when you have the most picks in the first three rounds nfl draft In form of detroit lions Did – six total – it’s easy to bet them like house money. running back to second round at number 12, Sure. Take a linebacker which were not predicted by anyone in the first round 38,000 mock draft, Sign me up. How about a QB who won’t see the field until age 26 when you already have Jared Goff? hendon hooker Come on down
I know many pundits hate what Lions GM Brad Holmes did, but I don’t. If you only have a half dozen shots, get some wild hacks to try to hit a home run or two. What six defensive linemen and cornerbacks are they going to pick? Detroit spent liberally and still met needs.
It may be a mixed bag, but there’s still a lot to uncover
In the second and third rounds, the Lions took Brian Branch, a safety from ‘Bama, and Brodrick Martin, a defensive tackle from Western Kentucky. They must add a man at every level on that side of the ball to plug holes in a defense that was just a few years ago. He clearly had goals in mind, and didn’t care what a bunch of pundits thought about it.
We get so bogged down by the GM backing group that the response is always, “well, they could have gotten X later, so it’s just bad value it’s a high draft.” My response is, screw your big board.
Jahmir Gibbs was the best running back I saw in college football last year. He’s not a pure runner like Bijon Robinson, yet he’s better equipped for today’s NFL. I understand the confusion following the signing of David Montgomery as it is a congested backfield. ,editor’s Note: They could trade for D’Andre Swift.,
[Updated] According to Adam Schefter, the Lions traded Swift to the Eagles.
However, all you need to know about Gibbs is that he was the best man in skills at Alabama last year, and it wasn’t even close. He’s the kind of player who turns dump-off passes into touchdowns, and regardless of where they can get him, he has first-round potential.
Holmes was able to snag TJ Hockenson out of a school that has produced a lot of good schools recently in Iowa’s Sam LaPorta. Detroit was one of the best offensive clubs in the NFL a season ago, and now they have an abundance of playmaking with Amon-Ra St. Brown, D’Andre Swift, and Jamison Williams (when he came back from suspension,
My approach to roster building is to build off of what you do well, and as strange as it sounds, I believe Detroit will get the most out of Gibbs and Laporta because that team can move the ball. That’s why I like the hooker pick.
If QB development is all about position…
During the college football regular season, the Tennessee quarterback went throw-for-throw with Bryce Young, No. 1 overall pick, and it was the Volunteer that came out on top. While Hooker may be a late bloomer, he is knock asinine in a fake system.
The moves made in two years under Josh Heupel speak to Hooker’s understanding of the position, and it wasn’t like he was advertising athletic talent. Some of them certainly were, but quarterbacks need to have a deep understanding of the game and the playbook to run an offense at breakneck speed while executing it at a high level.
You don’t do what Hooker did in the SEC and suck the football. it is not a product of Mike Leach (RIP), and even if it is, Gardner Minshew Have a solid backup. The number of times ESPN’s panel has said QB development is situational means it’s true. Ipso facto it’s actually a great landing spot for hookers. There’s no pressure to start right away, which he can’t do to start, so he can take his time rehabbing, learning along the way, and then getting a shot at the Goff job when veteran becomes imperative. formally butts against its ceiling. ,editor’s Note: Goff is set to become a free agent after the 2024 season.,
Who cares what the draft report card says? A lot of those D’s and F’s are assigned by failed GMs, so fuck them. The only thing that matters is how the players perform, and say the Lions hit 50 percent of these six guys, that’s still a pretty decent clip for any front office.