NYLion

The team was 4-19 with Hock the last two seasons, he didn't move the needle. He had a couple of really long receptions this season, otherwise he was largely a non-factor. Meanwhile, Zylstra alone who was an undrafted free agent btw had more TDs than Hockenson did with the Lions last season. Not to mention Brock Wright who is a MUCH better blocker and also had more TDs than Hockenson had with the Lions last season and who was also an undrafted free agent btw (further illustrating Holmes great eye for talent). I could go on and on about why it's a bad idea to draft a TE in the 1st round (Lions history with that, most great TEs are drafted outside the 1st) unless it's a very unique circumstance but I think you know where I'm going with this.

Amon Ra is an elite slot guy so that's where most of the catches down the middle will go and they already have TE's that create mismatches in the red zone. Unless there's a TE available that is generational and you HAVE TO take him, it's a waste of a 1st rounder because a Tight End will never be the featured receiver in this offense. Hockenson was a top 10 TE, some would argue close to top 5, and he barely moved the needle here.

They have plenty of young TEs all in development stage and it has to be be explained again that the TE is not featured heavily in the passing game here. Not only would be a reach positionally but it would also be pointless, again in this offense, to waste a high pick on a tight end. Running back is different, they are a heavy running/play action team so getting a bell cow runner that can also catch the ball out of the backfield (and be available and relatively healthy unlike Swift) would be a boon for this offense and an understandable use of a 1st rounder if they choose to go that route. Taking a tight end in the 1st makes no sense for most teams but especially for this team.

It's not really. The TE isn't featured prominently in the passing game in this offense, moreso in the running game, and they have 3 young tight ends that scored a whole bunch of TDs once Hock was traded. Taking a tight end in the 1st round would be absolute madness.

Fairley was a monster in his final season. He was basically Suh with a more questionable work ethic, he and Suh were two of the most dominant DT's I've ever seen in my 30+ years of watching college football along with Sapp. He was a steal where the Lions got him but unfortunately, he never wanted it enough so he became a case of "what could have been".

Is this in reference to Cade? He was definitely not a "no brainer", Mobley and Green had good cases to go #1. Regardless, it remains to be seen if Cade was even the right pick until he can prove to be healthy. 2 fairly significant injuries in 2 years is concerning so Weaver shouldn't get credit for Cade either until he proves something. I'm a big fan of his upside but he needs to get, and stay, on the court.

The problem is that Weaver gave up assets to acquire the Bey and Stewart picks so I don't think you can look at the success rate of those draft positions in isolation. Granted, the Bey assets were fairly inconsequential depending on what one thinks of Kennard but that 1st rounder given up for Stewart is still handcuffing them from making any real trades because they don't have a 1st to trade until it conveys so while Stewart is somewhat covering the bet for a player picked in that range, I think I'd rather have the 1st to use as trade bait going forward. Then there's Killian who some are fawning over him as much improved but in reality, he went from a non-NBA player to a barely NBA player. In any event, I'm still fine with the direction this is moving in but that 2020 draft really set this thing back. Nothing short of Wiseman panning out is likely to save that draft class from being considered a bust overall since I think Stewart has a limited ceiling.

That's fair although I wouldn't call Cade, Ivey and Duren piles of shit, they're just.... young. I'd take that over the Griffin, Rose, Drummond, Jackson core that was on a one way treadmill to nowhere. My main point is, compared to the other rebuilding teams, he had garbage assets to work with to build a foundation while those others teams all had stars that they could sell off for multiple 1sts.

This is the one thing I'd give Weaver a pass on and more patience is required, because he was handed a pile of dung when he got here 3 years ago. People point to OKC, Houston, Orlando, Utah and San Antonio having this "treasure chest" of future 1sts while the Pistons have jack. Well, the Pistons didn't have George, Westbrook when he was good, CP3, Harden, Vucevic, Gordon, Mitchell, Gobert and Murray to sell off, he had broken Griffin and Rose, so no shit that those franchises have all these extra 1sts to work with. What I can't forgive Weaver is what has now turned out to be a disastrous 2020 draft. You can't have three top 18 picks (and give up assets to get the last two) and end up with a bench big, a barely NBA caliber PG and a reclamation project in Wiseman. Getting no surefire starters 3 years after the drafting 3 guys in the 1st is a massive fail and has set this thing back. Now we wait on Cade to be healthy (concerning since he's had multiple injuries in his first 2 years), Ivey and Duren to develop, lottery luck and for this or the next coach to develop somebody/anybody who isn't a very high draft pick. I'm still on board with this process but Weaver needs to start making some hay starting this offseason.

That's the lone positive I see from this as well. We knew what we were getting in Bey and it wasn't fun to watch in the least. At least with Wiseman it's something new to keep an eye on because otherwise, I was running out of reasons to watch.

Weaver always has one head scratching trade a year. Well, this one fills the quota. Throw another big man bust into the large pile of big man busts in Okafor, Bagley and Noel because.... reasons? Bey was clearly flawed but this is the best they could do for him? I'd take the 5 2nds that GS got over Wiseman, quite easily, and those 2nds (which I assume or mostly mid to late) are useless.

I think it'll depend on who they cut, how many of their guys that they re-sign but I could see a guy like Bradberry being in the very high end of the splurge scale for Holmes. Cominsky had huge importance for this defense, the numbers with and without him were eye opening, and he's only 27 so I'd go up to 3 years $15-18m for him. He, like Williams might take a bit of a discount to stay here. They're the two that are a big part of the culture and have spoke the loudest about their desire to stay.

The numbers on Cominsky are WAY low. I think he'll be in the ballpark of 2 years $8-10m. Eliott will probably get offers of 3m per year on the open market, no way he gets 3m total over 2 years IMO unless he takes a team friendly discount. Chark and Williams seem about right although I think Williams might take a little less. Either way, I don't see Holmes splurging in free agency. I think it'll more "prove it" contracts like the Chark one last offseason and finding diamonds in the rough like Cominsky, Buggs and Eliott. Don't really see him being in on the big names.

I believe in Bijan for a couple of reasons. He could make this offense elite of the elite. I know they're already really good but he would potentially vault them to another level and if you have an elite offense, you're pretty much an auto contender, how do you stop the Lions with that many weapons? He might have the highest offensive upside in this draft. Also, they have 4 other Day 1 and 2 picks to address needs so they can afford to go luxury with a high pick if they believe in a guy who will have the most impact, or BPA. If we're following Holmes patterns and past draft rumors, combined with the amount of high picks, we could very well see a trade up to get a guy he loves. He was heavily rumored to want to trade up for Sewell and Levi, did trade up for Barnes, traded up for Jamo. I think we could very well see a consolidation of the picks for a trade up into the 1st and I wouldn't be surprised if it's a position that we least expect like RB, WR or even offensive tackle. I think a trade down is unlikely at least on Day 1 or 2. They already have a lot of picks as is and have a roster that is starting to get overcrowded with young players as is, not to mention that it doesn't fit the Holmes pattern.

I see that too. He has the measurables and is exactly the type of athlete that will crush the combine and open up some eyes. His production was far more impressive than Walker's too on a defense where he was more of the focal point. Not saying that he's a better prospect than Walker necessarily but I could see him being a real riser in the draft process and, for me, is the #1 option for the Lions if the Anderson and Carter are gone based on upside. Bijan Robinson would be #2 for the same reason, upside. I'm just not enamored enough with any of the CBs to take one at 6 and with this being such a deep CB class (arguably the deepest position in this draft), the Lions should get a good one at 18 regardless.

Oh don't get me wrong, the Bears have needed a new stadium for a long time. I just hate that in places that have had a lot of memorable outdoor games in Chicago and Buffalo, that we'll never see that again once they go to domes. A dome in Chicago and Buffalo just doesn't seem right, doesn't feel like "football" but maybe I'm just being a "Get off my Lawn" guy right now.

Speak of the new stadium, the Bears are building a dome stadium, right? It's a shame that all these teams are going that route from outside stadium to domes with the Bills and Titans being next. One of the great things about football that distinguishes itself from other sports is the outside elements and it's being taken away from us little by little.

The Jets need to give at least a 2024 1st or GTFO. No way am I taking that big a drop and not getting a 1st out of it.

The only reason I'd trade Bey for a 1st (outside of the lottery) is so the Pistons can use the 1st in a bigger trade to bring in an impact player. For instance if they can get back their 1st from the Knicks, that would open up a lot more trade possibilities because right now they're unable to trade any 1sts because of the conditions on the pick. I certainly wouldn't just give Bey away for lesser value. I'm not big on Bey but I don't think trading him for the sake of trading him is the answer.

Iffy just needs to be healthy, he showed some decent flashes towards the end of the season at a new position so I wouldn't give up on him quite yet. I think the secondary will have the most flux. The NFL is weird in that the draft comes AFTER free agency so what they do in free agency should set the table for what they do in the draft. I think they need to sign at least one capable vet at corner/safety because they're likely to have an overflow of young corners if they draft one or two like most people think they will, then the question willl they re-sign Elliot, Harris, Hughes. Then you have Okudah, Jacobs, Iffy, Lucas and draft picks. Not to mention Walker's status playing into the equation. Could see a lot of turnover there.

The Lions hadn't handled a running QB all season, don't see why that would have changed against the top rushing attack in the league with weapons all over the map. The Lions obviously made big strides but asking for them to compete with Philly in Philly in a playoff game is too much too soon IMO.

I'd be shocked if they don't pick up Okudah's option.

I'm as bullish on the Lions future as anybody but the Eagles likely would have dismantled them as well. I wouldn't have liked their chances against the Niners with a healthy QB either but the Eagles in particular are just a bad matchup for a very young defense. Speed at all levels, elite running QB, veteran offensive line. It would have probably gotten ugly at least defensively against those guys. I would agree that the division is there to be had next season but I don't think the Lions are ready to compete with the big boys yet. I also don't think Holmes will make any clear cut win now moves to mortgage the future. Sheila gave Holmes/Campbell a long, long term deal for a reason. These guys are builders and I think they will continue to build through the draft. Of course, the Lions are ahead of the original timeline but I don't think that will change their course of action. For instance, I don't see them making a move for Ramsey or a big splurge in free agency. They have lots of high picks to fill out the roster and I see Holmes using a lot of the cap space to re-sign his own guys so while I don't think he'll be absent in free agency, I think it'll be more short term deals like he's done the last few offseasons on guys that will be hungry to prove doubters wrong. Plus, Holmes seems to find these guys off the scrap heap pretty regularly to fill big roles (Cominsky, Buggs, Eliot, Raymond etc.) so I see more of those types of guys.

Never draft for need. You don't pass up on a high upside D-lineman because you have two guys who might even be cut casualties on the roster and a guy who is just entering his 2nd season still relatively unproven. Not to mention Paschal who could hardly even get on the field last season. They have the luxury of 5 relatively high draft picks so they can afford to either take BPA regardless of position (as long as it's not a 1st round tight end) or consolidate the picks to trade up for an impact player like they did with Jamo last season. Also, if you look at the teams that have gone far in the playoffs, there's two areas where they have strengths, QB and defensive line. Teams with real depth on the defensive line tend to be successful. If they take Wilson or Murphy at 6, they have many other picks to address the defensive backfield then there's also free agency. Take BPA, unless it's a tight end.

I watched plenty of Richardson. He made a lot of bad throws especially in the intermediate range when he would throw a fireball when touch was required and some of those instances were open receivers. If you draft him, it's a loooong term project in terms of developing an NFL passer and chances are that long amount of time invested in developing his passing ability won't pay off. The more likely scenario is that he turns out to be like a Taysom Hill that can be used in specific running packages but isn't giving you much value in the passing game. Granted, he has a bigger arm than Hill but the point remains. With that said, maybe I'm wrong and he's the next Jalen Hurts. I certainly didn't expect Hurts to turn into what he did.