake out if the draft winds up being a bit different than our expectations. Jacksonville drafts Aidan Hutchinson #1 overall Lions don't get value to trade down in a range they are comfortable with #2: Ikem Ekwonu, OT/OG, NC State: Right now... you hate it (especially Sllim). Hear me out. He has been in the #1 overall conversation more than enough times. He offers positional versatility as he has experience at LT and LG. He can play this year at either OG spot, he could move to RT (shifting Sewell to LT), he play LT (keeping Sewell at RT). We can acquire trade capital and/or add cap space by moving either Decker or Vaitai. We'd have bookend tackles for the next 8-10 years (Ekwonu and Sewell will be 22 this year). We won't be forced to move Decker this year but we would have the ability to do it if the right deal came along. OL also have a lower bust rate. In a draft without surefire talent, it doesn't hurt to place your bet on more of a sure thing. #32: Christian Watson, WR, North Dakota State: Watson has the size, the speed, the explosiveness. He's not DK Metcalf but he's a freak athlete that makes our offense faster. He might need some time to get up to NFL speed but I expect he's going to be a really really good WR when all is said and done. Trade #34 to Seattle for #40, #109, #229 #40: Chad Muma, MLB, Wyoming: We desperately need a LB that is good in coverage. Muma has been rising up the draft boards and he seems to be going before pick 55 more often than not. He displayed a ton at the Senior Bowl and he performed well at the combine. Especially with a move to a 4-3, he's going to be our green dot guy for years to come #66: Leo Chenal, OLB, Wisconsin: Before I get into why I picked him. I just don't think he's going to be here. I think he'll go in round 1. However, he's here now so I'll take him. Chenal was in the 95th percentile for most of his testing. He's an absolute freak. He scored really really high with PFF as a pass-rusher. Let's use him like he was Aidan Hutchinson. He's 250 pounds. We could get him to add a couple pounds or use him in that role more situationally. He only has 31 inch arms but Hutchinson is only at 32 1/8. Adding someone like Chenal could also make the Lions reconsider the switch and play Muma and Chenal at ILB with Chenal playing at LEO/REO at various times. #97: Nick Cross, S, Maryland: A developmental FS. Highly athletic (one of the top testers at the position). We didn't land Marcus Williams. However, we have Tracy back on board. Cross has been comped to Marcus Maye. I'll definitely take that over Will Harris. #109: Greg Dulcich, TE, UCLA: A flex TE, he would be more of a complimentary piece and adds another weapon to the offense. We don't know what will happen with Hock, so this does give us some insurance in case he's looking for a contract that vastly outweighs what he brings to the table. #181: Tyquan Thornton, WR, Baylor: The fastest WR at the combine. He has great height (6'2) but he's thin (181 lbs). Developmental WR that will need time to develop his route running. #217: Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, Edge, Notre Dame: A 280 lb, developmental 4-3 DE. Can also slide inside to play 3T. #229: Neil Farell, DT, LSU: Big body guy at 330 lbs. Developmental DL #234: Sam Webb, CB, Missouri Western: Developmental CB with good size. Let Glenn and Aubrey do their magic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karnage84 Posted March 17, 2022 Author Share Posted March 17, 2022 We finish the draft with - Cornerstone on OL for 10 years - WR1 - Impact defenders at LB - Potential high end starting safety - Flex weapon at TE - Developmental guys at WR, DE, DT, CB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LionArkie Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 I guess it could be worse. somehow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karnage84 Posted March 17, 2022 Author Share Posted March 17, 2022 1 minute ago, LionArkie said: I guess it could be worse. somehow. What do you not like about it in particular? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Friend Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 (edited) I thought about the tackles in the draft this morning when trying to comprehend foundational pieces on our team. IMO, we have 3 building blocks on the OL in Ragnow, Sewell and Jackson. Getting another G/T to build there is a solid investment. However, as much as I like the OL in this draft, none of them crack my top 3 BPA. It's hard for me to pass on better talent based on a hole we'll have down the road. Overall, I'm not totally against your draft. It's more of the same outside of the top pick. I just can't justify it. Edited March 17, 2022 by Louis Friend 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LionArkie Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 An OT at 2 to play guard on the hopes we can trade our under contract experienced LT for something good. I don’t mind the rest of it, but I can think of several other defensive players I’d rather have. I think I’d even prefer the top WR over another T. I get the premise, and I’ve even thought about it before. But the thought lasted about a half of a second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karnage84 Posted March 17, 2022 Author Share Posted March 17, 2022 1 minute ago, Louis Friend said: I thought about the tackles in the draft this morning when trying to comprehend foundational pieces on our team. IMO, we have 3 building blocks on the OL in Ragnow, Sewell and Jackson. Getting another G/T to build there is a solid investment. However, as much as I like the OL in this draft, none of them crack my top 3 BPA. It's hard for me to pass on better talent based on a hole we'll have down the road. Overall, I'm not totally against your draft. It's more of the same outside of the top pick. I just can't justify it. If we're looking at some of the top 6 guys: Hutchinson - gone Thibodeaux - Is he going to be Clowney 2.0? Tons of potential but doesn't have the motor to match the physical traits? Hamilton - Is he going to be as dynamic as we thought he might be? Is a safety worth the #2 overall pick? Neal - If you take him, he's going to have to play either tackle position Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karnage84 Posted March 17, 2022 Author Share Posted March 17, 2022 4 minutes ago, LionArkie said: An OT at 2 to play guard on the hopes we can trade our under contract experienced LT for something good. I don’t mind the rest of it, but I can think of several other defensive players I’d rather have. I think I’d even prefer the top WR over another T. I get the premise, and I’ve even thought about it before. But the thought lasted about a half of a second. If we're looking towards the future, year 3 of our rebuild (2023) will have a 30 year old Taylor Decker with a $17.8M cap hit. A team like Indianapolis (tons of cap room, need at OT) or Miami (needs major help on OL, has cap room) could be interested parties with a more short term focus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Want A Title Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 Evan Brown played pretty well last year and is still a young player. Its not ideal, but if we can't trade out of the #2 pick in that scenario, I would take Kyle Hamilton. If we did that we would presumably address long-term needs at S, WR, LB with our first three picks. I am a big fan of Troy Anderson from Montana State though. There is a strong possibility he will be there at 66. We need his kind of versatility and athleticism. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LionArkie Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 2 minutes ago, Karnage84 said: If we're looking towards the future, year 3 of our rebuild (2023) will have a 30 year old Taylor Decker with a $17.8M cap hit. A team like Indianapolis (tons of cap room, need at OT) or Miami (needs major help on OL, has cap room) could be interested parties with a more short term focus. Let me ask you this, do you like this strategy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Want A Title Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 2 minutes ago, LionArkie said: Let me ask you this, do you like this strategy? Check out Taylor Decker's cap information. Even if we wanted to, we can't move on from him until 2023 at the earliest. https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/detroit-lions/taylor-decker-18964/#:~:text=Current Contract&text=In 2022%2C Decker will earn,dead cap value of %2424%2C050%2C000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karnage84 Posted March 17, 2022 Author Share Posted March 17, 2022 Just now, LionArkie said: Let me ask you this, do you like this strategy? Decker to Indianapolis for 2022 4th + 2023 2nd (maybe a 1st f you can squeeze); (clears up $4.8M this year; opens up $17M next year) LT - Sewell (22) LG - Jackson (25) OC - Ragnow (25) RG - Vaitai (28) RT - Ekwonu (22) We currently have $21M of dead cap (according to OTC) this year; we'd have $69M in cap room next year and that's before a Goff cut/trade. If the goal is to position ourselves by having strong foundations along the lines and get younger, there's definitely a pathway to success through a similar set of moves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Want A Title Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 37 minutes ago, Karnage84 said: Decker to Indianapolis for 2022 4th + 2023 2nd (maybe a 1st f you can squeeze); (clears up $4.8M this year; opens up $17M next year) LT - Sewell (22) LG - Jackson (25) OC - Ragnow (25) RG - Vaitai (28) RT - Ekwonu (22) We currently have $21M of dead cap (according to OTC) this year; we'd have $69M in cap room next year and that's before a Goff cut/trade. If the goal is to position ourselves by having strong foundations along the lines and get younger, there's definitely a pathway to success through a similar set of moves. You do make a a pretty solid case for this scenario. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karnage84 Posted March 17, 2022 Author Share Posted March 17, 2022 Just now, Just Want A Title said: You do make a a pretty solid case for this scenario. The fact that we could/should seriously consider this as a possibility would also give us leverage in a potential trade down deal. If the Jets, Giants, Panthers, etc. want to move up to grab their guy, the fact that we are also an option helps us. If we don't like a deal to move down, we can just take one of the top guys and be thrilled. NFL.com draft profile grades for top OT's since 2020 - 2022 Jedrick Willis - 6.85 Evan Neal - 6.76 <<< 2022 class Ikem Ekwonu - 6.73 <<< 2022 class Penei Sewell - 6.73 Rashawn Slater - 6.70 Mekhi Becton - 6.70 Andrew Thomas - 6.49 Tristan Wirfs - 6.48 Christian Darrisaw - 6.45 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diehardlionfan Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 I would have no problem with them drafting an OT at two. It’s not my preference but if they can move Decker for good picks I’m all for it. I wouldn’t be upset if they have a good oline for 7 or 8 years. I will never complain about linemen being drafted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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