Lions Draft Grades and After Draft Talk/What's Next?

[AlaskanTigersFan]

I just wanted to start a poll to see what grade everyone would give the Lions. Also to move on to next year as well versus all the threads talking about just this years haul.

I think (and hope) the Lions are done "building the trenches" after this year. Next year, they can focus on getting one of the best QB's in the draft in the first round, then add a Linebacker next and we should be in great shape. From there add another WR and then more depth as needed. But if we get lets say Bryce Young (costing us both our first rounders next year to go up and get him), and a good Linebacker round 2 (or even trade into round 1 mortgaging a lot to go get it), we should be in good shape. I hope this this the last year of the full "rebuild". I think this team will win around 6-8 games next year. 

What are your thoughts moving forward and how do you grade the draft in terms of setting the team up next year and beyond?

[Tenacious D]

Are there any free agents remaining at a position of need, ie. Linebacker, and do we have any cap room to get one?  

[Motown Bombers]

Provided everyone is healthy on offense, and that is a big if, this offense projects to be pretty good. You have a very good offensive line with Decker-Ragnow-Sewell and Jackson was even a Pro Bowler. You have outside threats in Chark and Williams, again health being a big question, you have St Brown in the slot and good depth with Reynolds as your number four. Hockenson at TE and another pass receiving TE in Mitchell plus a solid 1-2 combination in RB with Swift and Williams and there is no excuse for Goff. This is a make or break year for Goff. I'm also anxious to see Ben Johnson as OC. Goff and this offense were a lot better when he and Campbell took over. 

[gehringer_2]

55 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

Provided everyone is healthy on offense, and that is a big if, this offense projects to be pretty good. You have a very good offensive line with Decker-Ragnow-Sewell and Jackson was even a Pro Bowler. You have outside threats in Chark and Williams, again health being a big question, you have St Brown in the slot and good depth with Reynolds as your number four. Hockenson at TE and another pass receiving TE in Mitchell plus a solid 1-2 combination in RB with Swift and Williams and there is no excuse for Goff. This is a make or break year for Goff. I'm also anxious to see Ben Johnson as OC. Goff and this offense were a lot better when he and Campbell took over. 

If Sewell, Ragnow and Decker can actually stay on the field together for a season that will be a big deal.

[Motor City Sonics]

I will give you my grades on the 3rd day of the 2025 draft.   We have no idea how things will work out.  

 

I do like the boldness in the first round

We seem to think they reached for Josh Paschal, but if you look at how he was ranked overall, it wasn't much of a reach.  They certainly now have a lot of depth on defensive line and that means constant rotation, keeping more players fresh.  That should help the next two levels of the defense.    The are still weak at LB, but that guy wasn't there for them this year.    Every team is likely going to have a weakness. 

This idea that they'll take a QB next year -- I don't know,  I think they really thing Goff can show them enough to retain the job for a few years...........if they stay healthy they have enough on offense for him to prove it.  

Don't worry about Williams ACL.   Torn ACLs aren't as damaging and limiting as they were 10 years ago.   Fast is Fast.  He'll stretch the defense even better than the highly-underrated Josh Reynolds did and that should mean a lot more receptions for Swift/Hock/St. Brown.     They'll find a RB.  They have their 2 A-level guys and Craig Reynolds deserves another shot.  They'll need another one, but backup running backs aren't that hard to find. 

It feels like they have a lot more depth than last year and that was the biggest weakness last year. 

[Motown Bombers]

This is the prove it year for Goff. Even if Goff does prove it, they are going to be in a precarious position. Do you give him a big extension then? I could see doing what Minnesota did with Cousins and tack another year on his contract. 

[Mr.TaterSalad]

19 minutes ago, Motor City Sonics said:

We seem to think they reached for Josh Paschal, but if you look at how he was ranked overall, it wasn't much of a reach.  They certainly now have a lot of depth on defensive line and that means constant rotation, keeping more players fresh.  That should help the next two levels of the defense.    The are still weak at LB, but that guy wasn't there for them this year.    Every team is likely going to have a weakness. 

The Paschal pick is the one pick that gives me even the slightest bit of hesitation. I don't dislike the player at all, based on what I've read. Rather, it's did the they make the right decision passing up on Nakobe Dean, Chad Muma, or Troy Andersen in favor of Paschal. Time will tell on that one, but my preference was for them to grab a LB there, with Dean being my first choice.

[RedRamage]

49 minutes ago, Motor City Sonics said:

I will give you my grades on the 3rd day of the 2025 draft.   We have no idea how things will work out.  

While you are very much correct in saying that we won't know for sure until 3 years (or more) down the line, I think it's okay to give a grade now with the understanding that this is how we think things will go but we acknowledge that we'll only really know after a few years of playing.

To that end I'm giving it a B grade.  I like the Hutch pick... I'm cautiously optimistic on the Williams pick.

I'm not a fan of the Paschal pick, not because I don't like Paschal, but feel like we've put SOOO much draft capital in the DL recently. I worry that we're going to lacking in other areas.

Joseph seems like a good pickup in a need area.  Anything you get out of anyone beyond round 4 I consider a plus.  I don't expect them to be stars.

A few interesting side notes:
1. The names of this year's picks were pretty tame compared to last year.
2. The only pick that was 'naturally' ours was Hutchinson.  All the rest came from other sources:

• Williams and Paschal from trade with Vikings
• Joseph, Mitchell and Houston were Compensatory
• Rodriguez from Seattle
• Lucas from Saints.

 

[Stanley70]

They needed a 3 technique out of this draft almost as much as they needed a linebacker. Paschal hopefully can provide that.

And they are moving to a 4-3 this year which will probably not be much of a difference than the 3-4 last year when they had Nick Williams, Brockers, and McNeil on the field on first down. I'm guessing even though they are calling it a 4-3 they will still have 3 300 pounders on the field in the base package. So Paschal could play an end position in that set up depending on how they do it.

Edited May 2, 2022 by Stanley70

[RandyMarsh]

I have to give it an A at this point and the reason is simple, the Lions arguably got the best defensive player and best non tackle offensive player in the entire draft. Getting two playmakers like that is worth an A on its own in my book. 

Fans and the media love to glorify trading down and picking up extra picks and while that can be nice the reality is the vast majority of the time those picks end up producing average starters AT BEST.

You can find average starters in FA or even the waiver wire in some cases but what you can't find are true game changers and the Lions potentially got two of them, one on each side of the ball, and if that wasn't good enough they were both a huge position of need. To me that is worth an A regardless of how the rest of the draft turns out.

[gehringer_2]

33 minutes ago, RandyMarsh said:

I have to give it an A at this point and the reason is simple, the Lions arguably got the best defensive player and best non tackle offensive player in the entire draft. Getting two playmakers like that is worth an A on its own in my book. 

Fans and the media love to glorify trading down and picking up extra picks and while that can be nice the reality is the vast majority of the time those picks end up producing average starters AT BEST.

You can find average starters in FA or even the waiver wire in some cases but what you can't find are true game changers and the Lions potentially got two of them, one on each side of the ball, and if that wasn't good enough they were both a huge position of need. To me that is worth an A regardless of how the rest of the draft turns out.

Winning football is also having depth to deal with attrition so I wouldn't dismiss the need for numbers of those moderately successful picks as well as the game changers. Of course we won't know if they ended up wasting those other picks on washouts for a year or two, but at least there were no head-scratcher  picks where there is already be a lot of opinion that the guy has no shot to succeed (i.e. Tavai). 

Even though they were aggressive in getting Williams, I would still call their drafting style 'conservative', as there doesn't seem to be any tendency to fall in love with guys for reasons other than that they've produced on the field.

Edited May 2, 2022 by gehringer_2

[AlaskanTigersFan]

So, it seems if we draft a QB and a linebacker next year, we are all set................ Seems like an easy task to do. 

[AlaskanTigersFan]

I hate to beat a dead horse. But could the Lions actually out play themselves out of a better QB next year? Almost everyone has the lions going 7-10 next year (including this one). That would put them around pick 8-10 ish? They aren't going to get CJ Stroud or Bryce Young unless they pay a TON to move up.....  How good will the Lions actually be next year? I think more an more we might be with Goff for another 3-4 years if not longer...... 

[RedRamage]

Maybe... but I hope that having two first round picks might be enough to move up if we need to. It's hard to say right now if any other QBs emerge as legit options.  Logically I know it will make more sense to lose games this year to better our shot of a high pick.  But in season I have a very hard time rooting for losses.

[RandyMarsh]

Even if we don't get Stroud or Young there are a few other QBs in this draft that I'm really high on at this point namely Will Levis from Kentucky.  He has all the traits to be a star in the NFL, prototypical size, good mobility and a howitzer for an arm. Also playing in the SEC you don't have to question the competition he faces.  The lazy comp is Josh Allen but really he has the tools to be like him. 

Tyler Van Dyke from Miami and Tanner Mckee from Stanford are two more names to keep an eye on and guys I could see on the Lions radar if they indeed pick around 10, both of whom I feel are better than any QB prospect that was in this draft and would be worthy of being a first round pick assuming they progress at their current trajectory this year and don't pull a Sam Howell or Spencer Rattler. 

 

[1984Echoes]

If a team is in position to draft Stroud or Young but already has their franchise QB (let's call them the "Jacksonville Jaguars" for arguments sake...), then they will want to trade down for whatever king's ransom they can get.

If Holmes decides he absolutely has to have one of those guys... he'll have two 1st rounders in 2023, and he can add in a 2024 1st, and additional 2nds & 3rds as needed. I mean, the less he pays the better... but I see no reason why he can't/ doesn't have enough "ammunition" to move up if he wants to.

So I am less worried about the cost/ ability to move up and go get a guy we want... and more invested in Holmes etal just making the correct decision. I mean I have confidence there too... I just want to see it happen for the team...

And by "it", I mean go all the way to the top.

[Stanley70]

If Holmes is sold on one of those QB's they will pay what it takes. If it takes 3 number ones they will do that. 

It isn't a slam dunk that those guys are are in the Trevor Lawrence area anyway. Stroud had the best group receivers in history probably and rarely had pressure, hard to get a good read on him. Bryce Young is 5'11 195 lbs, that will turn some teams off. 

So if the Lions are drafting in 10-15 area i would think 2 first rounders plus another pick, maybe a 2nd or 3rd would get it done.

[gehringer_2]

I doubt any kind decision about that is close. I think the plan is to put a team around Goff and see how he does, then decide how to get a QB if that's not good enough.

[Stanley70]

Agreed. If they feel they can win with Goff, or they feel that none of the QB's coming out next year are enough of an improvement over Goff to warrant giving up the kind of draft capitol it will take, they can stand pat and wait another year.

We'll find out after this year. Goff will definitely have the pieces around him to succeed. If Goff does play well does it make sense to trade for Stroud or someone else if they don't grade out as elite? 

[Mr.TaterSalad]

Given that QBs normally take two years to hit their stride, if we do go out and get a QB in the 2023 draft, how does that effect our playoff window? Do we start the rookie from game 1 or or shortly there after and expect the 2023 season to be a lost cause as far as making the playoffs goes because we expect growing pains from that rookie? Does he sit behind Goff for the year and thus we expect to be a playoff contender in 2023 with Goff at the helm and the rookie taking over in the 24 season?

[AlaskanTigersFan]

2 hours ago, Stanley70 said:

If Holmes is sold on one of those QB's they will pay what it takes. If it takes 3 number ones they will do that. 

So if the Lions are drafting in 10-15 area i would think 2 first rounders plus another pick, maybe a 2nd or 3rd would get it done.

I don't think we're in a position to do that. Do you? From my understanding, our team is actually pretty decent but we could still use some 1st round love in a few places. 

Offense
OL - All Set basically
TE - All set (might need a depth piece)
WR - All set now (MIght need 1st round love to top it off)
QB - (we'll see. Maybe this is 1st round love territory)

Defense
DLine - All set now with Hutch and Paschel
Linebackers - Weakest spot on team but maybe Rodriguez will surprise (Probably need 1st round love)
CB - All Set
Safety - Good starter but no depth (Probably need 1st round love)

Special Teams is supposed to be really good. Kicker we can use some love but I think we'll sign Nordin. 

I'm not quite sure we are just 1 player away from being a complete team. Is this a good assessment as to where we're at?

 

 

[NYLion]

15 hours ago, AlaskanTigersFan said:

I hate to beat a dead horse. But could the Lions actually out play themselves out of a better QB next year? Almost everyone has the lions going 7-10 next year (including this one). That would put them around pick 8-10 ish? They aren't going to get CJ Stroud or Bryce Young unless they pay a TON to move up.....  How good will the Lions actually be next year? I think more an more we might be with Goff for another 3-4 years if not longer...... 

Maybe but I think you'll find this interesting given this subjective top NFL QBs list

1) Mahomes - 10th pick

2) Rodgers - 24th pick

3) Allen - 7th pick (and was considered a reach)

4) Brady - 6th round

Other guys in the top 10 or around top 10 include Wilson (3rd rounder) and Prescott (3rd rounder I believe), Jackson was taken late 1st.

You do have Stafford, Burrow and Murray that were 1st overalls and Herbert was #5 but a lot of the top QBs weren't the 1st or even 2nd QB taken in their draft (the best rookie this past season was the 5th guy taken) so I don't think it's essential for the Lions to finish bottom 5 to get their franchise QB. The other positive is that a lot of the teams that are slated to be bad next season, the usual suspects of Jacksonville, Jets, Bears won't have a need for QB so could see some fallers or teams more willing to trade down if the Lions want to go get their guy. Houston is probably their biggest roadblock to getting the top QB, maybe Carolina or Atlanta if they have worse seasons than expected.

In any event, I'm leaning towards Goff having a better season than most expect and putting somewhat of a lid on the Lions QB need. The "somewhat" is a potential worst case scenario if it leaves the question of QB need in limbo if Goff has a good enough season to make the Lions competitive but I do think that Goff can excel here with the amount of weapons Holmes has amassed and the offensive line already in place. I didn't think that a year ago.

 

Edited June 13, 2022 by NYLion

[AlaskanTigersFan]

1 hour ago, NYLion said:

.

 

What do you think the Lions needs are still for playoffs (or if you want to be drastic; for the long haul) if you don't mind me asking besides Linebacker? Or is that it?

[buddha]

they may also trade for a ready made qb rarher than draft one and hope he works out.

[Stanley70]

If they lose faith in Goff and really like one of the QB's next year I think they will do what it takes to get one.

The best case of course would be that Goff is a top ten QB next season and they don't have to trade for one. If that happens they are a borderline playoff team right away. The offense is loaded if they stay healthy.

There is a ton of talent on defense, just most of it is unproven or coming off injuries. The dline has 2 third rounders, 2 seconds, and a first from the last couple drafts. Plus Harris and Romeo. They will be a lot better this year.

AO was a good corner and Jacobs was solid as well. We'll see what Okudah has left and what they have in Melanfonwu. They need a number one corner but they should have a bunch of decent depth guys.

LB and safety need work but Barnes and Joseph have talent and may develop this year into starters. 

If they don't have to trade a bunch of draft picks for a QB and some of the young talent they have develops they will have the picks and cap space to add the pieces to have an above average defense as well. 

Barring some bad luck, or QB issues, they should be a playoff team for sure in 2024.