Lions draft - anyone happy with it?
Really hard to tell this year. Going to take a while to find out...
.Do we know yet?
April 30th, 2017 at 11:33 AM ^
We do know and it did not work out.
The weird thing is that I think Jake will be a better back up QB even with less physical tools
That is an excellent point.
I can say it's real nice of you guys to take the "team punching bag" honor from us.
Seriously though - I am beyond thrilled with what the Browns did in this draft. You can see the plan and they are following it. Still a year or two away but the days of laughing at the Browns and the Browns front office are OVER.
I agree with you. I, personally, love that they didn't pick up a QB. Too many teams say, "we need a QB," and so they reach for a guy that doesn't merit the pick and they basically freeze their franchise in place for three years hoping the guy develops, trying to get him the offensive pieces he needs, instead of just building a good team and trying to get the Right Guy.
The Bears got absolutely mugged while reaching for... Mitch Trubisky. All you need to know about that move was evident in the gales of laughter heard in Minneapolis, Detroit, and Green Bay.
Meanwhile, the Browns are stocking up in defensive talent. They'll probably still be a top five pick team next year, but with a ton of extra picks. If they can get the right guys, they might actually start getting good...
If I were a Browns fan I would be all kinds of pleased.
April 29th, 2017 at 10:16 PM ^
The Browns drafted Kizer in the 3rd round.
April 29th, 2017 at 11:35 PM ^
Pretty sure he's going by Mitchell these days.
April 30th, 2017 at 12:27 AM ^
Its ok. No strong feelings either way.
Davis and Tabor are excellent value picks, and should be day 1 contributors. I'm not worried about Tabor's speed, because I trust Quinn. He watched every snap the guy ever took at Florida. Lions fans are spectatular "Mel Kiper best available list" watchers. If the Lions are up, and they don't select someone from that list, it's automatically a wasted pick. Trust the process. Quinn's last draft was panned on this board as well, and it netted 8 guys who contributed this year to a playoff roster. Before you hate on the guys drafted, go take a look at what PFF says, and I guarantee you you'll feel better about it.
Network with our own Rich Eisen. The first couple rounds I thought were fine. The rest of the draft I think could have used some help. They could have either drafted other players or moved back if these were the guys they wanted, and had more picks. I think this is especially true of the 3rd and 4th round picks, unless no one was willing to deal with them.
April 29th, 2017 at 10:33 PM ^
I watch wayyyy too much college football so here's my analysis, I've seen every guy play on this list at least once (most many times). Overall its a solid class that lacks elite talent IMO. Quinn seems to love safe picks, character guys. Should be a number of early contributors.
1st) Davis - High floor, leader type. Won't be a bust, but probably not an all-pro talent. Should start immediatley. Fits our scheme traditional 4-3 LB, fills gaps, covers seam TE, won't be asked to pass rush much. Teams thought he was a "Ray Lewis" type leader and personality. Very safe
2nd) Tabor - Would have been a 1st rounder if he ran 4.4-4.5. Pro day 4.7 is shockingly bad. Kind of a cocky asshole which I like in corners. Good #2 . CB, won't have to cover elite WR guys. Really fluid, quick twitch, just can't run with the fastest guys. Playmaker, 3 INTs returned for TDs.
3rd) Golladay - This pick shocked me, only really bad selection IMO. Awful value, Was graded 5-6th round player by most sites. Very raw, and there were a lot of other WR options on the board. Nice hands, and ran a 4.5, but watching him play I never saw a high level NFL receiver.
4th) Reeves-Maybin - 2-3rd rounder if he was healthy. Again athletic and fits the 4-3 scheme. Lions LB core was the worst in football so should be given a chance to play early.
4th) Roberts - Love this pick. All around TE, can block, great pass catcher, red zone threat. Biggest hands for a TE in combine history. Early contriubtor. Not a burner or big playmaker but that's what Ebron is supposed to be.
5th) Agnew - Weird selection here. Graded as 7th or UDFA by almost everyone. Pint sized corner, can only play slot. Probably a special teamer. 4.3 40 but will be very limited with his size.
6th) Ledbetter - Really athletic, should provide some pass rush on the interior. Probably a situational pass rusher. Not strong enough to be an every down DT. Potential guy, never produced enough in college
6th) Kaaya - All the tools but never really developed. Atrocious QB under pressure. Looks great in drills, smart, but has zero pocket presence. More talented than Ruddock, wonder if he pushes him for backup job.
7th) O'Connor - I really don't know, watched Eastern twice and he didn't stand out. Effort and hard nosed type guy. 7th round is a crap shoot anyway.
April 29th, 2017 at 11:10 PM ^
They tried to be as safe as possible with every pick. I would give the draft a C+ overall. Forster and Davis will be compared by lions fans for their careers. We never attempted to move up in a round, meaning we drafted at 21 or later in the first 3 rounds, which wasn't ideal.
Out of 9 picks, they picked up 3 offensive 6 defensive players. I really think (obvious from other threads) they should have picked Glasgow in the third. Not really impressed with any of the offensive picks either. Kaaya left early to become a 6th rounder, less than a smart decision IMO.
...a few years later. It's hilarious how often the initial grades of so-called experts were way off base. And most of us in this board, including myself, do not rise to the level of so-called expert.
sadly the lions' grades often get worse than initially thought, maybe this year will be different?
...that last year's draft crop will exceed initial grades.
B. Solid player with great attitude and leadership, never been in trouble.
I take B.(Davis ) all day anyone who says otherwise is a fool.
They also worked out tabor so they know what they're getting
April 29th, 2017 at 10:06 PM ^
Anyone who says otherwise is a fool huh? Why not follow the same logic for the second round pick then? Tabor falls much, much closer to your A category than your B category. Meanwhile lauded all around great guy Chidobe Awuzie sat on the board.
So is everyone just a fool then?
I've been a long-time fan, even after numerous moves around the country. I've learned to take a very laid back attitude toward them. I don't expect much from them anymore. Far less pain that way. Even at that, the picks seemed very conservative. Nothing to get overly excited OR depressed about. I was far more interested in following where the Wolverines went in the draft.
I will be the first to admit Quinn and staff know infinately more about football and evaluating players than I do, but they can't know more than everyone else. You look at all of the picks past Tabor and each had a much lower grade from ESPN's consensus grade than where they were selected. I really feel like a few of these guys could have just been signed as free agents, meaning the picks were wasted. If the Lions really need depth at CB as this draft would assume, I am hoping they sign Stribling and give him a shot.
That Bama team was loaded with NFL talent, but if you thought their passing Offense was anything like and NFL passing Offense, I think you're buying their hype train hook, line and sinker.
April 30th, 2017 at 12:08 AM ^
Them not taking an RB. They have a, hopefully, healthy Abdullah and Riddick. WIth the improved right side of the line, I'm fine with letting them see if the run game is improved. If no rb emerges, then I'd really hope they take one next year, but lets see what happens with an improved line and a healthy RB core.
April 30th, 2017 at 10:45 AM ^