2025 Detroit Lions: 4-1 Lions win battle of the big cats. (44 Viewers)

[BobbyLayne]

2012 NFL Draft Grades: Ranking Teams That Failed on Draft Day
DONALD WOOD APRIL 29, 2012
​

No. 1: Seattle Seahawks

After one of the worst picks in the first round I can ever remember, the Seattle Seahawks didn't draft any positions of need or draft for the future

Pete Carroll is proving why he didn’t make it in the NFL the first time. Not only was Bruce Irvin a reach at No. 15, the Seahawks proved they were oblivious to their madness by celebrating their selection.

As if the day wasn’t bad enough, Seattle selecting Russell Wilson, a QB that doesn’t fit their offense at all, was by far the worst move of the draft.

With the two worst moves of the draft, Seattle is the only team that received an F on draft day.

Grade: F

 

[Ilov80s]

It’s all about opportunity cost. Like Bobby said, of course they added lots of good players. Look at the picks they had. Saying they got good players isn’t enough. Look at it like a fantasy draft. If in a normal league, I took Joe Burrow and TJ Hockenson with my first two picks and said “these are safe reliable guys” that’s a terrible start. Not because JB and Hock are bad but because I gave up Ekeler, Chase, Amon Ra, Waddle, etc.

The Lions are using metrics that are not measured by analytics. Chris Speilman should not have e been a great player. ARSB should not have been a great player. Houston should not have been a great player. And let's go to the Mich alum, Tom Brady should not have been a great player. Brad and Dan are drafting football players and they are grading by heart and how they look on film. Special players with that heart and pure love of the game rise up above their physical stats and contribute well beyond their positional values. A lot of these metrics are great for using as a measuring stick and offering guidance. But you also have to adjust to the situation and look deeper than just cold analytics. I think the players we drafted will be awesome and add to the culture that the Lions are building and I really i don't give a rats butt where they were drafted.

Besides, having the greatest QB in the NFL does not mean squat when you are giving up 350 yards to a couple of two-bit RBs. All positions matter. And right now, the Lions are finally good at all positions.

I get all that and I actually do think the Lions use a lot of analytics. The “we’re the smartest people in the room” mentality rarely works.

 

[BobbyLayne]

The “we’re the smartest people in the room” mentality rarely works.

I do give both Holmes and Campbell credit for being very self aware individuals. I don’t detect any strident intransigence in their statements. They don’t get defensive in press conferences. They calmly explain their decision making process. They share a lot of personality traits; one aspect in which they’re similar is being quick to examine themselves when things go south rather than shifting blame to others.

Brad has joked often his first draft cycle was like taking a sip from a firehose. He immediately acknowledged on night one of this years draft that they went against consensus ranks, mock drafts and positional value in taking Gibbs and Campbell. He said there’s value in taking all those things into consideration - it’s not like he just dismissed conventional wisdom and said “I don’t care, I just want my guys.” But it’s clear that they put a lot of emphasis on doing just that - getting the right mix inside the locker room.

If they keep making progress on the field, will be hard to keep questioning their process. If it translates, awesome, we all want the same thing - Detroit going to it’s first Super Bowl.

I appreciate their openness and the vulnerability they expose themselves to, it’s in sharp contrast to stilted responses previous Lions leadership gave: “check the report” “I’m not going to get into that here” “we made the decision because it was best for the team.” They actually do a pretty great job pulling back the curtain and letting us see the how and the why behind their choices.

 

[BobbyLayne]

Trade finalized

Rams receive:

• Matthew Stafford

Lions receive:

• Jared Goff
• Ifeatu Melifonwu
• Jameson Williams
• Josh Paschal
• Jahmyr Gibbs
• Sam LaPorta
• Brodric Martin.

 

[Ilov80s]

To be clear, I think they have done a great job and seem like excellent people. I am glad this is who is running the team. The idea he doesn’t care about positional value was just interesting. He should care, right? If other GMs care and experts studying it say it matters, it seems important. We do want to add players that make the team better- of course. But also, I don’t think Gibbs or LaPorta or Campbell were the only guys on the board who would have made the team better.

 

[jon_mx]

You can't say he doesn't care about positional values when he spent most of our draft capital on OL, WR, and DL the last two drafts and they feel really good about what Goff showed. The reason he had to spend on the lower value positions this year is because they were by far our weakest positional groups (keeping Swift was not really an option they wanted). This year the elite talent which fit our culture were in the lower value positions. All three guys we 'reached' on were guys at a high tier level with a significant drop off if we passed.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Trade finalized

Rams receive:

• Matthew Stafford

Lions receive:

• Jared Goff
• Ifeatu Melifonwu
• Jameson Williams
• Josh Paschal
• Jahmyr Gibbs
• Sam LaPorta
• Brodric Martin.

A master class on how to engineer a rebuild.

 

[Moonlight]

The Lions are trending towards giving Goff a new contract sometime in the next 15 months per @davebirkett

Seems inevitable given that 2023 will be a redshirt year for Hooker. We will likely have no idea of his potential by year end because 1) he'll be rehabbing his torn ACL for several more months, and 2) the Tennessee offense did not in any way resemble any scheme in the NFL. Over the course of his entire career at Tennessee, he completed 15 passes to a receiver who was not his primary target. In 79 pressures in 2022 in which he left the pock, he completed 3 passes for 12 yards. Scheme wise, they frequently ran four verticals (encouragingly, he had outstanding deep ball passing stats.) His receivers always ran choice routes - there is nothing in Hyatt and Tillman's tape that would suggest they were running NFL route trees.

It's going to be a long process getting him acclimated.

You are providing more detail to support what I said previously about him being a bad pick.
He’s not going to help this year and he’s going not get much exposure to assist him going into the year after.

We need a better Quarterback to backup Goff this year. Assuming Teddy is coming here, not sure about that. He may but you can’t say that’s a given or that he will not be given a better opportunity elsewhere.

And as older QBs go you are betting Hooker is an outlier.

 

[Ilov80s]

You can't say he doesn't care about positional values when he spent most of our draft capital on OL, WR, and DL the last two drafts and they feel really good about what Goff showed. The reason he had to spend on the lower value positions this year is because they were by far our weakest positional groups (keeping Swift was not really an option they wanted). This year the elite talent which fit our culture were in the lower value positions. All three guys we 'reached' on were guys at a high tier level with a significant drop off if we passed.

Hutch and Sewell were easy picks. The players and positional value easily lined up. Of course he cares to a degree. He’s not taking a kicker in round 1. However, it’s also clear he doesn’t care as much current wisdom says he should. When asked about this weekend, he said wants football players who can impact the game.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

You can't say he doesn't care about positional values when he spent most of our draft capital on OL, WR, and DL the last two drafts and they feel really good about what Goff showed. The reason he had to spend on the lower value positions this year is because they were by far our weakest positional groups (keeping Swift was not really an option they wanted). This year the elite talent which fit our culture were in the lower value positions. All three guys we 'reached' on were guys at a high tier level with a significant drop off if we passed.

Hutch and Sewell were easy picks. The players and positional value easily lined up. Of course he cares to a degree. He’s not taking a kicker in round 1. However, it’s also clear he doesn’t care as much current wisdom says he should. When asked about this weekend, he said wants football players who can impact the game.

People keep mentioning this but were his later round picks also "easy picks"? Every team in the league had at least 3 chances to draft St. Brown, Rodriguez, Houston and Joseph. But they didn't.

 

[nysfl2]

To be clear, I think they have done a great job and seem like excellent people. I am glad this is who is running the team. The idea he doesn’t care about positional value was just interesting. He should care, right? If other GMs care and experts studying it say it matters, it seems important. We do want to add players that make the team better- of course. But also, I don’t think Gibbs or LaPorta or Campbell were the only guys on the board who would have made the team better.

I suspect he wasn't really saying that he doesn't care about positional value. I think he was more saying that if he sees an elite talent at a low positional value position, he'll draft them over a pretty good talent at a high positional value position.

It's like VBD drafting in fantasy football - drafting a TE in the first round is normally a terrible idea, but if Travis Kelce is going to give you a huge positional advantage over your opponents, he's worth the first rounder.

 

[Moonlight]

If Lions had drafted Witherspoon they most likely would have traded up from 18 to get Gibbs and also very possibly traded up from 34 for Campbell. Based on how ecstatic they were about both guys I think that very well would have happened.

Using other assets to trade up would have resulted in a very different looking draft. Don’t think we would have gotten Branch and maybe La Porta and likely a different QB for sure and who knows about the rest.

 

[msudaisy26]

If Lions had drafted Witherspoon they most likely would have traded up from 18 to get Gibbs and also very possibly traded up from 34 for Campbell. Based on how ecstatic they were about both guys I think that very well would have happened.

Using other assets to trade up would have resulted in a very different looking draft. Don’t think we would have gotten Branch and maybe La Porta and likely a different QB for sure and who knows about the rest.

They wouldn't have have 34 if they drafted Witherspoon at 6.

 

[Moonlight]

If Lions had drafted Witherspoon they most likely would have traded up from 18 to get Gibbs and also very possibly traded up from 34 for Campbell. Based on how ecstatic they were about both guys I think that very well would have happened.

Using other assets to trade up would have resulted in a very different looking draft. Don’t think we would have gotten Branch and maybe La Porta and likely a different QB for sure and who knows about the rest.

They wouldn't have have 34 if they drafted Witherspoon at 6.

Yeah forgot about that thanks

 

[TwinTurbo]

The Lions are trending towards giving Goff a new contract sometime in the next 15 months per @davebirkett

Seems inevitable given that 2023 will be a redshirt year for Hooker. We will likely have no idea of his potential by year end because 1) he'll be rehabbing his torn ACL for several more months, and 2) the Tennessee offense did not in any way resemble any scheme in the NFL. Over the course of his entire career at Tennessee, he completed 15 passes to a receiver who was not his primary target. In 79 pressures in 2022 in which he left the pock, he completed 3 passes for 12 yards. Scheme wise, they frequently ran four verticals (encouragingly, he had outstanding deep ball passing stats.) His receivers always ran choice routes - there is nothing in Hyatt and Tillman's tape that would suggest they were running NFL route trees.

It's going to be a long process getting him acclimated.

You are providing more detail to support what I said previously about him being a bad pick.
He’s not going to help this year and he’s going not get much exposure to assist him going into the year after.

We need a better Quarterback to backup Goff this year. Assuming Teddy is coming here, not sure about that. He may but you can’t say that’s a given or that he will not be given a better opportunity elsewhere.

And as older QBs go you are betting Hooker is an outlier.

My take is you don't want to be the team with one of the highest paid backup QBs. Also if older QBs are an issue, why is 30 year old Teddy a better option than 25 year old Hooker? You know what you are getting with Teddy but that's not necessarily a good thing.

 

[TwinTurbo]

To be clear, I think they have done a great job and seem like excellent people. I am glad this is who is running the team. The idea he doesn’t care about positional value was just interesting. He should care, right? If other GMs care and experts studying it say it matters, it seems important. We do want to add players that make the team better- of course. But also, I don’t think Gibbs or LaPorta or Campbell were the only guys on the board who would have made the team better.

I think what history has proven is that most GMs, analysts, and so called experts are not very good at this. I think Holmes and Campbell should not care at all what their peers think because there is a greater than 50% chance those people are wrong just based on how many first round picks never pan out every single year.

 

[Moonlight]

The Lions are trending towards giving Goff a new contract sometime in the next 15 months per @davebirkett

Seems inevitable given that 2023 will be a redshirt year for Hooker. We will likely have no idea of his potential by year end because 1) he'll be rehabbing his torn ACL for several more months, and 2) the Tennessee offense did not in any way resemble any scheme in the NFL. Over the course of his entire career at Tennessee, he completed 15 passes to a receiver who was not his primary target. In 79 pressures in 2022 in which he left the pock, he completed 3 passes for 12 yards. Scheme wise, they frequently ran four verticals (encouragingly, he had outstanding deep ball passing stats.) His receivers always ran choice routes - there is nothing in Hyatt and Tillman's tape that would suggest they were running NFL route trees.

It's going to be a long process getting him acclimated.

You are providing more detail to support what I said previously about him being a bad pick.
He’s not going to help this year and he’s going not get much exposure to assist him going into the year after.

We need a better Quarterback to backup Goff this year. Assuming Teddy is coming here, not sure about that. He may but you can’t say that’s a given or that he will not be given a better opportunity elsewhere.

And as older QBs go you are betting Hooker is an outlier.

My take is you don't want to be the team with one of the highest paid backup QBs. Also if older QBs are an issue, why is 30 year old Teddy a better option than 25 year old Hooker? You know what you are getting with Teddy but that's not necessarily a good thing.

When I was referring to older quarterbacks, I meant quarterbacks who are older coming into the league.

Teddy has demonstrated competence and experience, and though not a Super Bowl quality quarterback, he would a very good back up.

And again the lions do not have a competent and healthy back up quarterback at this time for the upcoming year

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Let's say Witherspoon was still on the board at 6. What would be better, Witherspoon + Gibbs (if he was still there) or Witherspoon + Campbell, or what they got with Gibbs + Campbell +LaPorta ?

 

[TwinTurbo]

The Lions are trending towards giving Goff a new contract sometime in the next 15 months per @davebirkett

Seems inevitable given that 2023 will be a redshirt year for Hooker. We will likely have no idea of his potential by year end because 1) he'll be rehabbing his torn ACL for several more months, and 2) the Tennessee offense did not in any way resemble any scheme in the NFL. Over the course of his entire career at Tennessee, he completed 15 passes to a receiver who was not his primary target. In 79 pressures in 2022 in which he left the pock, he completed 3 passes for 12 yards. Scheme wise, they frequently ran four verticals (encouragingly, he had outstanding deep ball passing stats.) His receivers always ran choice routes - there is nothing in Hyatt and Tillman's tape that would suggest they were running NFL route trees.

It's going to be a long process getting him acclimated.

You are providing more detail to support what I said previously about him being a bad pick.
He’s not going to help this year and he’s going not get much exposure to assist him going into the year after.

We need a better Quarterback to backup Goff this year. Assuming Teddy is coming here, not sure about that. He may but you can’t say that’s a given or that he will not be given a better opportunity elsewhere.

And as older QBs go you are betting Hooker is an outlier.

My take is you don't want to be the team with one of the highest paid backup QBs. Also if older QBs are an issue, why is 30 year old Teddy a better option than 25 year old Hooker? You know what you are getting with Teddy but that's not necessarily a good thing.

When I was referring to older quarterbacks, I meant quarterbacks who are older coming into the league.

Teddy has demonstrated competence and experience, and though not a Super Bowl quality quarterback, he would a very good back up.

And again the lions do not have a competent and healthy back up quarterback at this time for the upcoming year

He has definitely demonstrated competence and experience, but is he still a good back up? The good options at backup are rather limited, just like starters, but for sake of argument let's just say he is one of the "good" backups. He still went 0-4 as a backup in Miami last year and only lasted 1 snap against the Jets. Miami moved on after 1 season to Mike White.

My take is teams should have rookies as backups and hope they hit, like Brock Purdy, instead of overpaying for journeymen backups like Teddy or Dalton.

 

[BobbyLayne]

He won't make the team but Adrian Martintez will be a good addition the Practice Squad bc he can emulate mobile QBs on the scout team.

 

[Moonlight]

Let's say Witherspoon was still on the board at 6. What would be better, Witherspoon + Gibbs (if he was still there) or Witherspoon + Campbell, or what they got with Gibbs + Campbell +LaPorta ?

If they had gotten Witherspoon at 6 much different draft. Would Holmes have stayed put at 18?Suspect Holmes would have traded up.

One way or another Holmes was trading up to get one of his guys like he did with Branch and we would have ended up with feet players.

 

[Moonlight]

The Lions are trending towards giving Goff a new contract sometime in the next 15 months per @davebirkett

Seems inevitable given that 2023 will be a redshirt year for Hooker. We will likely have no idea of his potential by year end because 1) he'll be rehabbing his torn ACL for several more months, and 2) the Tennessee offense did not in any way resemble any scheme in the NFL. Over the course of his entire career at Tennessee, he completed 15 passes to a receiver who was not his primary target. In 79 pressures in 2022 in which he left the pock, he completed 3 passes for 12 yards. Scheme wise, they frequently ran four verticals (encouragingly, he had outstanding deep ball passing stats.) His receivers always ran choice routes - there is nothing in Hyatt and Tillman's tape that would suggest they were running NFL route trees.

It's going to be a long process getting him acclimated.

You are providing more detail to support what I said previously about him being a bad pick.
He’s not going to help this year and he’s going not get much exposure to assist him going into the year after.

We need a better Quarterback to backup Goff this year. Assuming Teddy is coming here, not sure about that. He may but you can’t say that’s a given or that he will not be given a better opportunity elsewhere.

And as older QBs go you are betting Hooker is an outlier.

My take is you don't want to be the team with one of the highest paid backup QBs. Also if older QBs are an issue, why is 30 year old Teddy a better option than 25 year old Hooker? You know what you are getting with Teddy but that's not necessarily a good thing.

When I was referring to older quarterbacks, I meant quarterbacks who are older coming into the league.

Teddy has demonstrated competence and experience, and though not a Super Bowl quality quarterback, he would a very good back up.

And again the lions do not have a competent and healthy back up quarterback at this time for the upcoming year

He has definitely demonstrated competence and experience, but is he still a good back up? The good options at backup are rather limited, just like starters, but for sake of argument let's just say he is one of the "good" backups. He still went 0-4 as a backup in Miami last year and only lasted 1 snap against the Jets. Miami moved on after 1 season to Mike White.

My take is teams should have rookies as backups and hope they hit, like Brock Purdy, instead of overpaying for journeymen backups like Teddy or Dalton.

I’m not locked into Teddy but am saying he’s a better choice than. Hooker

 

[ffmail4me]

Trade finalized

Rams receive:

• Matthew Stafford

Lions receive:

• Jared Goff
• Ifeatu Melifonwu
• Jameson Williams
• Josh Paschal
• Jahmyr Gibbs
• Sam LaPorta
• Brodric Martin.

And while this is a GREAT return for the Lions, the Rams won a SB. Both sides won here IMO.

 

[Ilov80s]

To be clear, I think they have done a great job and seem like excellent people. I am glad this is who is running the team. The idea he doesn’t care about positional value was just interesting. He should care, right? If other GMs care and experts studying it say it matters, it seems important. We do want to add players that make the team better- of course. But also, I don’t think Gibbs or LaPorta or Campbell were the only guys on the board who would have made the team better.

I think what history has proven is that most GMs, analysts, and so called experts are not very good at this. I think Holmes and Campbell should not care at all what their peers think because there is a greater than 50% chance those people are wrong just based on how many first round picks never pan out every single year.

Yeah but then what does that say about Campbell and Holmes?

 

[Ilov80s]

The Lions are trending towards giving Goff a new contract sometime in the next 15 months per @davebirkett

Seems inevitable given that 2023 will be a redshirt year for Hooker. We will likely have no idea of his potential by year end because 1) he'll be rehabbing his torn ACL for several more months, and 2) the Tennessee offense did not in any way resemble any scheme in the NFL. Over the course of his entire career at Tennessee, he completed 15 passes to a receiver who was not his primary target. In 79 pressures in 2022 in which he left the pock, he completed 3 passes for 12 yards. Scheme wise, they frequently ran four verticals (encouragingly, he had outstanding deep ball passing stats.) His receivers always ran choice routes - there is nothing in Hyatt and Tillman's tape that would suggest they were running NFL route trees.

It's going to be a long process getting him acclimated.

You are providing more detail to support what I said previously about him being a bad pick.
He’s not going to help this year and he’s going not get much exposure to assist him going into the year after.

We need a better Quarterback to backup Goff this year. Assuming Teddy is coming here, not sure about that. He may but you can’t say that’s a given or that he will not be given a better opportunity elsewhere.

And as older QBs go you are betting Hooker is an outlier.

My take is you don't want to be the team with one of the highest paid backup QBs. Also if older QBs are an issue, why is 30 year old Teddy a better option than 25 year old Hooker? You know what you are getting with Teddy but that's not necessarily a good thing.

When I was referring to older quarterbacks, I meant quarterbacks who are older coming into the league.

Teddy has demonstrated competence and experience, and though not a Super Bowl quality quarterback, he would a very good back up.

And again the lions do not have a competent and healthy back up quarterback at this time for the upcoming year

He has definitely demonstrated competence and experience, but is he still a good back up? The good options at backup are rather limited, just like starters, but for sake of argument let's just say he is one of the "good" backups. He still went 0-4 as a backup in Miami last year and only lasted 1 snap against the Jets. Miami moved on after 1 season to Mike White.

My take is teams should have rookies as backups and hope they hit, like Brock Purdy, instead of overpaying for journeymen backups like Teddy or Dalton.

I’m not locked into Teddy but am saying he’s a better choice then. Hooker

Hooker is a developmental QB. There was likely no rookie QB ready to take over a team and win games now.

 

[BobbyLayne]

Albert Beer:

The key to the Lions’ draft was adjusting on the fly

Sitting with the sixth pick didn’t work out for them. Detroit GM Brad Holmes figured if Arizona picked Johnson at No. 3, then one of the two completely clean defenders he saw in the class, Anderson or Illinois Devon Witherspoon, would slip to him. Then, the Cardinals traded out, the Texans took Anderson, and everything got thrown in a blender.

Holmes and Dan Campbell were facing a scenario where the Colts would take a quarterback and Witherspoon, who they’d targeted for months, would land in Seattle. And while the Lions figured the Seahawks might not pull the trigger—GM John Schneider had taken only one corner in the top 100 in 13 drafts in Seattle, and that one was the 90th pick (Shaquill Griffin in 2015)—Detroit still had to prepare for the possibility.

We didn’t think we’d do this at six, Holmes said to Campbell, but who cares? He’s our favorite guy left.

That guy was Alabama RB Jahmyr Gibbs.

My sense is Detroit felt the same way about him as they did Witherspoon—who they targeted months ago, and who they tried to hide their intentions on (they didn’t have Witherspoon in for a 30 visit, and Holmes and Campbell stayed away from his pro day). And who, ultimately, they hoped to pair with Witherspoon.

The initial idea was to get Witherspoon (or Anderson) at No. 6, then trade up from 18 to get Gibbs. Then Arizona traded out, the Colts took Anthony Richardson and, finally, to the Lions’ chagrin, the Seahawks took the draft’s top corner, a scenario under which, indeed, Detroit was ready to say who cares? and break the internet by taking Gibbs.

Thankfully, Monti Ossenfort threw them a life raft.

The Cardinals GM gave Holmes the shot to pick up a high second, slide back six spots and, fingers crossed, still land Gibbs, by staying in front of two teams the Lions heard liked him, in the Patriots (at 14) and the Jets (at 15). So instead of Witherspoon and Gibbs, they wound up with Gibbs, and Iowa LB Jack Campbell (at 18) and TE Sam LaPorta (at 34).

In Gibbs, the Lions had another guy Holmes had long eyed. The GM live-scouted him at Alabama-Texas in September—when he arrived there to evaluate Bryce Young, Bijan Robinson and Anderson, he got a tip to “watch the transfer back from Georgia Tech”—and was impressed, when he was at field level, with how Gibbs was built and how he moved. In time, he’d come to look at Gibbs as more of a weapon than a back, and one who’d fit in his running back room as presently constituted better than Robinson would.

Also, on his 30 visit, Gibbs’s answer when the Lions asked what the best part of his game was—“my intelligence”—stuck with Holmes and Campbell.

As for Campbell, the team saw, rather than just an off-ball linebacker, a bit of a unicorn. He’s 6'5" and 249 pounds, loaded with instincts, plays downhill in the run game, is athletic enough to go sideline to sideline, and has the feel and the feet to cover ground in coverage, while being, in the words of one scout, “a tall tree to throw over.” Bottom line, they felt like he could be a 10-year centerpiece and one that was smart enough to where, per one team official, “he was damn near installing our defense” in their combine meeting with him.

And then, as a bonus for missing on Witherspoon, they get T.J. Hockenson’s replacement with another Hawkeye tight end.

All of which, to me, was a pretty nice recovery from a bumpy start for the rising Lions.

 

[Ilov80s]

After signing the draft picks, Detroit should have about $20 million left in cap space. If the are indeed going for it this year, I would assume they try to spend that.

 

[Ilov80s]

Interesting stuff that Detroit preferred Gibbs to Bijan and LaPorta to Mayer.

 

[King of the Jungle]

After signing the draft picks, Detroit should have about $20 million left in cap space. If the are indeed going for it this year, I would assume they try to spend that.

Any guesses/hunches on where they would spend it?

 

[Ilov80s]

After signing the draft picks, Detroit should have about $20 million left in cap space. If the are indeed going for it this year, I would assume they try to spend that.

Any guesses/hunches on where they would spend it?

Not sure. I would say pass rushers? Can never have too many. Maybe another veteran for the OL. I feel like WR is what they need but it’s a waste land out there.

 

[Ilov80s]

One set of metrics the Lions clearly love are the Next Gen Stats. Detroit has their top draft. 3 drafts in a row that they have loved what the Lions have done.

 

[TwinTurbo]

The Lions are trending towards giving Goff a new contract sometime in the next 15 months per @davebirkett

Seems inevitable given that 2023 will be a redshirt year for Hooker. We will likely have no idea of his potential by year end because 1) he'll be rehabbing his torn ACL for several more months, and 2) the Tennessee offense did not in any way resemble any scheme in the NFL. Over the course of his entire career at Tennessee, he completed 15 passes to a receiver who was not his primary target. In 79 pressures in 2022 in which he left the pock, he completed 3 passes for 12 yards. Scheme wise, they frequently ran four verticals (encouragingly, he had outstanding deep ball passing stats.) His receivers always ran choice routes - there is nothing in Hyatt and Tillman's tape that would suggest they were running NFL route trees.

It's going to be a long process getting him acclimated.

You are providing more detail to support what I said previously about him being a bad pick.
He’s not going to help this year and he’s going not get much exposure to assist him going into the year after.

We need a better Quarterback to backup Goff this year. Assuming Teddy is coming here, not sure about that. He may but you can’t say that’s a given or that he will not be given a better opportunity elsewhere.

And as older QBs go you are betting Hooker is an outlier.

My take is you don't want to be the team with one of the highest paid backup QBs. Also if older QBs are an issue, why is 30 year old Teddy a better option than 25 year old Hooker? You know what you are getting with Teddy but that's not necessarily a good thing.

When I was referring to older quarterbacks, I meant quarterbacks who are older coming into the league.

Teddy has demonstrated competence and experience, and though not a Super Bowl quality quarterback, he would a very good back up.

And again the lions do not have a competent and healthy back up quarterback at this time for the upcoming year

He has definitely demonstrated competence and experience, but is he still a good back up? The good options at backup are rather limited, just like starters, but for sake of argument let's just say he is one of the "good" backups. He still went 0-4 as a backup in Miami last year and only lasted 1 snap against the Jets. Miami moved on after 1 season to Mike White.

My take is teams should have rookies as backups and hope they hit, like Brock Purdy, instead of overpaying for journeymen backups like Teddy or Dalton.

I’m not locked into Teddy but am saying he’s a better choice then. Hooker

Hooker is a developmental QB. There was likely no rookie QB ready to take over a team and win games now.

If not for the ACL tear, Hooker would be just as good of an option as most career backups. Again Teddy was 0-4 last year and Dalton has been 6-8 as the Saints starter. Brissett was 7-9. Hooker could do at least that well with this Lions team and this schedule.

 

[King of the Jungle]

After signing the draft picks, Detroit should have about $20 million left in cap space. If the are indeed going for it this year, I would assume they try to spend that.

Any guesses/hunches on where they would spend it?

Not sure. I would say pass rushers? Can never have too many. Maybe another veteran for the OL. I feel like WR is what they need but it’s a waste land out there.

I would agree. It is possible some decent pass catchers get cut, which I would think the Lion’s would take a close look.

 

[Ilov80s]

If not for the ACL tear, Hooker would be just as good of an option as most career backups. Again Teddy was 0-4 last year and Dalton has been 6-8 as the Saints starter. Brissett was 7-9. Hooker could do at least that well with this Lions team and this schedule.

Not sure I think Hooker minus ACL tear could go 6-8. It’s a big jump from that Vols video game offense to the NFL.

 

[BobbyLayne]

After signing the draft picks, Detroit should have about $20 million left in cap space. If the are indeed going for it this year, I would assume they try to spend that.

@erikschlitt

Lions will have right around $19.7 M available (that number includes signing their draft class)



Without a doubt they will eventually spend all but a few hundred thousand of every penny of the available Cap Space. Some of that allocation might go toward extending Jonah - if they're going that way - or locking up James Houston V if his production continues (he started the year on the practice squad so the 4th year voided.) No reason to preemptively extend Goff, Penei or ARSB, they can wait until next year.

Teddy would cost $8M or so? Still enough left over to sign a couple mercenaries.

 

[jon_mx]

After signing the draft picks, Detroit should have about $20 million left in cap space. If the are indeed going for it this year, I would assume they try to spend that.

Any guesses/hunches on where they would spend it?

I would like to see them extend Goff, Amon-Ra and Penei. You can pay them a bit more up front and spread up their salary lowering the cap hit in future years.

 

[Ilov80s]

After signing the draft picks, Detroit should have about $20 million left in cap space. If the are indeed going for it this year, I would assume they try to spend that.

Any guesses/hunches on where they would spend it?

I would like to see them extend Goff, Amon-Ra and Penei. You can pay them a bit more up front and spread up their salary lowering the cap hit in future years.

Seems kind of early to resign Sewell and Amon Ra, right?

 

[Moonlight]

I mentioned earlier this year that RB would be seen as a priority need going into the 2023 draft. Still see it that way.

Swift is averaging 5.4 yards a carry but for the season is averaging only 7 carries a game. There are strange things going on behind the scenes regarding his usage. Bottom line is that either mentally or physically he has not been up to the task of being a feature back. There seems to be a lack of trust in him. Right now, he looks like a complementary back who gets some touches in hopes of a splash play. If there is a lack of trust in him do not see him being with the team after his contract is up or perhaps sooner.

Williams is a plodder who is on a steep descent path. He may be playing with an injury but if so, it's not being reported. Williams is averaging under 4 yards a carry (3.8) for the season. In the last 8 games he has had 122 carries for 386 yards. Averaging 3.16 a carry. These stats are not what you want in a starting running back.

Is the current problem with the Lions rushing offense the line or the RBs? Something's not working.

Regarding the passing game Swift has had 37 receptions and is averaging 7.8 yds per catch his reception numbers are down some but his average yds per catch is in keeping with previous years. As to Williams his reception numbers are lower (only 11) but his average yds per reception is only 5.5 which is a career low.

Due to Swift's injury history and non- availability and Williams's lack of effectiveness I see the Lions needing to address their RB situation either in the draft or in FA next year in a major way.

Was reviewing past posts and my thoughts about the Lions over the course of the year and came across this one.
They say even a blind pig can find an acorn every once in a while.

 

[BobbyLayne]

I mentioned earlier this year that RB would be seen as a priority need going into the 2023 draft. Still see it that way.

Swift is averaging 5.4 yards a carry but for the season is averaging only 7 carries a game. There are strange things going on behind the scenes regarding his usage. Bottom line is that either mentally or physically he has not been up to the task of being a feature back. There seems to be a lack of trust in him. Right now, he looks like a complementary back who gets some touches in hopes of a splash play. If there is a lack of trust in him do not see him being with the team after his contract is up or perhaps sooner.

Williams is a plodder who is on a steep descent path. He may be playing with an injury but if so, it's not being reported. Williams is averaging under 4 yards a carry (3.8) for the season. In the last 8 games he has had 122 carries for 386 yards. Averaging 3.16 a carry. These stats are not what you want in a starting running back.

Is the current problem with the Lions rushing offense the line or the RBs? Something's not working.

Regarding the passing game Swift has had 37 receptions and is averaging 7.8 yds per catch his reception numbers are down some but his average yds per catch is in keeping with previous years. As to Williams his reception numbers are lower (only 11) but his average yds per reception is only 5.5 which is a career low.

Due to Swift's injury history and non- availability and Williams's lack of effectiveness I see the Lions needing to address their RB situation either in the draft or in FA next year in a major way.

Was reviewing past posts and my thoughts about the Lions over the course of the year and came across this one.
They say even a blind pig can find an acorn every once in a while.

Dude has some of the worst vision I've ever seen. Never seen one back turn that many 30-40 yard splash plays into an 8 yard gain short of the sticks.

Special talent but he's got a baffling postsnap processor.

Hoping the new environment helps him get his career back on track. I don't think he would have seen very many touches if he stuck around, good move for all concerned.

 

[Moonlight]

After all the enthusiasm from the preseason, fans and media turning on Lions after going 1-6 and the Hockenson trade.

I'm a die hard and have more patience. Because I see the significant improvements on offense this year and except for New England the team has been in every game this year.

You can not fix everything all at once. I'm fine with what has happened with the offense this year and expect the defense to be much better next year. We should start seeing some improvement on defense this year as we go along. Lions have had bad luck with the number of injuries and drafting injured players doesn't help.

I've said it before and I'll say it again Holmes and Campbell are still learning on the job. I like Campbell's enthusiasm, optimism and his lack of fear. If the fake punt against Miami had failed Campbell would have been crucified. I do not know if the call was made from the sideline or was Jacobs' discretion but in any way it was ballsy.
The Hockenson trade was a ballsy move by Holmes as well. He knew the flak he was going to get. But he is betting he can get Hockenson's production at a cheaper price with better blocking.

I have been so irritated at Campbell when his lack of fear turns to recklessness but i think its something he's improving.

There is a lot more I could say but it comes down to having faith in Speilman and Campbell. And I like Sheila. Its refreshing after hating Old Man Ford so long.

Another golden oldie.
BTW I probably wont put any of the posts here where I was wrong as hell.

 

[TartanLion]

A stiff breeze would send Teddy to the medical tent and rule him out for the game.

 

[jon_mx]

The Lions offense once Williams gets back will have that Greatest Show on Turf feel. This could be the top offense in the NFL. They will be some growing pains with rookies and missing Jamo for 6 weeks, but once they start cooking, watch out.

 

[BobbyLayne]

The Lions are bringing XFL kicker John Parker Romo for rookie minicamp tryout, Romo has drawn interest from multiple NFL teams as well.​

 

[BobbyLayne]

BTW I probably wont put any of the posts here where I was wrong as hell.

I think I have a couple 12/13 win predictions sprinkled in during the mid-2010s. This year I might actually be right.

 

[BobbyLayne]

Pride of Detroit: updated 89 man roster/depth chart

still holding one spot open, hopefully have a veteran signing this week

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Per A99's post: The last 4 SB winners ranked 1, 5, 2, and 5 in passing yardage and 20, 25, 28, and 23 in rushing yardage.

They only spent a 7th rounder on WR but did get the best pass catching RB in the draft as well as the best pass catching TE. Throw in the eventual return of Jackpot Jamo and they should be ok in that regard.

Edit: Lions ranked 7th last year.

 

[BobbyLayne]

Gibbs snaps/alignment at Alabama:

Backfield 375
Slot 42
Wide 45
Kick Coverage 1
Kick Return 50
Punt Return 4

 

[BobbyLayne]

Brian Branch missed only 4 tackles on 174 career attempts.

He is the best tackling defensive back PFF has graded over 9 years of college data.

 

[BobbyLayne]

Kyle Meinke throwing McAfee some shade

 

[Moonlight]

Lions drafting of Brodric Martin and Jack Campbell reflects their commitment to stop the run. Lions by whatever measure you use were lacking in run defense last year.
Martin has been described as an immovable object in the middle and will be used at nose tackle..
Campbell is a Big powerful athletic linebacker with great instincts.

The Carolina game cost the Lions a playoff spot and the Panthers destroyed the Lions on the ground. No one wants to see that repeated