I havent really looked at the draft 2 heavy yet. I imagine we go dline in the 1st round and hopefully pick up a skilled rb in the 2nd. Seems like were seeing a slight shift in rbs being more valuable picks the past couple seasons.

I think it just depends on the Running Backs available. There is a larger talent gap between RBs, just like QBs. I'll be disappointed if picks 1 and 2 aren't a combo of RB/DLine, unless one position is significantly upgraded in free agency. There are some decent options on D-Line in free agency. We'll see what they do.

It seems like Quinn's plan last season was to address LBs/Secondary, and hope that the D-Line/RB issues mostly fixed themselves through the development of younger players and returns from injury. The plan went about as bad as it could go. Hyder and Ngata hurt on D-Line. Ziggy still not his old self. Zettel improving but has issues. At RB the quadfecta of Ameer/Riddick/Zenner/Washington played poorly, with only Riddick having some success and redeeming qualities. It took the team like 10 weeks to realize they have Tion Green on the team. While not a superstar, he at least provided some much needed short yardage push. I doubt Quinn makes this mistake again. As long as they can avoid regression and injuries in areas of strength, they should be better next year.

Shefter tweeted that we are getting Patricia

Yep. At least this will be a fun offseason.

Got word the other night it was done from a friend who has some connections. Very happy about it

Hell yeah were actually getting the best guy available for the job. Thats all we can ask for.

I've been looking over mocks a bit. One guy I keep seeing mocked to us and around us who I would love to see in the lions uni is Mo Hurst. I know its homerish obv but I always loved this dude. Hes a player and if we take him I'll be happy. A couple edge rushers I've seen mocked to us I dont know much about currently as well.

As far as 1st round RBS the only guy that seems to be going in that range is the dude from LSU. I dont know much about him either but I think going dline in the first is the way to go this season.

I think we're in a spot where we can just kinda take BPA that isn't a WR. Golladay looks like a decent solution going forward for young WR. Just keep stocking talent, we could definitely take any OL or Defense and I'd be fine with it

I'm unexpectedly super bummed the way the playoffs are shaking out. Feel like the vikings have been somewhat similar to us over the last two decades: lots of forgettable seasons with a couple of decent teams sprinkled in. They just managed to put it together and we didn't. I hate the Pats but will have trouble living in a world where the Vikings won the superbowl.

Meh, root for Bort.

I am way too excited about this Matt Patricia thing, if only because it's the exact opposite of what our usual hire looks like (or at least the opposite of Caldwell).

Golladay is taller,larger,faster,stronger and leaps higher than Smith-Schuster.

Not a stretch to say his floor numbers for 2019 are double what he did this year, so 56-944-6 from the WR3 would be outstanding. I'm excited to see what he can do without the hamstring issue since he didnt have injury issues in college.

Nah man look at it as the cup is half full. Were really close to being the vikings. We got the franchise qb dude. We got the new coach coming in to turn things aroun. We were this good with a idiot running the team imagine what a smart coach can do.

All we need to do is get 2 impact players out of this draft and were right there. This team has 12-13 win upside easy. We should of won 10-11 this season really. Give me Mo Hurst and give me a good rb this draft and were on are way.

http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf...rt_river_index

Its early obv but mlive had a article with a some of the players mocked to us early if anyones interested.

Outside of Mo Hurst, Landry sounds like he could be a interesting fit. Draftcountdown has him as a olb. So not sure what he would play for us if we drafted him but im always of fan of productive pass rushers. Hes only 6'3 and 250 so would be to small for a DE I imagine. He had 16 sacks as junior but only 5 sacks in 9 games as senior. Going to keep my eyes on him.

Hubbard is a name that ive seen pop up a couple places as well.

Dave Birkett is reporting Patricia is actively firing assistants via phone. I love it.

It would also be the ultimate troll ifbhe ended up not taking the job.

In the least surprising news ever, the Matt Patricia era has officially begun.

I'll be placing another lions super bowl winning bet this year.

Im no great capper but 50 to 1 seems like a good bet. At worst they should be as good as last year. Im assuming they are that bad because they are in a division with GB and Minny, but both those teams have a higher likelihood of regression in 2018 imo.

I got 60-1 last year. Assuming we are about the same.

Blount is the guy they needed. While he is not a long term solution he is definitely a needed stopgap that frees them up to focus on defense in this draft.

Also bye bye Ebron. I wanted to like him but he was just not what we needed and his cap hit wasnt worth his abilities.

I agree. If we could get Ebron at 3 million. Sure. But what is he at. 8?

No thanks.

GB and Chi both made some good FA moves (per ESPN, anyway), and Min obv got the top FA QB so should remain strong at that position. Tough division next year.

On paper this was not a great free agency for Detroit. It seems inevitable that some 2nd and 3rd year players are going to have to step up next year for them to have a real chance of winning the division.

Anyways, on to the draft. There are 4 names I keep hearing the most about for Detroit in the first round. While I had originally predicted a RB in the 1st round, I don't think it's happening this year. There just isn't anyone worth drafting at 20, there's no hope of trading up for Barkley, and there's some decent talent likely to be around in round 2 (Derrius Guice, Nick Chubb, Sony Michel).

So here are the likely first rounders:

Harold Landry - DE, Boston College. He's a freak athlete on par with Ziggy. He's a bit raw, and there are some concerns with work ethic, but his skills are tough to ignore. As a result he ends up all over various mock drafts, but the consensus view seems he is likely to be gone by 20, but is a high-risk high-reward type pick that Quinn seems to shy away from.

Vita Vea - DT, Washington. A massive body in the middle that could pick right up where Ngata left off. He's probably ready to slot right in as a starter on day 1. He's not a prolific pass rusher, so the ceiling is likely right back to what they had early last year when Ngata was healthy. It seems to be a tossup if he's there at 20.

Taven Bryan - DT, Wyoming. He's likely to be available at 20, and a decent pass rushing 3-technique DT. He's probably a bit raw, so he would probably start off in the rotation with A'Shawn/Spence/Williams, but will likely instantly improve the pass rush up the middle.

Isaiah Wynn - OG, Georgia. He played tackle in college, but is prospected as a guard in the NFL. He's pretty athletic and seems like the safest pick for them, as he'd probably be a day 1 starter, and he's very likely to be available at 20. Others think he might be reach at 20.

My thoughts on drafting for the various positional needs in this draft:

DT - This was probably their biggest weakness last year, and the only FA signing was Sylvester Williams, who isn't a bum, but doesn't really move the needle for me. My personal football philosophy is that generating pass rush up the middle is a huge difference maker. I loved watching guys like Warren Sapp and Ndamukong Suh just wreak pure havoc up the middle. There's a couple decent options here in the first round.

DE - It's a position of need, if not this year, than likely next year when Ziggy will command a huge long term deal and I don't see him getting it here. They really didn't go here in free agency. Harold Landry has pro-bowl potential if available, but could also be a huge whiff if he doesn't apply himself. I think the current rotation of Ziggy/Zettel/Hyder can do an adequate job, especially if Hyder and Zettel take the next step forward. They could also add some later round depth pieces here if needed.

OG - Their FA signings seem more like insurance pieces than building up this line. To me the real wild card is Joe Dahl. He's been on the team for 2 years now, and all I hear is that he has all the physical skills to be a starting guard. He seemed to be working towards the starting job until he got hurt last year. If they don't burn at least a 2nd round pick on an OG it's a sign that they think he's ready to compete for the starting job. If they go with Wynn, it's likely back to the bench for Joe.

RB - Blount provides a stopgap, but I still don't see much long term starter ability in this backfield. I wouldn't mind seeing them grab Guice/Chubb/Michel if any of them are there in round 2.

Safety - Quin is no spring chicken, and there isn't much in reserve. I wouldn't mind seeing a round 3 or 4 pick used on a project. I have no idea who is available here.

TE - It's a patchwork of a little used 2nd year player and a couple career TE#2's. The position isn't going to be a huge asset for them, but it could be adequate enough that they can pass in this years draft.

LB - They've patched some more holes in FA, but there could be some need for another guy here as Patricia installs a more versatile defense that will relay on LB's to do more in pass rush and coverage.

They only have 6 picks in the draft, so I don't see them trading up much here. I could see them trading down a few spots in round 1 or 2 if they think they can get a guy they want and pick up another pick along the way, but my guess is they just go with their 6 picks and fill the spots of need.

My prediction for Detroit at pick 20: Taven Bryan. He fills an immediate need at DT, gets good push to the backfield, , and in this division we need some athleticism on the D-Line to chase around Rodgers and Trubisky.

I submit the following video as evidence.



The rest of the potential first rounders in the order I would take them were Bryan not available:

Landry - It's tempting to take him if available but my gut tells me to pass.
Wynn - I would consider trading down in round 1 if I Landry/Bryan are gone and I thought I coiuld get him later.
Vea - I would also consider passing on him and trading somewhere because I just don't think he is what they need, but in Quinn I trust (for like 1 or 2 more years, tops).

We better go DT at 20

These are the Lions. The only correct move is to trade up into the top ten and pick a TE. Preferably a project TE who can't block.

That seems like the most likely scenario given the talent in this draft and other positional needs are more likely to have starters available in rounds 2 and 3.

I will give an honorable mention to Mo Hurst. While U of M fans are always obnoxious whenever there is first round talent available when the Lions are on the clock, I wouldnt hate seeing him in a Lions uniform. Bryan is a slightly better prospect I think, but Hurst would fit well here too. l

And its a center. Did not see that coming. Quinn is obsessed with oline which i guess is not a bad thing but has a patchwork sub par dline and its going to be tough to find starters deeper into this draft. I know nothing about Frank Ragnow.