Pre-FA the Lions three most pressing needs were CB and DI.
A lot of people would put LB in there as well but everything from the team would tell you otherwise. What I mean by that is the recent presser when AG said the key positions in his defensive scheme are ED and having press corners, then you look at how Holmes has filled the position - led by Anzalone, at best a middling player, consecutive years of Day 3 picks (Barnes, Rodrigo, Houston), remainder of the backers are UDFA types. They don't value the position and there's no indication that will change bc philosophically it's not important.
Tertiary needs: RG, swing T and/or OL depth, upgrade TE, WR3, backup QB, ED (impossible to have too many), SS.
CB - 3 signings, 2 of the versatile chess pieces, but also looking at a group with 3 expiring contracts (Okudah, Moseley, CJGJ.) Still a position of need IMO but with a deep class they shouldn't fell compelled to draft one at 6 or 18. But they should def be thinking of walking away from Day 2 with one. There are exceptions but you're generally not going to find Day 3 impact Corners unless you're the Seahawks, the hit rate on CBs in the 4th round or later is super low. Big fan of Deonte Banks at 18 or Julius Brents at 55.
DI/ED - best viewed by thinking of the entire rotation and thinking about what we have and what we are lacking.
- NT Alim has the 1-tech on lockdown and plays 45 snaps a game. Had 10 pressures in WK 11 v NYG - most by an interior DL since 2016 - but only had one sack on the year. There would be a drop-off if we had to slide over Buggs or Benito Jones, would be nice to add another wide body.
- 3-tech - I'm presuming Levi Onwuzurike is never going to be healthy, Jones and Taylor are camp bodies. Lions are fortunate they have several guys who could man this position (Buggs, Cominsky) but they need a consistent impact player. Having a Hargrave type would open things up for the entire defense. There's one blue chip in this draft and the Lions might be out on him bc of his football character. Calijah Kancey or Bryan Bresee at 18 feels like a reach but doubt they'll be there at 48. Keeanu Benton at 55 or 81 has some traits. After that, it's a pretty big drop to the Day 3 guys (Kobe Turner, Moro Ojomo.) Gonna be hard pressed to find the right guy this year.
- 5-tech - seemingly an embarrassment of riches: Cominsky, Harris, Paschal, or move one of the wide guys in. But this draft has a ton of 5-techs who could see significant snaps immediately (Anderson if we move up, Tyree Wilson or Myles Murphy at 6, the KSU hyphen guy or the Northwestern Nigerian (these names are impossible.)
- 9-tech - Hutchinson played 9, 5 and even some 3 in his rookie year, but seemed most effective playing way outside as a standup. James Houston IV displayed incredible bend and defied all expectations. Romeo Okwara was effective at times over the last month, would be great if he found his form again. But I think you have to be realistic and admit the incredible story of a Power 5 flunky finding NFL redemption via an HBCU is unlikely to be a long term success story. We really need to prioritize and think about getting Hutch a dance partner. Will McDonald or BJ Ojulari will be there on Day 2.
Off ball LB - meh, whatever. I really don't want to spend 2nd draft capital on a Campbell or Henley when functionally we can find what we need in the 3rd round in Overshown or 5th round Dorian Williams.
G - still a pretty big need in my mind bc we really don't know if Big V is healthy and GG really fell off last year in Denver. I love Steve Avila on Day 2. Later rounds we could find really solid guys like Jaxson Kirkland or Chandler Zavala. Also have Jonah on an expiring contract and we're already spending a ton at OL so it would be nice to future proof it this year. Doubt we're doling out the $20M Jackson will command on the open market. Avila can also play C, Kirkland played two years at T so even if they don't start they would be valuable guys on the 53-man Y1.
QB - apparently we're not upgrading our backup QB. Seems like Brad is positioning himself to take a QB. Maybe Hendon Herndon or Tanner McGee at 55 or 81, or a 6th round project (Clayton Tune, Aidan O'Connell, Stetson Bennett, Max Duggan.) Some folks like Dorian Thompson-Robinson in the latter category. I think I would be surprised if we made a play for Levis or Richardson but it's not off the table.
TE - Washington is a great blocker. I am dubious he ever amounts to much as a receiver, he's a long strider who is going to struggle getting separation. But he is devastating as a blocker, would be like running the 6 OL formation every time he's in there. The other good blocking TE who is a decent receiver is Tucker Kraft (I'm ignoring Mayer bc I don't think we're investing a first on him.) Jake Schooner is an OK blocker and OK receiver and he'll be an OK pro TE, just not too excited about him. Josh Whyle is functionally the same guy and a round or two cheaper.
X WR - starting to realize this is a problem, I honestly thought they'd work something out with Chark. Def need a big body. Unfortunately they won't find an impact player in the draft IMO. Quetnin Johnson is a big guy who plays small. Cedric Tillman and Rashee Rice don't look like guys who can get separation on Sundays. The best WRs in this class are smaller guys and most of them are going quick. I think the best solution might be to wait and take an A.T. Turner in the 3rd or a Michael Wilson or the Princeton kid in the 5th - those guys are all 6'3" + and good route runners.
SS/box S - we have 3 guys who can play FS and none of them are great run stoppers. Potentially we could really miss Elliott in this aspect; wasn't much of a cover guy but he kept all his mates in the right place and was great in run support. Not a great S class, most of them are underwhelming. Brian Branch is a superb tackler but man is he going to be expensive. JL Skinner or Quindell Johnson might be right priced to fit into our draft class.
HB - don't need one but man you should always be looking at one, every year. I like Eric Gray as a 6th round sleeper, decent twitch and good receiver.
K - not a fan of money badger (kicker #10 in the Campbell era) but not sure about drafting Moody bringing anyone in for competition. They have picked the wrong guys two years in a row, the guys we cut at the end of preseason outperformed the guy we kept 2 years running. ****ing kickers, man.
