Detroit Lions DRAFT DAYS

[Tom Horn]

Picking at #20 is a matter of who falls to you and after the QBs, the mocks are all over the place. Do the Lions resign Ziggy long-term hoping he can stay healthy or draft a DE edge like Landry for 2019? There's a need at DT with Ngata gone. How about an RB like Guice or a demonic LB added to an already hard-hitting corps? They could always trade out of the first round for two second round picks which I could agree with if my pick is gone at #20....My pick is the bulldozer LG Will Hernandez from UTEP. That finishes the left (blind side) of Stafford's OL, with Hernandez who can start on day one beside Taylor Decker, a looming All-Pro LT. The Lions need a running game and Hernandez has great push and has 100 pounds on any LB....and he's got a mean streak about him and won't be intimidated in the Pros.

 

[Tom Horn]

INSTEAD, the Lions draft All-American Razorback C Frank Ragnow and move Graham Glasgow to LG...which means the entire OL will be white guys; ie smart enough to run the play that's called and not be beating women and snorting cocaine back at the hotel. Ragnow is a BIG BOY.....6'5", 312lbs. and should be the opening game Center. Nice pick.

 

[Tom Horn]

DAY #2....2nd and 3rd rounds. This is where a GM really earns his money as these two picks not only have to make the team but one of them has to be a starter. Quinn got mostly good reviews on Ragnow in that an improved running game requires the initial blocks at the line of scrimmage. A great line can spring a mediocre RB into nice gains, and a great running back into The House. So round #2 depends on who's the top RB left on the board. Guice from LSU is probably the most talented RB in the draft but rumors abound that he's a headcase and after Titus Young, Detroit stays FAR AWAY from those types. When problems arise in college, adding a large number of bonus dollars to an unstable personality rarely turns out well. On the other, snatch a slacker out of his homeboy's influence, and he could grow straight and true. So, Quinn will decide between an RB, a DT to anchor the middle of the defensive line, or an edge (DE) who can replace Ziggy in 2019. Oh, and there's a rumor there is an LB out there at 6'5", 245lbs who runs a 4.5 second 40 and can put on 20 lbs to play the edge or stay where he's at and play OLB. If Patricia wants to play a 3-4, that could be the guy they go after. Round #3 will be one of what they didn't get in #2.

My pick in Round #2...Lorenzo Carter....the LB

 

[Tom Horn]

Quinn goes with the RB in Round #2 to avoid being lynched when he gets back to MOTown....And he had to give up our 4th Round pick to his former employer the Pats to move up to get him. North and south runner from Auburn....ladies and gents meet Kerryon (great name for an RB) Johnson...another SEC star who is a big game performer.

 

[Tom Horn]

Round #3 Quinn takes Louisiana Lafayette S Tracy Walker, a BANGER with great speed...probably can't crack the starting lineup but will be good for depth and a leading role in a year or two. Quinn is building the kind of defense that teams don't like to face...the kind that opposing RBs and Receivers have to be helped to get to the can on Monday mornings.

 

[Tom Horn]

At the beginning of the day, Detroit didn't have a Round #4 having traded it away last season. So Quinn called his old pals at the Patriots and traded away next season's Round #3 pick for a DT who played beside A'Shawn at Alabama. This is of interest because Patricia signed the Tide's defensive line coach or coordinator to be the Lions' DC. Their #5th Round pick was an OT from Oregon who several mocks had going in the late 1st. or early second rounds....he fell over concussion worries. No #6 Round pick....with #7 they took a blocking FB out of San Diego to continue beefing up their running game and take the target off Stafford's back. Anybody who remembers the old Packers' Jim Taylor has to wonder why the modern game doesn't include a featured Fullback. So that's our 2018 draft...probably 4 keepers out of 6....not bad.