Lions currently sowed up the 8th overall pick

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I assume Bob Quinn will take a hard pass on Mississippi State DL Jeffrey Simmons since he had an assault during the summer before his entrance into CFB

Jeffery Simmons A Reminder Of The Grey Area In Second Chances - The Draft Network


Jeffery Simmons and the murky question of second chances

 

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ESPN's Adam Schefter reports Mississippi State DT Jeffery Simmons suffered a torn ACL during a pre-draft training session.
It is a devastating blow for a player who was expected to be a first-round pick despite not being invited to the Combine because of a 2016 incident in which he was seen punching a woman multiple times while she was on the ground. He pleaded no contest to a simple assault charge following the incident. A big (6-foot-4, 300 pounds) interior disruptor, it is possible a team takes a shot on Simmons Day 2 despite his injury and off-field concerns.

 

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If Simmons didn't have that assault charge hanging over his head, I would believe he'd be worth a look as a late day 2 high risk/high reward gamble (depending on his progress to date a couple days out of day 1 of draft)

iDL Jeffrey Simmons was my #2 iDL after Q. Williams.

 

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NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah called FAU RB Devin Singletary the 2019 NFL Draft's "most elusive and quickest" running back.
The high praise continues to roll in for Singletary (5'9/201), who was said to have "LeSean McCoy type of upside" by The Athletic's Dane Brugler. Bleacher Report's Matt Miller also just called Singletary "very quick" and the numbers show that. As a junior, 1,027 of Singletary's 1,348 rushing yards (76%) came after he was touched, which led to 22 rushing touchdowns in 2018. While impressive, that's nothing to Singletary who scored 32 rushing touchdowns as a sophomore. As the buzz continues to grow, Singletary continues to cement himself as a late first or second-round pick.

Source: NFL on Twitter
Feb 10, 2019, 4:00 PM

 

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NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah ranks Vanderbilt CB Joejuan Williams as his No. 47 overall prospect in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Jeremiah calls Williams (6'3/208) "enormous for the position" and argues that he's at his best in press coverage. Williams can use his size at the line of scrimmage to push receivers off their routes, but he also has the size to disrupt intended targets. As a junior, Williams deflected 13 passes and intercepted four more. Before the season, Draft Analyst's Tony Pauline gave Williams a fourth-round grade, but it appears that Williams has played himself into Day 2.

Source: NFL on Twitter
Feb 10, 2019, 3:29 PM

 

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^^^^

JoeJuan Williams is currently my 4th CB. He's still somewhat raw in route recognition, like many in this class of CB, but the potential he has shown so far, in his not quite 2 full seasons, is quite high.

 

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Per Pro Football Focus, Alabama TE Irv Smith led all SEC tight ends in passer rating when targeted this season.
Alabama quarterbacks' posted a 157.7 passer rating when targeting Smith, over 10 points higher than Georgia TE Isaac Nuata's 146.4 rating. Smith racked up 710 yards and seven touchdowns on 44 receptions in 2018 and is likely to be a top-40 pick according to the Athletic's Dane Brugler. With a strong performance at the NFL Scouting Combine there's a chance Smith is selected in the first round.

Source: Pro Football Focus on Twitter
Feb 10, 2019, 12:59 PM

 

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Please BQ, trade down into the 20-27 range after the big four DL players are gone and then you can get one of the top 3 TE's this year if your OC/HC have a scheme that frequently uses/values the position.

IMO, Fant and Smith could be used as a some time x-wr.

 

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The Draft Network's Jon Ledyard believes Iowa S Amani Hooker should be a mid-round pick.
This is a bit lower than most others in the industry are projecting him to go which is the second or third round. Ledyard "wants to like" Hooker but "just can't get there." He explains "Hooker is the living embodiment of that feeling. His smarts, awareness and mental processing as a player are rare, but so is his lack of athleticism in a Power 5 starting safety." Despite the reasonable concerns, Hooker is a versatile player a team will convince themselves to select on Day 2.

Source: The Draft Network
Feb 10, 2019, 12:49 PM

 

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^^^^

Disagree with Ledyards assessment regarding Hooker's lack of athleticism. He doesn't possess Adderley's or Savage's athleticism but Hooker isn't that far behind Rapp either, imo.

I agree that Hooker should be looked at as a mid 3rd to end of 4th (mid rounds).

 

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Per Pro Football Focus, Georgia CB Deandre Baker led all qualified SEC cornerbacks in passer rating allowed.
Baker allowed just a 40.2 passer rating in coverage last season. He beat out Missippi State's Cameron Dantzler, Maurice Smitherman, and Florida's Chauncey Gardner-Johnson for the top spot. Baker is one of the top draft prospects at his position and is projected to be selected in the middle of the first round in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Source: Pro Football Focus on Twitter
Feb 10, 2019, 11:45 AM

 

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^^^^

Imo, Baker is a slightly more athletic version of Nevin Lawson. He has a better route recognition skillset than Lawson but his lack of awareness when and where the ball arrives is eerily reminiscent to Lawson. I must add that Baker has had a tendency to be a grab, tug, twist, pull type CB on deep routes. He also doesn't possess the recovery speed once a WR gets a step-n-half jump on him. Baker does possess excellent jumping ability and high-point skills. I would be stunned if he doesn't have at least a 38" VJ.

 

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FA is still 4 weeks away but a thought I've had regarding Buffalo and Cleveland is that neither team has a true No.1 WR. Jarvis Landry isn't a true No.1 for Cleveland. Beyond Landry, the receiving corps at Cleveland is suspect.

The same can be said for Buffalo having UDFA Robert Foster and Zay Jones s NO.1/NO.2.

The current WR FA isn't much to pick from either.

What does a team want for their franchise QB to help him progress ?

A NO.1 WR.

I think both Buffalo and Cleveland could quite possibly be in need for this drafts best WR should his medicals check out and while also needing a better than average combine testing. That WR is 6' 4" 225 lb. D.K. Metcalf from Ole Miss.

 

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I see Metcalf easily being the #1 WR in this class. If Buffalo shows interest maybe Cleveland is willing to jump Buffalo to get their NO.1 WR.

Cleveland has picks #17, #49, #80, #95, #112, #133 (5th rd.), #144 (5th rd.), #159 (5th rd.), #175 (6th rd.), #207 (7th rd.).

Cleveland has the picks to make a trade with Detroit is WR is a need and they have interests in Metcalf.

 

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^^^^

All of the above depends on how Day 1 draft night shakes out once the idiot teams gamble on QB's drafted before our pick.

If one of Bosa, Q. Williams or Josh Allen are still available then a trade down shouldn't be considered.

IF all three of those players are gone then this is the year to trade down multiple times in the 1st round while still being able to draft a quality player in the 1st rd. that can have some impact and acquiring multiple picks for the 2nd day of the draft.

 

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Players who fit what Bob Quinn wants in a playmaker

Even if the Lions acquire a corner in free agency, they will still likely be looking to add playmakers through the draft.

In 2018, Boston College’s Hamp Cheevers co-led the NCAA with seven interceptions. Other notable ball-hawking corners in this class include Washington’s Byron Murphy and Vanderbilt’s JoeJuan Williams, who each had four interceptions. Murphy would require a first-round pick to acquire, while Williams should come off the board on Day 2 and Cheevers on Day 3.

In 2017, Appalachian State’s Clifton Duck ranked near the top of the turnover list with six interceptions, while Troy’s Blace Brown and Central Michigan’s Sean Bunting each had five that season. All should be Day 3 options.

One more corner of note is James Madison’s Jimmy Moreland, who has 18 career interceptions, six of which he returned for touchdowns. He could find his way into the back-end of Day 2 despite not being invited to the NFL Combine.

 

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I've spoken quite a bit regarding JoeJuan Williams and Murphy. Murphy is still my NO.1 CB of this draft by a long shot.

I don't think Murphy fits their physical presence that they're looking for should he measure in at under 5'11", under 190 lbs., and arms under 31".

 

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Players who fit what Bob Quinn wants in a playmaker

The safety position offers even more options, with Virginia’s Juan Thornhill leading the way with six interceptions. Thornhill is a nickel safety who thrives in the slot and would fit into the Lions’ three-safety sets perfectly. Florida’s Chauncey Gardner-Johnson fills that same role and had four interceptions last season. Both could be Day 2 targets for the Lions.

Maryland’s Darnell Savage and Iowa’s Armani Hooker each had four interceptions last season but are more of box safeties, as is Mississippi State’s Mark McLaurin, who had six interceptions in 2017. All three are more role-specific players and would likely be on the Lions’ Day 3 radar.

 

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^^^^^^

Maryland's S Darnell Savage has some of the best transitions with footwork, loose hips, easy turn and run so, I'm not sure how they see Savage as more of a box safety. Hooker I can agree with regarding box safety and working in shallow zones.

Thornhill lacks route recognition and doesn't have any where near the field display of fluidity that Savage shows.

I'm okay with putting Gardner-Johnson and Savage as single high safeties or in the box safeties throughout a game. A kind of mix-n-match depending on opponents player personnel.

 

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Patricia: Don't call the Lions a 3-4 or a 4-3 defense

While answering a question about April’s NFL Draft, Quinn explained that the “base” defense that the Lions use when setting their draft board is neither the 3-4 nor the 4-3, but the team’s “nickel” defense which uses five defensive backs. Quinn said that because the Lions, like many NFL teams, are in the nickel more than 70 percent of the time, that grouping drives many of the team’s personnel decisions.

The Lions often got creative when using the nickel too. Last season, sometimes the Lions used a three-safety look, grouping safeties Glover Quin, Quandre Diggs, and either Tracy Walker or Tavon Wilson with two cornerbacks, while other times the team used three corners and only two safeties. The ability to force opposing offenses to face multiple different looks, even out of the nickel, is key to the success of Patricia’s defense.