"No Longer the Ansah" Mock

[Karnage84]

There are rumours that Ziggy is unlikely to re-sign with the Lions. The franchise tag is a rather hefty one at $17M. Instead of waiting for the inevitable departure, the Lions shop him to get some value back.

ASSUMPTIONS

Used drafttek.com's latest mock draft for some of the ranking

The draft is top heavy at QB, pushing down several good prospects

The team at pick #22 is looking to draft a QB. Whether this is Buffalo or New York Giants. Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Jacksonville are also in the mix

TRADES

Ziggy Ansah is traded to the Indianapolis Colts. Detroit receives #37, #49 (2nd round) and #104 (4th round). Ansah sigsn a 4 year, $48M deal

The Colts are in a difficult division with the up and coming Jaguars, Titans and Texans. They are moving to a 4-3 defense, have the second highest amount of cap space and draft picks to spare. The #6 position in this draft could also net them some additional picks. They could also stay put and draft a guy like Chubb or Barkley if he slips.

Detroit trades #20 to the New Orleans Saints who select Lamar Jackson, QB. In exchange the Lions receive #27, #91(3rd round) and 2019 2nd round pick.

Detroit trades #37 and #117 in exchange for #33.

FREE AGENCY

Jonathan Hankins - 3 years x $5M

Shea McLellin - 1 Year, Vet Min.

Jared Crick - 1 Year, Vet Min.

Losing Ansah opens up some holes on the defensive line but it also opens up salary cap space. Sylvester Williams is signed to a one year deal. Hankins comes in as the starter and Williams is great as depth. McLellin plays OLB/Edge and has familiarity with the scheme. Crick is a veteran that is coming off an injury. Both are low impact signings.

DRAFT

1 (27) Maurice Hurst, DT/DE, Michigan - The loss of Ansah means that the Lions have additional holes to fill on the Defensive Line. Hurst moves past his medical issues and is a penetrating presence on the line

2 (33) Isaiah Wynn, OG, Georgia - The Lions have a large hole at LG and they use the extra pieces to trade up to the top of the second round to fill them. Wynn instantly upgrades the OL

2(49) Mark Andrews, TE, Oklahoma - One of the top TE's in the draft, Andrews is in the Travis Kelce mold. He will likely need to develop but will contribute as the 2nd TE in a pass catching role

2(51) Justin Reid, S, Stanford - Younger brother of Eric Reid. Has the ability to come in and compete at SS or will eventually replace Quin at FS

3 (82) Kerryon Johnson, RB, Auburn - The Lions have a major need at RB but can wait to find their guy. A patient runner with good size, Johnson does need to develop his passing catching abilities to become a more complete back. He'll get worked into the rotation with Riddick and Blount

3(91) Rasheem Green, DT/DE, USC - The loss of Ansah and the uncertainty of Hurst allow the Lions to justify double dipping here. Should develop and contribute

4 (104) Tre'Quan Smith, WR, UCF - A deep threat potential player that has met the Lions already. Helps to upgrade the receiver depth with an opportunity for more

5 (153) Chad Thomas, Edge, Miami (FL) - A large bodied athlete with a lot of potential. Allows the Lions the ability to run the hybrid scheme

6 (175) Chad Benekert, QB, Virginia - As the Lions are piggybacking off of the Patriots model, they take a young QB to develop behind Rudock.

7 (237) K.C. McDermott, OT, Miami (FL) - A large body, comes in as depth and ability to develop behind Wagner at RT.

 

[BarryTheBest]

I am game for this.

Would prefer Freeman at that second 3rd rounder, but am good as is.

I am no draft expert though.

[flyguy1609]

i like the draft, don't know why the colts would give all that up for him though. i like the getting more picks i hope we actually do that,

[Karnage84]

16 minutes ago, flyguy1609 said:

i like the draft, don't know why the colts would give all that up for him though. i like the getting more picks i hope we actually do that,

The two 2nd round picks are the equivalent of #17. Ziggy would have been the #1 pass rushing FA if he was available. They have 9 picks altogether before this move and they're in a position to trade down and acquire additional picks. They could easily recoup that or take a guy like Chubb at #6.

[Karnage84]

42 minutes ago, flyguy1609 said:

i like the draft, don't know why the colts would give all that up for him though. i like the getting more picks i hope we actually do that,

The biggest problem with acquiring additional picks is getting too many guys on the roster who are inexperienced. Likely starters from this class would be: Hurst and Wynn. Regular contributors would be: Andrews, Johnson, Green. Rotational: Reid, Smith, Thomas; PS: Benekert and McDermott.

If we are looking at going into 2019 with a starting DE, LG, RB, TE with some solid depth players it would be an exceptional draft.

[Sllim Pickens]

I would be all about this however I would much prefer to grab more edge guys than DTs.  I think DE is already weaker than DT and even worse once Ziggy is gone and you have us signing Hankins along with having Robinson and Williams on the roster.  I would probably prefer Sam Hubbard in the first as he can play DE/OLB and we really don't have any of those on the roster. Other than that I love this idea and the concept of getting some value this year from Ziggy. 

[Karnage84]

12 minutes ago, Sllim Pickens said:

I would be all about this however I would much prefer to grab more edge guys than DTs.  I think DE is already weaker than DT and even worse once Ziggy is gone and you have us signing Hankins along with having Robinson and Williams on the roster.  I would probably prefer Sam Hubbard in the first as he can play DE/OLB and we really don't have any of those on the roster. Other than that I love this idea and the concept of getting some value this year from Ziggy. 

We do bring on McLellin (Edge/OLB), Hurst and Green (DE's) in the draft and Crick through FA. We would get better and deeper at two positions (DT and DE) while getting a bit worse at another (OLB/Edge). There's probably a vet guy who could fill the role.

I ran with the board that I had. I would have liked to addressed the Edge role as well. The value wasn't there from where I was picking.

After reading an article about the contract situation with Ziggy, it just made a lot of sense to see how things could work out without him. The Colts seem like a solid trade candidate and it's a move that would help both sides.  

[SimbaWho]

I kind of like the trade. Don't love losing Ziggy this year but I'm not really interested in signing him to big money long-term. Trading him for solid picks would be a great option for us if we really want to move on and not pay Ansah long-term.

I really like Wynn at LG, so drafting him makes me like this offseason almost immediately. I think Hurst is a solid player too, I haven't heard much so I'll just take you at face value for his medical issues.

Using the next three guys on players that are basically going to spend the year developing don't impress much much. The Kelce comparison is really pimping him out, I think Tony Scheffler or a TE of that type is a better comparison for him. They're high picks and I think we can get players of real need, particularly on the EDGE that you sort or imo ignored for at least a season.

Don't mind the swings on the late round guys, I'd draft a QB every year late if I ran an organization.

[Karnage84]

44 minutes ago, SimbaWho said:

I kind of like the trade. Don't love losing Ziggy this year but I'm not really interested in signing him to big money long-term. Trading him for solid picks would be a great option for us if we really want to move on and not pay Ansah long-term.

I really like Wynn at LG, so drafting him makes me like this offseason almost immediately. I think Hurst is a solid player too, I haven't heard much so I'll just take you at face value for his medical issues.

Using the next three guys on players that are basically going to spend the year developing don't impress much much. The Kelce comparison is really pimping him out, I think Tony Scheffler or a TE of that type is a better comparison for him. They're high picks and I think we can get players of real need, particularly on the EDGE that you sort or imo ignored for at least a season.

Don't mind the swings on the late round guys, I'd draft a QB every year late if I ran an organization.

Hurst had been sent home from the combine due to something with his heart. He has been checked out and cleared but teams will definitely be wary of that. I honestly expect the first two picks to be reversed when the real deal rolls around (Wynn at 27 and Hurst at 33). I was using DraftTek for their positioning but don't really see Wynn realistically dropping into the 2nd.

Andrews is one of the top 3 TE's in the class and has had Kelce comparisons. Kelce also took 3 years to really come into his own and be a legit weapon for the Chiefs. Ertz is another that took a few seasons to step up as a premiere player. It's just a part of the position.

Agreed that Edge can be addressed. I just took the value where I found it based on current and future needs.

A key problem with having a lot of draft picks and expecting them to be immediate contributors is the inexperience. There's a balancing act on talent vs experience. The vets might not have the same ability but won't make the same mental mistakes a rookie might make.

Quin isn't going to last forever and Killebrew is probably better suited to LB; Marvin Jones or Golden Tate could wind up as cap casualties in the next 2 years; we are likely to run a committee approach in the backfield. Johnson could easily step in as our lead back but he doesn't have to. Blount and Riddick are in the mix to carry the load. He could wind up being our Kareem Hunt - a guy not expected to be the starter who winds up having a huge impact.

[Nastradamus]

The plan was always to tag him and let him walk next year, so nothing changes. 

We do have a ton of cap space next year so if Ziggy wrecks the league they may just tag him again. 

[Nastradamus]

17 hours ago, Karnage84 said:

Hurst had been sent home from the combine due to something with his heart. He has been checked out and cleared but teams will definitely be wary of that. I honestly expect the first two picks to be reversed when the real deal rolls around (Wynn at 27 and Hurst at 33). I was using DraftTek for their positioning but don't really see Wynn realistically dropping into the 2nd.

 

Harvard and UM both cleared Hurst

[Karnage84]

39 minutes ago, Nastradamus said:

Harvard and UM both cleared Hurst

Agreed but something that affects your heart isn't a minor issue. Taking a guy at the top of the 2nd is still indicative of his talent level.

[Nastradamus]

Just now, Karnage84 said:

Agreed but something that affects your heart isn't a minor issue. Taking a guy at the top of the 2nd is still indicative of his talent level.

irregular EKG. He's good to go. There is no condition that has been found as of now. Star Lotulei went 13th with an actual heart issue fwiw. 

[Karnage84]

47 minutes ago, Nastradamus said:

The plan was always to tag him and let him walk next year, so nothing changes. 

We do have a ton of cap space next year so if Ziggy wrecks the league they may just tag him again. 

I think that they would like to bring him back at a reasonable level. Clearly it's moving in the direction beyond what they'd like contract wise. The Patriots just did nearly the same thing with Cooks. They took a guy that a lot of other teams would covet who wants big money next year and moved him to add other pieces.

[Karnage84]

1 minute ago, Nastradamus said:

irregular EKG. He's good to go. There is no condition that has been found as of now. Star Lotulei went 13th with an actual heart issue fwiw. 

I don't think I had heard that before but that is an interesting piece. Hurst is being pegged from 17ish all the way to 32 from the various mocks I have seen. It isn't out of the realm of possibility he drops to 33. I'd be more surprised to see Isaiah Wynn at 33 when the real draft plays out.