Going into this years draft, the Lions had a lot of needs to cover and only 6 picks to cover them with. The team also had the general knowledge that some of the more glaring needs would not be easily dealt with given that this draft class was short on defensive linemen. Bob Quin executed the most trades in this year's draft moving up twice and trading next year's third round pick to basically move up in the second round (its a little more complicated than that but its ends up in the same place). The results are 2 new offensive lineman, one defensive lineman, one defensive back, one fullback, and one running back. Many people were disappointed by the lack of a pass rusher in this year's draft class for the Lions but as I have stated the team did not really have good options for that this year and instead will be focusing on their schematic changes and relying more on linebackers for the team's pass rushing ability. This year's draft class was mostly about the run game and protecting Stafford and to that end, I think they did about as good as a team could do in one draft.
Day One
Frank Ragnow, G/C: With the expected departure of Travis Swanson, the Lions had a need for an interior offensive lineman (either a Center or a Guard) and Bob Quinn moved decisively in selecting Frank Ragnow to bolster the O-Line, and improve the run game. I must admit, I was not expecting this pick. There were two other offensive lineman as well as a few other positions that I had in mind that if I had been doing this blog ahead of the draft(like I should have done), I would have wrote about as a "here's who the Lions should take in the first round" kind of post. With this pick, Bob Quinn has completed his offensive line overhaul as Ragnow will be a starter from day one. Pro Football Focus had some good things to say about Ragnow ahead of the draft in this video where they stated he was their top center in the draft. Ragnow came from Arkansas in the SEC where he face teams like Georgia and Alabama with some of the toughest defenses in college football and yet in his career there he did not once give up a single sack, at either guard or center. If that fact does not give you reason to be pumped up about this pick, then nothing will. Stafford once again went through a season with one of the highest sack numbers in the league. This was due to a number of things constant injuries, bad offensive line coaching, changing personal on almost a weekly basis (thank you injuries), and some bad players left over from the Martin Meyhew era (also, the players on the right side of the line coming from teams that get away with things a lot more going to a team that gets penalized even when the other team commits the infraction). Ragnow is an aggressive blocker who is pro active on the line and down the field as shown in this highlight reel from NFL Highlights History. Many analyst graded the pick of Frank Ragnow as a "Reach" (mostly because of dogma relating to not picking a center in the first round) but considering how highly rated as a center and guard and that the team after us was going to pick him for sure (Cincinnati) I think its pretty clear that Ragnow is closer to a steel than a to a reach.
Day Two
Kerryon Johnson, RB: Regardless of who I thought the Lions were going to take in the first round, I always believed / knew that they were going to take a running back in the second round. My heart was set on Nick Chubb from Georgia, but when his team mate Sonny Micheal was selected late in the first round I knew there was going to be a run on RBs in the second. Sure enough, Chubb was taken very early as well as some others. Bob Quinn traded up in the first round (spending the fourth round pick in the process) and selected Kerryon Johnson from Auburn. The constant talk about the Lions is there lack of a run game and this draft class seems very focused on fixing that with Johnson the team is has plenty of options in the way they address it. I have heard plenty of comparisons to Le'veon Bell in his patience in the run game, waiting for holes to open up for him before he commits to a specific running lane. Johnson is a big athletic player ( a common theme with Bob Quinn's picks) who could serve as and every down back in the future or could develop into a long term replacement for Blount. Judging from this highlight reel from Sports Highlights where he seems to be the primary offensive weapon for the team indicates he should be significant improvement over the long standing running backs on this team. I expect him to be the starter at some point this upcoming season with Blount getting that role early on. I don't expect to wait long (like with Tabor last year) before Johnson sees the field, in fact I due expect him to play in every game. Kerryon Johnson is a big reason to be excited about the Lion's offense this year for sure.
Tracy Walker, DB: The team's third round pick seems like another long term development player much like last year's second round pick Teez Tabor. The selection of Tracy Walker, Defensive back from Louisiana was also the most criticized pick the Lions made this year especially from analyst who expected the team to go Defensive lineman the rest of the way after the first 2 picks. This Pride of Detroit scouting profile dated May 7, 2018 has some good info on him (with some good clips too) and states that he is a versatile DB who can play safety or corner and has good athleticism and range. It seems odd that the team would pick a DB when their secondary is so deep but that depth gets very questionable after this year with both Glover Quin and Tavon Wilson on the last year of their current contracts. Quandre Diggs is also on the last year of his rookie contract and while I fully expect the team to take his 5th year option, he will be an expensive player to sign to a long term contract given how well he played last year playing both corner and safety. Bob Quinn is clearly getting the team ready to make some difficult cap space related decisions in regards to their secondary and a player like Walker who can play multiple potions in said group is definitely a worth while asset.
Day Three
Da'Shawn Hand, DL: The Lions finally got that defensive lineman that people have been demanding all off season in the fourth round (which they traded away next year's 3rd round pick to get back) and the selected Alabama Defensive Lineman Da'Shawn Hand. Hand was a team mate with Robinson and was coached by our new defensive line coach Bo Davis. According to This Pride of Detroit article dated May 3, 2018 Hand is not really expected to be a starter right out of the gate but could be a great player if he is handled the same way he was at Alabama (considering he has the same Defensive line coach that seems reasonable) and with the lack of depth on the D line, there will be plenty of opportunities for Hand gain at least a rotational role fairly early on.
Tryell Crosby, OT: The Lions were not done with adding to the offensive line as the injuries to that group show even when they have good starters they need enough quality backups for when the inevitable injury bug hits. With that in mind Bob Quinn took Tryell Crosby, OT from Oregon, a player that most experts expected to have been taken much earlier on day three and wound up being considered a rare steal for the Lions by most opinions. This Pride of Detroit Article dated May 4, 2018 has more info on him but he seems like a good value pick that could end up being a starter in the future depending on how well T.J. Lang and Rick Wagoner end up doing. Both of the high priced offensive linemen were injured and seem to have difficulty adjusting to the way the Lions always get false start penalties and as a result they wound up having a disappointing season. I expect both Lang and Wagner to have a better season this year but if they don't it is good to know the team has a potential replacement on the roster for at least one of them (two if Joe Dahl takes a leap forward).
Nick Bawden, FB: One problem with waiting so long to write about the draft is that events have taken place since then. The Lions 7th round pick Nick Bawden, FB from San Diego brought about the return of the Full Back to the Lions. It makes sense as even after they cut Micheal Burton last year the team ended up using linebackers as the FB role. Bawden was at least partially responsible for the success of Rashaad Penny (who was another name that was sometimes mocked to the Lions ahead of the draft) as he helped clear the way in run blocking. We will have to wait to see what kind of difference Bawden makes to the run game until next year as he suffered a torn ACL in mini camp and will miss his entire rookie season as a result. The Lions did make last year's acting FB Nick Bellore a full time Fullback before the injury with the intent to provide some competition but with this development int looks like that competition will be delayed at least a year.
The Lions had much more focus this year in the draft. They set out to improve the offensive line and the run game, the last two pieces that kept the offense from truly excelling last year. Bob Quinn threw his best effort at improving both this year. He provided some depth/ future starters in the secondary and set up the defense to be more compatible with the new coaching staff. Need less to say, I am excited about the upcoming season for the Detroit Lions.
No comments:
Post a Comment