NYLion

I like the Jones signing because of reliability (something that Chark couldn't offer) and leadership especially for someone like Jamo who could really use a mentor. I do think he's a bit of a downgrade on Chark in terms of what he brings to the field at this point in his career mainly because Chark had more of an ability to separate and stretch the field but the hope is that Jamo becomes that big play threat. Either way, this is solid depth and a great guy for the locker room.

Yeah, that's my issue with this pick especially with the Lions in win now mode not to mention the issue of Skoronski with the T-Rex arms likely forcing him to guard long term. Skoronski would be a long term play which is fine but you're likely not getting much from him next season and if I'm doing a long term play at pick 6 for a player who will be a backup to start, it'll be a QB because of positional importance (not that I'd want to do that either).

Decker is a huge part of the leadership group and is a pretty good tackle to boot. There's no way they trade him now IMO. If the Lions take Skoronski, it's likely to replace Jackson in a year and then Decker in two if he can show capable of playing tackle.

Nah, I think it's more a case of teams not wanting to give him an injury prone running QB with diminishing stats the last few seasons a fully guaranteed max contract while also parting with two 1sts. I wouldn't doubt that NFL agents are capable of collusion but I think this is more a case of the risk outweighing the reward with Lamar's market value. Somebody will bite eventually because his upside is too tantalizing especially for treadmill franchises like Atlanta and Washington that desperately need an injection of excitement but it's understandable why nobody is chomping at the bit currently to take the plunge.

I think that's why you see a lot of scouts split on him and why a guy like Paris Johnson who might be an inferior prospect but is a surefire tackle is starting to get some top 10 mention. Skoronski's length is a real concern in terms of projecting him to tackle so it's a hard sell for GMs to lock him in at top 10 if he can't play tackle long term. The question for the Lions is if they project him to slide over to tackle to replace Decker in 2 years then it might be worth it but if he's a Jackson or VaiTai replacement then... not so much with Jackson leaving because they don't want to pay a guard top money being even more reason to pass on Skoronski at 6 if that's the role they seem him in long term.

Can the Lions even fit Hopkins contract in and you'd prefer a 31 year old Hopkins over a 25 year old Simmons? Yeah the acquisition cost for Hopkins would be cheaper but I see Simmons having more impact and can be a part of a long term plan. Is Sewell the elite tackle you're referencing? His new contract won't kick in for another 2 years.

That's one of the few picks that I'd absolutely hate at 6. A guy that likely doesn't start for a year or two and has smallish arms which could very well make him a guard long term. Absolute worst case scenario for me. I guess taking a TE at 6 would be the only thing that would be worse. The Lions got three guards that were long time starters in the league in Glasgow, Warford and now Jackson in the 3rd round. There will be plenty available in the 2nd or 3rd to take. #6 should be about upside and while Skoronski has a pretty high floor, you need more potential impact at 6.

Why would that be an issue? What else are you using the cap for if not an elite 25 year old DT?

Yes because I'm speculating that Simmons would be worth more than #18 straight up.

I guess it depends on how one sees the value difference between Simmons and #18. If we're purely using the Buckner trade as a baseline then Simmons is probably worth more than #18 so maybe a more minor return than the draft point charts would indicate to drop from 6 to 11. So without looking at the charts currently, I would assume that it'll normally take roughly a 2nd to move up from 11 to 6 so I'd say that your 2nd trade of Simmons+#11+#72 for #6+#18 seems about right and would be a no brainer for me.

The Buckner trade was #13 I believe so I'm just spitballing that if the Titans want something in addition to #18 that maybe a swap of 6 and 11 would complete the trade. Maybe the Lions could add an additional mid round pick if that's preferrable.

I'd give up #18 for Simmons in a heartbeat if the Titans were willing. I'd even consider adding a future 3rd or something like that if need be. An elite DT right in the middle of his prime would be a perfect add. Yeah they'd have to pay him after next season but is something that I'd be more than willing to do. He's only 26 and DT's generally age pretty well. With that said, I just don't see Holmes going THAT big but then again I didn't think he would do much more than re-sign guys during free agency and he wound up making about 3 more big moves than I thought he'd make so I'll probably be wrong about this too. Edit: I'd probably do the above proposed #6+#18 for Simmons+#11 as well. Actually, I'd definitely do that. They'd have #11, Simmons both of their 2nds and 3rd. Sign me up for that.

I think you need to also account for cushions for in season moves, practice squad players being elevated, injuries etc. so I'd say it's around 8-10m to spend when calculating all the other budget spending. Still enough for one more significant add.

Incredible really. It also shows that players want to be here by taking paycuts to prevent getting cut outright. Okwara and Vaitai in particular took big paycuts, created around $16m of cap space between them two alone. I'm almost expecting Chark to be back now or at least one more fairly significant add of some kind.

I don't see Goff doing that and I'm not sure that Holmes is ready to commit to that.

Maybe but I think at this point in time that some people are skeptical that Goff will be worth top of the market money based on his up and down last 4 seasons. If he puts together another strong year next season and leads them to a playoff win or more, the perception will likely change but until that happens I can understand the concern of extended him at a premium rate. FTR, I went to bat for Goff a lot this season but also understand why there would be questions about committing to him as THE franchise guy long term.

The QB market is heavily inflated where mediocre to good QBs are getting premium contracts. I think most like Goff especially at $30m/yr but not at the $45-50m it will likely cost to retain him if he has another good season unless it's more than a good season. If he takes the Lions deep into the playoffs then I'm sure the next contract concerns will lessen somewhat.

Yeah, I was going to add backup QB too but I'm one of those fans who think the position is less critical than others seem to make it out to be especially since QBs (pocket passers specifically) don't get injured as much as they used to. I'd rather the QB be a developmental guy than a retread, in any event.

I don't see edge rusher as a real need although you can never have enough quality edge rushers (I have Wilson as my favorite for #6 even though he doesn't fill a big need). I think the biggest needs are a DT to team with McNeil, WR if Chark walks, long term solution at guard, long term solution at CB and linebacker obviously. However, I wouldn't say any of those are critical needs outside of LB which is a testament to how well Holmes has built this roster. It makes this draft process more fun because he could just pick talent as opposed to filling needs which leads me to believe that we might see more offense picks than people might think.

I think that's the likely top 5 with Richardson being taken before Levis. In this case, I take Tyree Wilson and he's the type of player this staff would fall in love with with all the size and athletic traits to go with versatility. He's kind of like the Travon Walker of this class with more college production.

Eagles are still the favorites.

Yep. 2014 was arguably the most talented Lions team maybe ever (as sad as that sounds) but the Suh leaving dark cloud was hanging over the team that season so it was kind of an "all in" season. Suh being all emotional after the Dallas loss basically confirmed that he was gone so expectations were tempered that offseason.

I never really believed in that team, 1991 seemed like a bit of a fluke playing above its talent level. I actually thought the 1995 and 2014 teams were the best Lions teams in my lifetime but there wasn't much offseason hype headed into either year, not like we're going to experience this offseason I'm sure.

You can never have enough depth on the defensive line but, yes, it's a lot of bodies although I wouldn't count on Levi to be a regular at this moment. It's the same with the secondary. Sutton, Moseley, CJGJ, Okudah, Jacobs, Walker, Joseph, Harris, Iffy, Moore, Lucas? The first 7 are all starter quality. I'm not sure if this will play into Holmes draft strategy but I do expect him to consolidate a few of the picks and trade up at some point early in the draft. I expected a trade up before free agency because Holmes mentality is to be aggressive but even moreso now after free agency.

I wouldn't be shocked. I know these are 1 year deals so it doesn't necessarily rule out corner and safety in the 1st round but it lessens the urgency to draft one early so it gives Holmes the flexibility to splurge on a luxury or take a risk. I think WR is possible in the 1st as well.