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This is why I really want them to use the capital from 29 & 61 to get something like 38 and 42. Sooo many players I want in that range.
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Ya bumping Branch... where, in this scenario?Originally posted by Cody_Russell View Post
Even with a trade down, your first pick is an awfully big reach for your backup nickel.Last edited by chemiclord; April 21, 2024, 05:31 PM.Comment
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If Sainristil was from say, Georgia Tech and not Michigan, there would be zero interest in the dude on this forum, and for good reason; he's not likely to be a viable outside corner, and he'd be buried anywhere else in the secondary by a handful of pretty young talent already.
Who are you bumping among these three to get Mikey reps?
Melifonwu: age 24
Joseph: age 23
Branch: age 22
Now, ya wanna know where the Lions aren't particularly young?
Decker: age 29
Glasgow: age 31
Ragnow: age 27 (and with a series of chronic injuries already)
Zietler: age 34
4/5ths of that O-Line is getting pretty long in the tooth, and who the hell knows how long Ragnow's body is going to be capable of handling the load?
About the only scenario where I'd accept pulling the trigger on Sainristil is if by 29, pretty much all the O-Line talent has been picked clean, the Lions get a sweet trade down deal, and Holmes thinks Mikey has potential on the outside. In any other scenario, I just can't imagine there isn't going to be someone that can give the Lions more both in the short and long term.Comment
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Give me all of my Michigan players. 😅 Kidding.
I’m sure that the probability of the Lions first pick being a non-Michigan player and OLine is pretty high.
The lesson of last year is that the Lions’ draft board is a little different. Culture fit/ football character has significant weight to the formula.Originally posted by chemiclord View Post
Find ways to have both on the field together. Lions split snaps with CJGJ, Iffy, Joseph, and Branch in the playoffs last season. Perhaps they’re thinking Branch can take some of CJGJ’s snaps due to not signing a safety in free agency. Plus maybe Sainristil has potential to be versatile and move around. He’s only played DB for 2 years.AAL 2023 - Alim McNeillComment
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Paywall article from today's Freep on the NFL Draft.
Brad Holmes not worried about your CB fetish. Detroit Lions GM drafts who he wants.
Shawn Windsor
Detroit Free Press
This one feels different. Sounds different. Even looks different.
At least Brad Holmes did when he met with reporters Thursday morning in Allen Park to talk about the upcoming NFL draft.
The Detroit Lions’ general manager was as relaxed and confident as I can remember him this time of year, and for good reason. He isn’t trying to rebuild a team. Or break a winless playoff streak.
That’s been done. And then some. Division title? Check. Home playoff win? Check. Super Bowl appearance? Uh, almost check?
The Lions, you may remember, came within four points of making the Super Bowl. This is the last bit of work to be done. Fun work. Challenging work. Unprecedented work — it feels like that anyway.
You’d have to go back to 1992 to find the leader of the Lions’ front office trying to make up so short a distance. Though even that year isn’t quite comparable to this one.
The Lions made the NFC title game in 1992. They lost to Washington 41-10. That Lions team, while talented, and led by Barry Sanders, didn’t have the offensive line and quarterback this one does, or as many offensive skill players.
The Lions got bullied at the line of scrimmage that day against Washington. The difference between the NFC title game and the Super Bowl felt — and looked — a lot vaster than it did in San Francisco back in January.
Chuck Schmidt, the Lions general manager at the time, followed that season by drafting Robert Porcher in the first round with the 26th pick, and then took Tracy Scroggins in the second round at No. 53. Porcher is arguably the best defensive end in Lions history. At the very least, he’s one of the top three.
Scroggins, meanwhile, played 10 years at linebacker and defensive end, and averaged six sacks a season. He wasn’t a Pro Bowler like Porcher, but he was a steady, productive player. The Lions had a second, second-round pick that draft as well. They took Jason Hanson, who turned out to be a decent kicker.
Despite the promising draft, and another star turn from Sanders, the next season didn’t go so well. The Lions finished 5-11 and obviously missed the playoffs.
From the conference title game to five wins is a long fall. It’s also a reminder of how quickly things change in the NFL. Schmidt, and head coach Wayne Fontes, got the Lions back to the playoffs the next year (1994) and then again in 1995. Fontes left the next year, and his replacement, Bobby Ross, led the Lions — still under Schmidt — to two more playoff appearances in 1997 and 1999.
But Schmidt never won a playoff game after the Lions beat the Dallas Cowboys to get to the 1992 NFC title game. What looked so promising that season faded into nine years of frequent disappointments; Schmidt resigned in January of 2001.
Holmes and Dan Campbell have drafted as well as any Lions’ brass has in the last 40 years. Five of their selections in the last three years have made a Pro Bowl — two made an All-Pro team. Nothing on their resumés suggests a repeat of what happened to Schmidt and Fontes’ teams after the conference title game loss.
And yet?
Life comes fast in the NFL. Windows close quickly, and sometimes forcefully. Good thing Holmes doesn’t believe in “windows.”
Here was Holmes Thursday when asked if his draft philosophy this year has changed because the Lions missed the Super Bowl by four points and thus, are theoretically in the Super Bowl “window:”
“Yeah, I don’t really base it off of windows really. Again, it’s just how much of an impactful player do you want to get. I think I told you guys last year we had what, six and 18 originally (in the first round)? We were looking to trade up from 18 if we stayed how it stayed. That didn’t really depend on the window that we were in or anything. It’s just that those were some players that we really, really wanted to have.”
Worrying about a window, he said, can lead to trouble. Give him this: He’s been consistent. Which can only mean he’ll take an offensive lineman with the team’s first round pick next week. (No amount of cajoling will change his mind.)
I kid, I kid. Sort of.
Well, not really, Holmes may well take an offensive lineman, and may never draft a cornerback. As he’s shown, and as he’s said in so many words: He’s going to take who he wants to take.
Well, not just who he wants to take, but who he and his staff and Campbell want to take.
There is a balance here, though. Holmes doesn’t mind consensus, but he does mind groupthink, and has encouraged his staff to speak their mind during the scouting process.
“People naturally just want to be a part of the tribe,” he said. “They want to get along. People naturally want to agree and be likeable. It takes work to go against the grain. It takes a lot of work. That’s why I have always had a lot of respect for the lone wolf. When we’re in there and everybody is saying, ‘yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,’ and it’s some obvious prospect, it’s that one person in that room that’s like, ‘I don’t.’”
To which Holmes says:
“I want to listen to him, or I want to listen to her.”
It takes a lot to be the “lone wolf” he said. Sometimes he is a lone wolf. Sometimes he and Campbell are the lone wolves. Wait, is that possible? Sure, it is. The proof is in the play, Holmes is happy to remind.
“I’ll tell you, me and Dan (Campbell) were the lone wolves on a player that we took last year, and it worked out. We loved the player. The rest of the group was like, ‘No, no, no, get this (other) guy,’ at the same position.”
Holmes wouldn’t say who the player was. But, really, does he need to?
No, he doesn’t, not yet.
Not as long as the team keeps winning and the franchise keeps checking off boxes it so desperately wants to check. Not as long as he keeps drafting as well as he’s drafted. Sure, second-guessing is fun, and part of the reason we love the draft.
Yet Holmes has earned the confidence he showed Thursday, and earned the calm he displayed a week before one of the tensest moments of the NFL calendar. When he met with reporters after the season, he brought receipts for those who have doubted his draft picks. And while he didn’t carry as many this time, he still pulled out a couple.
“I know you guys were asking after the last draft: ‘Well, how come you guys didn’t pick another position?’ Well ... you don’t just pick a player because he plays that position. No, he has to be the right football player. That’s what we stuck to, and it’s worked so far for us.”
Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him@shawnwindsor.
Feeling a draft?
What: 2024 NFL draft.
Where: Detroit.
The schedule: Round 1 — 8 p.m. Thursday; Rounds 2-3 — 7 p.m. Friday; Rounds 4-7 — Noon Saturday.
TV: ABC, ESPN, NFL Network.
Lions’ picks (with overall pick in parentheses): Round 1 — No. 29 (29); Round 2 — No. 29 (61); Round 3 — No. 9 (73), No. 29 (92); Round 5 — No. 29 (163); Round 6 — No. 29 (207); Round 7 — No. 29 (247).
"I hope to see the Lions in the Super Bowl before I die"
My friend Ken LComment
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Paywall article from today's Freep, again with the NFL Draft being the topic.
NFL draft preview: OL at No. 29 might make most long-term sense for Detroit Lions
Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Lions had one of the worst rosters in the NFL when Brad Holmes took over as general manager three years ago, but in one regard the talent Holmes inherited was perfect for the rebuild he was about to author.
The strength of the Lions’ roster then was a young offensive line that was considered one of the best in the league. Holmes plugged the group’s only hole with his first-ever draft pick, right tackle Penei Sewell, and signed Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow to an extension days later, ensuring the core would be together for years to come.
“We’re firm believers that that’s where the game is won,” Holmes said at his annual pre-draft news conference last week. “That’s the foundation. That’s the core of our team. Yeah, there were some guys in place already, so it was less work that needed to be done. Now, the pieces that we’ve added with the guys that were previously here have just fortified it and made it even stronger.”
The Lions still have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL.
Sewell was a first-team All-Pro selection last season. Ragnow is coming off his third Pro Bowl. Left tackle Taylor Decker has played at a high level for most of his eight seasons in Detroit. Graham Glasgow is on his second tour of duty and third contract with the Lions. And the team signed respected veteran Kevin Zeitler to replace Jonah Jackson this offseason.
But age and injuries can’t be avoided, and both are creeping up on the group, which is approaching a crossroads in next week’s NFL draft.
Holmes has been adamant he doesn’t draft for need, and the Lions do not have an immediate need – or starting job available – on their offensive line.
But part of his job as GM is to keep one eye on the future, and the Lions have some uncertainty ahead up front.
Zeitler (34), Glasgow (32 in July) and Decker (31 in August) are in the over-30 crowd and approaching the point in their careers where falloff is inevitable. Decker is in the last year of his contract and Zeitler signed a one-year deal in free agency. Sewell is closing in on a contract that will make him the highest-paid offensive lineman in the game. And Ragnow has a degenerative toe condition the Lions have had to manage for three years.
Holmes acknowledged at his end-of-season news conference in February that reinforcing the line for 2024 and beyond would be “a point of emphasis” this offseason, and the Lions could be in a position to do that with the 29th pick in the first round.
“That’s always going to be the utmost importance,” Holmes said last week. “That’s something that’s hard to overlook. I don’t care who you’ve got at quarterback. I don’t care if you got more of a pocket guy, a scrambler. I don’t care what it is. Offensive line, that’s critical. And when you don’t have them, it can make life hard in a lot of different areas.”
This year’s draft is considered deep at offensive line, though it lacks a Sewell-type talent up top.
NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah ranks nine offensive linemen among his top 30 prospects and there are at least two other blockers who could go in the first round.
The Lions likely won’t be in the mix for the draft’s best tackles. Notre Dame’s Joe Alt, Penn State’s Olu Fashanu, Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga and Washington’s Troy Fautanu are projected top-20 picks.
But there are three different and versatile interior linemen projected to come off the board in the 20s who could tempt the Lions in Round 1.
Duke’s Graham Barton started three seasons at left tackle but could move inside in the NFL because of his short arms. He’s smart and athletic, and has true five-position versatility.
Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson won the Rimington Trophy as the nation’s top center last year. He’s nasty and stout, and played some defensive line as a fill-in early in his career.
And West Virginia’s Zach Frazier, who ranks 37th on Jeremiah’s prospect list, is a four-time high school state wrestling champ who Jeremiah said might be the best fit of the bunch in Detroit.
“That’s something I’ve talked to a bunch of teams around the league is these three guys paired together and teams going through their meetings trying to sort these guys out,” Jeremiah said. “I would have it Graham Barton, Jackson Powers-Johnson, then Zach Frazier, and if you asked me who’s the Lion in the group I would say the third one. I would say Frazier. I mean, the four-time state champ wrestler, the guy who’s just got a tenacity to him and a physicality to and through the whistle. He kind of fits their style as you know there, and I think he’s worthy of being taken there in the bottom of the first round. I’d have no problem with that at all.”
Whether it’s Round 1 or later in the draft, any lineman the Lions take likely will open next season as a backup and have a chance to compete for a starting job perhaps in 2025.
The Lions spent a fifth-round pick on guard Colby Sorsdal last season and Kayode Awosika started three games because of injuries. They don’t have many swing tackle options behind veteran Dan Skipper, and seem destined to add a lineman somewhere this week.
“It’s always of the utmost importance and we feel really good about our offensive line now,” Holmes said. “We love what we did in free agency and I feel like we could line down and play now and be totally fine. It’s going to be whatever, if we do add somebody, it’s going to be hard to crack one of those big boys up front.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
NFL draft preview: Offensive line
On the roster: OT — Taylor Decker, Penei Sewell, Dan Skipper, Connor Galvin. IOL — Frank Ragnow, Graham Glasgow, Kevin Zeitler, Colby Sorsdal, Kayode Awosika, Michael Niese,
Dave Birkett’s top 3 OT prospects: 1. Joe Alt, Notre Dame; 2. Olu Fashanu, Penn State; 3. Taliese Fuaga, Oregon State. Dave Birkett’s top 3 IOL prospects: 1. Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon; 2. Graham Barton, Duke; 3. Zach Frazier, West Virginia.
Other players with Michigan ties: OT — Javon Foster, Missouri (West Bloomfield); LaDarius Henderson, Michigan; Jeremy Flax, Kentucky (Dearborn Heights Robichaud). IOL — Zak Zinter, Michigan; Karsen Barnhart, Michigan; Trevor Keegan, Michigan; Trente Jones, Michigan; Drake Nugent, Michigan; Nick Samac, Michigan State; Tyrone Sampson, Fresno State (Detroit East English Village)
Day 3 sleeper who could interest Lions: OT — Mike Edwards, Campbell. IOL — Brady Latham, Arkansas.
Recent Lions draft picks at OL: 2023 — Colby Sorsdal (fifth round). 2022 — none. 2021 — Penei Sewell (first round). 2020 — Jonah Jackson (third round); Logan Stenberg (fourth round). 2019 — none.
"I hope to see the Lions in the Super Bowl before I die"
My friend Ken LComment
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This year's draft is really strong for starting quality tackles until early in the 2nd round, which is unusually deep.
I've been eyeing Jordan Morgan for awhile -- he projects as a quality NFL right tackle, but his exceptional athleticism can put him at guard. He seems like a perfect pick. He comes in providing depth at tackle and guard and starts at guard in 2025 when Zeitler or Glasgow or Ragnow move on. He continues to improve and gain experience as a starter until Decker moves on and then steps in at right tackle while we slide Sewell over to left.
Most years, Morgan would probably be gone mid-1st, but the depth this year pushes him down. I'm not sure we can afford to trade down if we want him though.
Suamataia, though, has a similar profile and is likely available a bit later.Comment
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Paywall article from last night's News about the NFL Draft.
Lions 2024 draft preview: A current strength, team still has long-term O-line needs
Justin Rogers
The Detroit News
Over the next several days, leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft, we’re taking a position-by-position look at the Detroit Lions’ roster and evaluating how the team might address each unit. Today: Offensive linemen.
▶ Current roster: Taylor Decker, Penei Sewell, Graham Glasgow, Kevin Zeitler, Frank Ragnow, Colby Sorsdal, Kayode Awosika, Dan Skipper, Netane Muti, Matt Farniok, Connor Galvin, Michael Niese
▶ Short-term need: Two out of 10
▶ Long-term need: Eight out of 10
▶ Top prospects: Joe Alt, Taliese Fuaga, JC Latham, Olumuyiwa Fashanu, Troy Fautanu, Jackson Powers-Johnson
▶ Day 2 options: Christian Haynes, Cooper Beebe, Christian Mahogany, Zach Frazier, Kingsley Suamataia, Kiran Amegadjie, Blake Fisher
▶ Late-round considerations: Zak Zinter, Matt Goncalves, Javon Foster, Christian Jones
▶ Analysis: Even with a seemingly unending string of injury woes, the offensive line has been the strength of the Lions' roster the past few seasons. And there's no reason to think that changes in 2024.
Despite losing longtime left guard Jonah Jackson in free agency, general manager Brad Holmes moved quickly to plug the hole, signing Zeitler, a former first-round pick and 2023 Pro Bowler. He'll play right guard, where he's spent his entire 12-year career. That means Glasgow will be shifting back to the left side.
It also means the Lions will have three Pro Bowlers lining up side by side, from Ragnow to Sewell. So while losing the 27-year-old Jackson is a blow in the long term, it's understandable why coach Dan Campbell boldly suggested the unit might be better in 2024.
Even Detroit's depth is decent. With Ragnow's chronic foot issues, Glasgow gives the team high-end insurance at center, while the guards are backstopped by Awosika and Sorsdal, the still-developing fifth-round draft pick from a year ago. Muti, a mauler who has battled injuries since college, could also push for a roster spot if his health holds up through the offseason program.
The tackle depth is slightly more concerning. Skipper has the inside track for the top backup spot, but an upgrade through the draft wouldn't hurt. You could even make a case for spending an earlier-than-expected asset on a tackle, given Decker, who turns 31 this August, is entering the final year of his contract. An investment in a rookie then provides not just immediate depth but a potential replacement if the sides split, however unlikely that may seem.
Among the Day 2 tackles, Suamataia, Amegadjie and Fisher would make sense. Suamataia, the BYU product, has been getting some first-round buzz in recent weeks. He's one of the few prospects who has starting experience at right and left tackle, which is paired with an NFL-ready frame.
Fisher, who projects more as a right-side-only option, also offers a good build at 6-foot-6 and 310 pounds with long arms. He was a quality pass protector at Notre Dame, allowing just 32 pressures across 25 starts the past two seasons.
And if you like upside, Amegadjie, the Yale standout, is highly intriguing. It doesn't hurt that his arms stretch longer than 36 inches. As for Day 3 options, Foster, Missouri's blindside blocker the past three seasons, might not be an elite athlete, but his experience and power give him a reasonably high floor as a backup in the latter stages of the draft.
Depending how you feel about Sorsdal's potential, it's easy to argue adding a guard who projects as a future starter is the team's most-pressing offensive line need. Both Zeitler and Glasgow are well past their 30th birthdays, and the newcomer joined Detroit on a one-year deal, indicating he's a stopgap solution.
Even though that signing eliminated the need for a plug-and-play addition in the draft, a case could still be made for addressing the position as early as the first round. Oregon's Powers-Johnson would carry appeal if available at pick No. 29, especially with the athletic 328-pounder's experience at center.
That said, the positional value of guard typically results in quality options being available Rounds 2-4. That's where Beebe, Haynes and Mahogany are all projected.
Alternatively, given the need isn't urgent, the Lions could take advantage of Zinter's injury situation. The Michigan captain could very well slide into the draft's third day after suffering a broken leg in a late-season matchup against Ohio State. Even with the injury, he earned first-team All-Big Ten honors for the second consecutive year. Impressively, he allowed just five quarterback pressures (zero hits or sacks) as a senior.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
@Justin_Rogers
"I hope to see the Lions in the Super Bowl before I die"
My friend Ken LComment
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I’m still feeling like Holmes is going to be aggressive and go up a few spots to get somebody - CB (DeJean or McKinstry) or DL (DE or DT) seem like the best bets but who knows. With the depth of the OL and WR classes going up for either of those positions would not be ideal IMO, but if Holmes sees a difference maker he won’t be shy.Comment
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Yes! This is good by me although I don't want anything to do with DeJean.Originally posted by Mainevent View Post
I was watching the highlights for Verse and man I'd love to have him. He absolutely looks the part.F#*K OHIO!!!
You're not only an amazingly beautiful man, but you're the greatest football mind to ever exist. <-- Jeffy Shittypants actually posted this. I knew he was in love with me.Comment
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I love Sainristil and his game but not before the 3rd round.F#*K OHIO!!!
You're not only an amazingly beautiful man, but you're the greatest football mind to ever exist. <-- Jeffy Shittypants actually posted this. I knew he was in love with me.Comment
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Wow. Seriously?Originally posted by jaadam4 View Post"Your division isn't going through Green Bay it's going through Detroit for the next five years" - Rex RyanComment
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Sainristil is projected to go in the mid 2nd. Not likely to be available at 61. The one scout felt that drafting Sainristil would "unlock" Branch -- allow us to use him in the robber position, like an Ed Reed.Comment
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"I hope to see the Lions in the Super Bowl before I die"
My friend Ken LComment
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The Lions haven't signed a safety and Kerby Joseph is out until training camp. The Lions have talked up Branch playing more safety. There is a scenario where they draft Sainristil to be a nickel. It's putting an awful lot on Robertson/Vildor as the #2 CB. It's a possible scenario but one of many but not the most probable. But who knows.
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