Early Attempt At A Mock-5 Rounds W/Free Agents

[Just Want A Title]

It is still early and there is a lot to settle with respect to draft order, prospect grades, ect.  I see the Lions drafting between between 7-10 with their pick.  I think there is a strong chance that they trade back with whatever pick is lower in the first round because most of the prospects will have a similar grade when we make our second pick.  I also think Brad Holmes will clear a whole lot of cap space to bring in some impactful free agents for the first time.  One big wildcard:  Will Brad Holmes choose to move on from Taylor Decker and address OT with one of our first-round picks?  With all of that being said:

Free Agents:

DT Da'Ron Payne:  A very good DT who will help McNeil become a better DT.  He will add size, proven production and nastiness to our interior D-Line 

G Nate Davis:  We get a long-term replacement for Big H.  He may not be flashy but he is a pretty solid guard

RB David Montgomery:  We let Jamal Williams go and bring him in to fill a similar role

Note:  I considered adding LB Bobby Okereke in free agency but chose to address that in the draft.

Draft:

Rd 1a-QB Will Levis:  He reminds me a lot of Justin Hebert coming out of college.  Good size, legit arm-strength and and good accuracy.  

Rd 1b-RB Bijan Johnson:  This will get a lot of hate but the drop-off between him and other draft eligible RBs is considerable.  He will take a lot of pressure off of Will Levis and add a third dynamic playmaker on offense to go with Amon Ra St Brown and Jameson Williams (projecting).  He is a pretty complete RB who will let us attack defenses with a lot more creativity

Rd 2a-LB Trenton Simpson:  I was surprised to see him get a number of late-first, early second round grades from different sites.  Has legit sideline-sideline range and is a very good tackler.  He can cover RBs, TEs and maybe some slot WRs.  We need another talented LB even if Barnes and Rodriguez continue to develop

Rd 2b-CB Devon Witherspoon:  He is a little thin right now but has very good cover skills and good ball skills.  You can never have enough quality DBs 

R3 3-WR AT Perry:  He is 6'4 with an arm length reportedly over 34 inches.  He does a good job with contested catches, should provide another deep-threat and will be a huge asset in the red zone.  We don't have another WR with his height and catch radius.

Rd 5-T Trevor Reid:  A solid OT prospect with good physical tools.  More of a back-up LT than RT at this point but could be effective at either tackle position after a year or two.  He might test well and could go a little earlier as a result

Thoughts?  Tear it up!

 

 

 

[Nnivolcm]

First impression is I want to see our historically bad defense get more help than this. Don't know too much about the prospects yet to dive in too deep. 

[Sllim Pickens]

Montgomery and Robinson is overkill.  Swift is still here next year and unless we trade him, I don’t see the point in both of Monty and Robinson.  I would rather sign Monty and draft an edge/CB/DT instead in the first but would also be good signing one of those instead of Monty.  
 

I’m also not a huge fan of Levis.  Would depend on who is available but I would have him below Carter and Anderson and the other two QBs.  Levi’s hasn’t taken the extra steps this year and it makes me nervous being an older prospect and still having the mental holes in his game.  I get he doesn’t have the best WRs but I’d rather grab McKee in the second for tools over Levis top 5. 

[Just Want A Title]

9 minutes ago, Sllim Pickens said:

Montgomery and Robinson is overkill.  Swift is still here next year and unless we trade him, I don’t see the point in both of Monty and Robinson.  I would rather sign Monty and draft an edge/CB/DT instead in the first but would also be good signing one of those instead of Monty.  
 

I’m also not a huge fan of Levis.  Would depend on who is available but I would have him below Carter and Anderson and the other two QBs.  Levi’s hasn’t taken the extra steps this year and it makes me nervous being an older prospect and still having the mental holes in his game.  I get he doesn’t have the best WRs but I’d rather grab McKee in the second for tools over Levis top 5. 

We have one RB signed for next year:  D'Andre Swift.  What that really means is we have zero RBs.  Montgomery would fill the role Jamaal Williams has now.  Adding Bijan Robinson might actually help the defense by keeping it off the field.  

As far as CB goes, Jeff Okudah is basically a rookie this year and playing fairly well most of the time.  I think we need to let him continue to grow to see just how much upside is left.  Jerry Jacobs, assuming he stays healthy, will be handling one starting CB spot.  What we really need to fix is our slot WR coverage.

Jalen Carter is a lock for the top 5 unless something comes up with his medicals.  Bryan Bresee is a very good DT prospect but is dealing with an injury and an off-the-field issue (death in the family).  He is also a RSO and may not declare for the draft.  After that, most of the DTs have a late first, early-second round.  Siaki, Ika, Masi Smith, Keenu Benton, Gervon Dexter and Tuli Tuipulotu are solid prospects but only Benton is a Senior.  The uncertainty around the DT class is why I chose to project the signing of Da'Ron Payne.  

 

Edited November 11, 2022 by Just Want A Title

[Karnage84]

I have a bigger issue with the Levis pick than the Robinson pick. I agree with Sllim - Montgomery and Robinson is overkill with Swift still signed to the roster. Robinson becomes your bell cow while Swift becomes an upside RB2 and can be flexed into the slot (or have both guys on the field in a split back situation). We can add a late round pick, UDFA or veteran FA to that room to round things out if need be. I'd even consider just re-signing Jamaal on a 1 year deal if he wants to be here and you can come to a fair deal. 

I don't like Levis - he's an older prospect and there are gaps in his game.

Guys who are all available in this CBS draft (picks 5-9): Will Levis, Keelee Ringo, Peter Skoronski, Bryan Bresee, Myles Murphy

I'd be much happier drafting Ringo, Bresee or Murphy in that spot or Skoronski (to eventually replace Decker).