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2024 Detroit Lions: Lets get ready for camp! (5 Viewers)

Zeppelin said:
BobbyLayne said:
baffles me they passed on Jordan McFadden
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I've been baffled for the entire draft.
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I’m making my peace with it

It’s a little anti-intellectual, we don’t care about positional value or how consensus ranks / mocks value players

We’re gonna go get out guys and it’s as much about fit as it is talent

It’s hard to square but they def are marching to the heat beat of their own drummer

(maybe Freudian slip they’re taking heat)

Thats a bold strategy, Cotton. We’ll see how it works out for them.
 
BobbyLayne said:
Ilov80s said:
Guy who specializes in OL eval says Lions got the steal of the draft

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looks like he has a good punch but little too upright, leverage is everything at the next level.

baffles me they passed on Jordan McFadden
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Bootleg like Colby Sorsdal, versatile guy who can be a swing tackle or move inside.

Brian Baldinger liked him: day 3 prospect who wasn’t invited to the combine was has 4 critical components; he has size, he has experience , moves very well; and most of all he has toughness. Good looking prospect to me.

BTW, he trained with Duke Manyweather pre-draft (guy @Ilov80s linked) who is a highly respected OL trainer down in Dallas.
 
Zeppelin said:
MJD just said the Lions improved more than any other team.
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It is possible because we did have the most draft capitol, and we are bringing in some really good players. But completely unconventional. I get it that the experts get it completely wrong sometimes. But on every pick?
 
jon_mx said:
The Lions managed to move most of their picks to the later round picks without even trading them.

I hope these reaches pay off and every analysis was wrong.
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Ty Schalter had the best comment on Lions day 1 and 2: five picks made that could all have been pick 18.
 
draft trades:

  • trade down:
    Lions sent Picks No. 6 and 81 to the Arizona Cardinals for Picks No. 12, 34, 168.
    The Cardinals took OT Paris Johnson Jr. at No. 6.
    Lions drafted Jahymr Gibbs at No. 12.
    Lions drafted Sam LaPorta at No. 34
    Lions traded 168 to the Cardinals (to move up to 96)
    The Lions gave up 1,785 points in the trade and received 1,783 back.

    I liked the trade. TBD on the pick, but the trade is fine.

  • trade up:
    Lions sent Picks No. 48 and 159 to the Green Bay Packers for Pick No. 45.
    The Lions took DB Brian Branch at No. 45.
    The Packers traded 48 to TB then drafted Jayden Reed at No. 50.
    The Packers lit the other pick on fire drafting Dontayvion Wicks at No. 159
    The Lions gave up 446.6 points in the trade and received 450 points back.

    Great trade to land the best value pick of their draft.

  • trade down:
    Lions sent Picks No. 55 and 194 to the Kansas City Chiefs for Picks No. 63, 122 and 249.
    The Chiefs took WR Rashee Rice at No. 55.
    The Chiefs drafted Keondre Coburn at No. 194
    Lions traded down from 63, traded 122 (for 96) and traded 249 for 219 (Swift deal.)
    The Lions gave up 377.2 points and received 327 points back.
  • trade down:
    Lions sent Picks No. 63 and 183 to the Denver Broncos for Picks No. 68 and 139.
    The Broncos took WR Marvin Mims Jr. at No. 63.
    The Lions took QB Hendon Hooker with the 68th pick.
    The Lions traded 139 (for 96.)
    The Broncos drafted JL Skinner at No., 183
    The Lions gave up 292.6 points in the deal and received 286.5 points back.

    Ultimately the Lions got their guy in Hendon Hooker, but tbh I liked all four of the flawed prospects on the other side of these two trades. HH is a two year project, get him healthy Y1, teach him a pro style offense Y2. Who knows where he will be in 2025 or if Goff is still in the picture.

  • trade up:
    Lions sent Picks No. 122, 139 and 168 to the Arizona Cardinals for Pick No. 96.
    The Lions took DT Brodric Martin with the 96th pick.
    The Cardinals drafted John Gaines II at No. 122.
    The Cardinals drafted Clayton Tune at No. 139.
    The Cardinals drafted Owen Pappoe at No. 168.
    The Lions gave up 110 points in the deal and received 116 points back.

    This one seems like an L - I love the athleticism of both Tune and Pappoe, though admittedly the tape on the Auburn LB is lackluster. I don't get the urgency because Martin probably was going to be there at 159. He's lacking any special traits. I can find scores of better prospects between 96 and 159, but.....Brad is the boss, he wanted his guy.
 
jon_mx said:
The Lions managed to move most of their picks to the later round picks without even trading them.

I hope these reaches pay off and every analysis was wrong.
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Yep Holmes has ants in his pants for his guys. FOMO
If I was another GM and Holmes wanted to trade up for my pick I’d bleed him
 
Some organizations like Baltimore and Steelers have had success letting the draft come to them. Lions go in the opposite direction.

Lions have a definite formula they are looking for in their players.
Production, intelligence, character and leadership (many of their players have been team captains) and extreme passion for the game and athleticism.

By the time they sift through and identify those players there are not that many.

Which may explain why they are so determined to get them and will go after them early
 
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Moonlight said:
Some organizations like Baltimore and Steelers have had success letting the draft come to them.

Lions have a definite formula they are looking for in their players.
Production, intelligence, character and leadership (many of their players have been team captains) and extreme passion for the game and athleticism.

By the time they sift through and identify those players there are not that many.

Which may explain why they are so determined to get them and will go after them early
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Interesting viewpoint that could have some merit. I remember listening to DC after the combine and he said something along the lines of “out of all the players we interviewed there were only about four that ‘got it’ “
 
TartanLion said:
Moonlight said:
Some organizations like Baltimore and Steelers have had success letting the draft come to them.

Lions have a definite formula they are looking for in their players.
Production, intelligence, character and leadership (many of their players have been team captains) and extreme passion for the game and athleticism.

By the time they sift through and identify those players there are not that many.

Which may explain why they are so determined to get them and will go after them early
Click to expand...

Interesting viewpoint that could have some merit. I remember listening to DC after the combine and he said something along the lines of “out of all the players we interviewed there were only about four that ‘got it’ “
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At the time a lot of people mistakenly thought he meant “oh we‘be identified four guys who have really special talent”, which is way off. It starts with the tape, and once they have a pool they’re interested in, they hone in on the player. Then it’s a painstaking process to get to know each of them and find out their why, what drives them. Character and leadership qualities are big, by then they’ve already identified high RAS guys (generally their criteria) with good college production.

They def are out of sync from consensus views with their process but getting the right guys in the building is everything.
 
Moonlight said:
Some organizations like Baltimore and Steelers have had success letting the draft come to them.

Lions have a definite formula they are looking for in their players.
Production, intelligence, character and leadership (many of their players have been team captains) and extreme passion for the game and athleticism.

By the time they sift through and identify those players there are not that many.

Which may explain why they are so determined to get them and will go after them early
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But the two previous drafts they did so much better waiting for high character guys like Amon-Ra, Houston, Rodrigo, and Kirby. Getting Witherspooned impacted so many of our picks, it would have been a completely different draft. Starting with not getting Gibbs and LaPorta, but still getting Campbell.
 
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UDFA

Assuming the Lions will get their entire draft class under contract, the Lions have 75 spots on their 90-man roster accounted for. It’s worth noting that while the Lions have 15 slots available, Detroit’s drafted players are not technically under contract at this time. Therefore, the Lions may sign more than 15 UDFAs, and then make a roster decision at a later time.

This falls in line with what the Lions have done in previous seasons under Holmes. The Lions brought in 13 UDFAs in 2021, including starters Brock Wright and Jerry Jacobs. Then Holmes added 12 UDFAs in 2022, including developmental prospects Obinna Eze, Demetrius Taylor, Derrick Deese Jr., and Greg Bell.
 
aside

Differentiating between reported UDFA signings and players given a tryout for rookie minicamp can be challenging. Oftentimes the reports are worded identically and clarification won’t be given until the team announces their roster moves.
 
The ultimate draft winner on the Lions roster...the Money Badger who looks to have no real competition. I know everyone is happy about that.
 
With the Swift trade, the only remaining Quinn draft picks on the roster:
  • Jonah Jackson
  • Frank Ragnow
  • Tracy Walker
  • Julian Okwara
 
I really liked our offseason overall.

Our secondary had major upgrades all the way around. I wish we found a shut down corner in the draft. But damn, we brought in a boatload of big upgrades.

Major upgrade in our linebacking by adding Campbell. I like Thor and Rodrigo, but they are both vulnerable and give up too many plays. Campbell is a beast on tackling and good in coverage. Lions fans are going to love him long time.

Our DL was neglected. We have a pretty good stable of edges, but still lacking in the middle. I am offering prayers to the back injuries gods daily for a full recovery for Levi. Maybe Brodric Martin will be another Brad miracle, but I think he ends up more of a depth piece.

Should be much much better on defense....but still not top 10, but at least moving into the top half.

At RB, as much as fans loved Williams, Monty is better in almost every way and has more of the skillset you expect out of a featured back. Swift was so unreliable and not great at hitting the holes, if Gibbs can be just be available, it is a huge plus. People compare Gibbs to Swift, but I see Gibbs as much better. More speed, a much better reciever, and hopefully better at hitting the holes. I see our RB duo as top 5 in the NFL. A big upgrade from last season who defenses will really have to account for.

WR is a bit more of a question mark since losing Jamo for 6 weeks and losing Chark. Amon-Ra and Reynolds will be the foundational pieces. Jones Jr., will fill the WR3 spot for the first 6 weeks, with assistance from Gibbs and LaPorta getting several targets a game. Physically, I love Green's size and speed, but will probably start off on the practice squad. Pre-Jamo we will be good at reciever. With Jamo, we will be scary good at WR.

TE...we have a stable of good blocking TE with good hands who are dangerous for short yardage, but don't offer a legit threat. That changed with LaPorta, who is a great reciever but needs to improve blocking skills to be that great tight end. Definitely added a needed dimension to the TE group. LaPorta really needs to be a film guy and get on the same page as Goff, which I think was Hock's biggest downfall.

OL...our OL has been the strength of the team. We neglected adding real depth pieces so we are vulnerable to injuries and did not future proof this group. Still an excellent group, but need a young guy. Here is hoping for another Brad miracle in FA or Sorsdal can become that guy.

QB....If Goff is able to maintain his level of performance last year and protect the ball, we are in great shape. If Goff can develop that deep connection to Jamo that will really lock in his future as the franchise QB who gets extended. I really like Hooker as a backup to Golf who has potential to be a very good starter. If you really view Goff as our franchise QB, Hooker is the perfect fit. If you wanted a guy to be a big improvement over Goff, Hooker probably does not measure up. I trust Goff to be that leader on a team with a lot of great tools all around him.

So my only disappointments in the off season are depth a OL and getting that dominant interior DL. Other than those, I think the Lions significantly improved the team on most every front.
 
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BobbyLayne said:
CB Starling Thomas V, UAB (source)

boom - calling it now, he'll make the 53-man
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Seems like a high-character guy with great speed (4.38) and nice size (6-0, 198). Made big strides from his junior to senior year. Definitely a guy who has the tools who could develop. Looks like a potential special teamer to start off.
 
PFF ranked the top 25 UDFA players; Detroit signed two, #8 Starling Thomas V and #10 Brandon Joseph.

Thomas is one of the fastest cornerbacks in the draft class, and his tape shows more than just speed. He allowed only 22 catches on 58 targets for 257 yards this past fall.

Joseph has a coverage grade over 90 for his career since 2020, and intercepted 10 of the 73 targets that came his way.

Thomas was a four phase special teamer at UAB which will help him overcoming the long odds of making the 53 man.
 
TwinTurbo said:
I might be in the minority, but I think this was one of the best drafts ever by the Lions. Time will tell.
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Lot of plug n play guys in the first 4 picks, although personally I'm disappointed we made no effort to upgrade premium positions.

Not impressed with the last 3 picks. Couple of the UDFA DBs are interesting, super pumped we got Starling Thomas V - he's reminiscent of Witherspoon, at the Senior Bowl he kept jumping the line to go up against Zay Flowers in 1-on-1 drills. Long odds but dude is a force of nature.

Overall I feel like the roster is in pretty good shape but I'm perplexed that we did not use any of the Top 5 picks on DL or OL. I guess they're comfortable going into the season with what they already have but another ED or a pro ready G would have really elevated the floor for both. Oh well, forward down the field eh.
 
This draft feels like SoL. I hope I am wrong, but it does. Swift for a 4th in 2025 seems about right. I forget who we disagreed with, but a top 25 back doesn't get traded for a 4th two years from now.
 
msudaisy26 said:
This draft feels like SoL. I hope I am wrong, but it does. Swift for a 4th in 2025 seems about right. I forget who we disagreed with, but a top 25 back doesn't get traded for a 4th two years from now.
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I am going to take the homer stance here and say the Lions got a B+
 
Ilov80s said:
msudaisy26 said:
This draft feels like SoL. I hope I am wrong, but it does. Swift for a 4th in 2025 seems about right. I forget who we disagreed with, but a top 25 back doesn't get traded for a 4th two years from now.
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I am going to take the homer stance here and say the Lions got a B+
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Reminds me of the 2004 draft. Roy Williams was the only decent draft pick of that class and a lot of pundits said we reached on that draft.
 
BobbyLayne said:
TwinTurbo said:
I might be in the minority, but I think this was one of the best drafts ever by the Lions. Time will tell.
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Lot of plug n play guys in the first 4 picks, although personally I'm disappointed we made no effort to upgrade premium positions.

Not impressed with the last 3 picks. Couple of the UDFA DBs are interesting, super pumped we got Starling Thomas V - he's reminiscent of Witherspoon, at the Senior Bowl he kept jumping the line to go up against Zay Flowers in 1-on-1 drills. Long odds but dude is a force of nature.

Overall I feel like the roster is in pretty good shape but I'm perplexed that we did not use any of the Top 5 picks on DL or OL. I guess they're comfortable going into the season with what they already have but another ED or a pro ready G would have really elevated the floor for both. Oh well, forward down the field eh.
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These are good criticisms.

They must have really liked the OLandDL guys they did draft. I’ve read some good things about Sorsdal related to his smarts, toughness and mean streak.

I think I read that Sorsdal didn’t give up a sack in his career but I wanted to check this for accuracy and for the life of me can’t locate the source so don’t take it as gospel.
 
Ilov80s said:
msudaisy26 said:
This draft feels like SoL. I hope I am wrong, but it does. Swift for a 4th in 2025 seems about right. I forget who we disagreed with, but a top 25 back doesn't get traded for a 4th two years from now.
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I am going to take the homer stance here and say the Lions got a B+
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The Lions are going to be beat up by every outside person grading the draft. Linebackers and RBs are not first round values. But we suck at Linebacker and we had a boot up Swift's butt and he was halfway out the door. In a very weak draft, we got the two guys that best fit our system and filled our biggest holes. There were only about 12 first round graded players available, and none of them met or needs or fit in with our culture after pick 5. The Lions got the best two guys in the draft who did after pick 5.

Brad and Dan are absolutely estatic over getting Gibbs and Campbell, because they are the two guys who will improve the team the most this coming season. If the Lions had pick 6 and 7, they still would have taken Gibbs and Campbell.
 
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msudaisy26 said:
This draft feels like SoL. I hope I am wrong, but it does. Swift for a 4th in 2025 seems about right. I forget who we disagreed with, but a top 25 back doesn't get traded for a 4th two years from now.
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I really wanted them to roll the dice on Swift one more season. Swift is a dynamic player. I know he has been hurt but no ACLs, no concussions. If Swift stays healthy Philly got pretty much the same type of back we drafted in Gibby for next years 4th rounder.

I will have Swift on my FF teams next season.
 
Since he was not expecting to get taken so early Jake Moody was at home with just his mom when he got the call from SF. No draft get together was planned. Said he was shocked and there was no inkling SF was going to draft him.

Lions should sign Robbie Gould now. I know his leg is not as strong as it was but he still can hit from 50 and is $$$$ inside 50.
 
Leroy Hoard said:
Swift really needed the new scenery. Even the RB coach leaving wasn't going to get him out of the doghouse here.
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I know, there must be something more to this because even when he was healthy was not getting the snaps. Could not have found a better place to go. Good o-line and Hurts moving and drawing the defense and dumping it to Swift.
 
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