Day 1 Draft Grades are out - Lions dont score very well

RB was the position of least need on the whole team.   I think a punter would be a better pick. 

what do we think they can get for Swift? Wouldn't doubt a trade could go through today. I would imagine a fourth or fifth at best

Complete wasted pick on Gibbs in the first round, although to be fair I’d say nearly the same thing about Bijan Robinson. You just don’t draft running backs that high in today’s league. You just don’t.

He might end up being really good, but you could’ve waited until 18 to pick him (which would’ve been stupid then as well) and he still would’ve been there. 

Textbook Lions move, but you’ve got the opportunity today to draft Levis and get some first round value in Day 2. That could kinda sorta make up for it. 

I didn't like the picks at all.  I'm generally in favor of trading down, but at 6 there was a world destroying DL available-  Carter from Georgia.  Why not take him?  

I like both players and Holmes has earned some trust so I am not concerned with what the graders say. It will be interesting to see what they do with their 3 2nd rounders. 

it was just a total case of resource mismanagement.  The players themselves are almost irrelevant.  You basically just spend $1 on something that could have been had for $0.50.  That is how I look at it.   

The Lions were always going to pick Campbell with the second pick. They tried to trade back a little but had no suitors. But they wanted him, and he wasn't going to be there at 34.

I assume they tried to trade back from 12 a bit, too, but they liked Gibbs better than Robinson (as a few teams did). This pick can't really be "graded" until they pick at 34.

I'm fine with both picks (it's not what I "wanted" but it is what they wanted). This team was heading into the season favored to win their division and both picks make them better. Still a lot of draft to go.

I've been a Lions fan plenty long enough to be skeptical, but my take is they just drafted two players that are very likely to be major contributors next year.  That seems pretty good to me. 

Could they have traded down and still gotten them, maybe, but I'll take it.

I like the players they got.  Moreover, I like that the Lions like the players they got.

That being said, Get the Pitt DT or Mazi at 12, Campbell at 18, and Gibbs would most likely still be there at 34.  The DT is needed piece of the current defense.  Campbell is guy that will make a world of difference for years.  (Corum made a lot of people lot bad on a play or two.)  Gibbs will be the Swift we wish swift was or better, but drafting a future RB was not as important as a high level DT for this season.

This is why i hate the nfl. The lions are losers. They had their pick at two dynamic defensive lineman and they blew it. Jalen Carter was the slam dunk 

Same ol Lions are back. In two hours I lost all faith that had been slowly accrued by the new regime.

Back to being the smartest guys in the room with a 100% different big board than the rest of the league.

As a Bears fan, I wasn't happy when the Lions traded down, bc it was a great move. My initial reaction when I saw the number of premium picks they aggregated was "holy shit, the Lions are going to be loaded". After their first two picks, I felt like the Bears dodged a bullet. Had the Lions taken the top-end corners or edge rushers who were available, I'd have been extremely jealous of their picks/team. With them taking a stack linebacker and a 3rd RB, it almost feels like they didn't do anything -- maybe just very marginally upgraded areas that they were already solid/good at. 

I absolutely hated the Lions' draft last night.

This morning I hate it slightly less.

It appears they are building a McCaffrey-like role for Gibbs in the offense.  If they use him to that degree in the running and passing (and maybe return) phases, the value is there.  But he has to be really good to justify that projection.

Jack Campbell?  I don't like taking a LB in round one.  That said, there was a lot of smoke about him getting taken late in round one, and if the Lions really thought he was their guy (which they clearly did) and couldn't trade back (which it sounds like they tried to do) then I get it.

But even understanding the reasoning and potential value, I'd give the Lions a "C" so far.

All that said, Holmes has always made his money later in the draft.  He's got three 2nd-round picks today and a bundle of picks tomorrow.  He could still turn the total haul into an "A" before it's over, but he's playing from behind.

They took players at 2 positions that most teams don't value as 1st round picks. They're not the premium positions to build a team. Dl and cb would have been better uses. Trade down and accumulate more picks if those are the guys you really wanted.  Both would have been available later. 

I hate the first pick. I don't like the 2nd pick. Both players may turn out to be great. But the position value and where these players were slotted to go really is a head scratcher.

If I were the Lions GM at 12 I would have taken Van Ness or Gonzalez. At 18 I would have taken a WR or that G from Florida. I probably still would have gotten Gibbs and Campbell (or an equivalent) on Day 2 if I really felt I needed an RB and LB.

Both the Jets and the Pats were eyeing Gibbs in the 1st round.  The Falcons were eyeing Campbell in the 1st as well.

People get hung up on mock drafts written by the media, then get upset at the actual draft.  This doesn't' make a whole lot of sense.  Also, draft grades are dumb, it's literally media grading org's on not following their mocks.  You really can't grade a draft until after a few years.

They weren’t flashy picks, but my bet is a couple few years from now they will both be great players. Gibbs, imo, is a much better value than Robinson because of his versatility and Campbell is seriously underrated and has the potential to become as important a defensive player to the lions as urlacher was to the bears over his 13 year career. And this is a perspective from a bears fan.

I haven't heard anyone think that these were good picks - moreso that the players could have been taken later in the draft than they think the players are likely busts.  I look at as we traded a first round pick for a second round pick.  I am concerned that they did not address the secondary when sees like an area of need but am glad they did not take a QB.

The Lions room was high fiving it up after they picked Gibbs like they got the steal of the draft.  I think it is either Same Old Lions or some shockingly new Lions that knows more than everyone else.

I know he played at OSU, but Chris Spielman is a top 5 favorite Lions player for me. 

I really hope Campbell works out.   A good middle linebacker can change a team.

Yahoo sports gave both picks an F. But I like both.  The chatter here  before we played Campbell was a sign he's great.  And Gibbs looks better than Kamara did when coming out.   I did however want Carter. 

The Lions have now drafted six running backs in the first two rounds since 2010. Now that Swift's definitely gone, none of them will have lasted four years with the team. 

Something about this cursed franchise eventually makes every GM lose their logic and reason. Holmes picked a luxury player when the team needed help at every level of the defense. Draft a corner and D tackle and he can still salvage the draft but I can't imagine a worse first day.

It feels like we traded down thinking we could still get Witherspoon/Bijan/etc and when they got taken off the board we overreacted and took Gibbs a few picks too early so that we didn't entirely whiff on "our guys".

Armchair GMs. Gotta love them. I'm sure Brad Holmes would love their input on all decisions.

It's pretty clear Holmes just felt this was a terrible draft.  He's shown he understands positional value in the previous two drafts. This one he decided it's more valuable to get two starters in the first round than it is to get non-starters at "valuable positions." He didn't see anyone left at 6 that was worth the pick, and obviously didn't see anyone worth the pick at 12 or 18 at a more valuable position so he took players they had at the top of the respective positional charts. Time will tell how it works out.  He's not the only one who didn't like Carter obviously, who was by most accounts the best player in the draft so the character concerns must have been pretty compelling. There really weren't any guys at 12 that were SO exciting they just HAD to take them. Picked up an early 2nd, and 2nd round is where the value is in this draft.  Lots of 2nd tier players, very few 1st tier players in this draft class.