2022 NFL Draft Thread

[Mr.TaterSalad]

Far be it from me to criticize another person's take on the draft. I wanted Connor Cook in the 3rd round and thought he'd be a serviceable NFL starter. But the guy at Walter Football has us passing on Hutchison and taking Drake London with the #2 pick overall. I think this board, this fan base, the radio crowd, beat writers, everyone would explode if they passed on an Edge Rusher/DE for Drake London at #2.

[buddha]

15 minutes ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

Far be it from me to criticize another person's take on the draft. I wanted Connor Cook in the 3rd round and thought he'd be a serviceable NFL starter. But the guy at Walter Football has us passing on Hutchison and taking Drake London with the #2 pick overall. I think this board, this fan base, the radio crowd, beat writers, everyone would explode if they passed on an Edge Rusher/DE for Drake London at #2.

that's click bait.

[Mr.TaterSalad]

32 minutes ago, buddha said:

that's click bait.

I clicked, so it worked.

[buddha]

35 minutes ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

I clicked, so it worked.

they do like new mock drafts every other day and switch it up for no real reason other than to have something new to talk about.

[MichiganCardinal]

Walt Cherepinsky of WalterFootball is Captain ClickBait. To his credit, he built his site and business by being brilliant about the future of internet searches and catalogs. When I was younger, if you searched "NFL mock draft" on Google, Yahoo, or Ask Jeeves (lol), this random site, WalterFootball.com, would appear, because he would get people to share his URL on their page in exchange for posting their mock draft or whatever on his site. He blasted his URL everywhere, got a lot of people to share his "product", and it basically tricked the search engine into improving his search results to the top of the list. Not ESPN or NFL.com or CBS. This random dude's site. He was way ahead of the search engine algorithm and made a lucrative career out of it. Today, he is still just a random computer nerd, who has racist tendencies and whose site has grown into being borderline unreadable because he sells every square inch of webspace. His information should not be taken to heart.

That said, he does employ a very savvy team of insiders, in particular Charlie Campbell. Campbell has very little vested interest in clickbait, has an ear in multiple NFL circles, and historically hits a large percentage of his final mock draft picks. Campbell was actually the first to mock London to the Lions at #2, and he did so shortly after the Senior Bowl, which he attended. This is what he wrote about the Lions after the Senior Bowl:

That last line about being open for trade offers was stated publicly by Holmes, but everything above that sounds like somebody within the Lions was talking. I tend to believe it though. That's not to say that the Lions are going to take London at #2, but it could mean they are in a similar position as we were a few years ago with Okudah where it did not make sense to take Okudah at #3, but it was claimed no one wanted to move up, so they just took Okudah. 

I don't believe the Quinn regime that there were just no possibilities to move down from the #3 pick in 2020 with the goal of still picking Okudah. It might not have been a perfect trade on the chart, but someone would have given up a little to move up. The same could be the case this year. I could see us "losing" a trade by dropping to somewhere around #6 - #13 and "only" getting a 2nd or 3rd round pick back, or even less... But then picking up one of London or Wilson at that first pick, and getting what they really wanted anyway.

[Hongbit]

London is a wild card at the moment based on what he runs.   Not sure anyone has a good idea on what he will put up.   Mike Evans ran 4.52 and was picked 7th.   If London can run the same or less then he’s a top 10 pick.   If he runs 4.6 - 4.65 then I he stays in that 10-15 range.   Not sure what happens if he runs a 4.7 or higher.   Maybe he slips all the way to late 1st.  

[Cruzer1]

7 hours ago, Hongbit said:

London is a wild card at the moment based on what he runs.   Not sure anyone has a good idea on what he will put up.   Mike Evans ran 4.52 and was picked 7th.   If London can run the same or less then he’s a top 10 pick.   If he runs 4.6 - 4.65 then I he stays in that 10-15 range.   Not sure what happens if he runs a 4.7 or higher.   Maybe he slips all the way to late 1st.  

I agree, he's quicker than fast.

[KL2]

9 hours ago, MichiganCardinal said:

Walt Cherepinsky of WalterFootball is Captain ClickBait. To his credit, he built his site and business by being brilliant about the future of internet searches and catalogs. When I was younger, if you searched "NFL mock draft" on Google, Yahoo, or Ask Jeeves (lol), this random site, WalterFootball.com, would appear, because he would get people to share his URL on their page in exchange for posting their mock draft or whatever on his site. He blasted his URL everywhere, got a lot of people to share his "product", and it basically tricked the search engine into improving his search results to the top of the list. Not ESPN or NFL.com or CBS. This random dude's site. He was way ahead of the search engine algorithm and made a lucrative career out of it. Today, he is still just a random computer nerd, who has racist tendencies and whose site has grown into being borderline unreadable because he sells every square inch of webspace. His information should not be taken to heart.

That said, he does employ a very savvy team of insiders, in particular Charlie Campbell. Campbell has very little vested interest in clickbait, has an ear in multiple NFL circles, and historically hits a large percentage of his final mock draft picks. Campbell was actually the first to mock London to the Lions at #2, and he did so shortly after the Senior Bowl, which he attended. This is what he wrote about the Lions after the Senior Bowl:

That last line about being open for trade offers was stated publicly by Holmes, but everything above that sounds like somebody within the Lions was talking. I tend to believe it though. That's not to say that the Lions are going to take London at #2, but it could mean they are in a similar position as we were a few years ago with Okudah where it did not make sense to take Okudah at #3, but it was claimed no one wanted to move up, so they just took Okudah. 

I don't believe the Quinn regime that there were just no possibilities to move down from the #3 pick in 2020 with the goal of still picking Okudah. It might not have been a perfect trade on the chart, but someone would have given up a little to move up. The same could be the case this year. I could see us "losing" a trade by dropping to somewhere around #6 - #13 and "only" getting a 2nd or 3rd round pick back, or even less... But then picking up one of London or Wilson at that first pick, and getting what they really wanted anyway.

Isn't that whole idea based on a terrible permise?

Like we're not in love with one of the top DEs and can get a good one later. But, isn't that also true for WR? Like is Landon that much better than the Arkansas guy or David Bell or whomever? And I think we can all agree its easier to find a good WR at the 30s than it is to find a pro-bowl level DE. 

Like I'd get the argument if it was one of the WR from last year, sure. But, Landon? really?

[MichiganCardinal]

3 minutes ago, KL2 said:

Isn't that whole idea based on a terrible permise?

Like we're not in love with one of the top DEs and can get a good one later. But, isn't that also true for WR? Like is Landon that much better than the Arkansas guy or David Bell or whomever? And I think we can all agree its easier to find a good WR at the 30s than it is to find a pro-bowl level DE. 

Like I'd get the argument if it was one of the WR from last year, sure. But, Landon? really?

I think it's all in the eyes of the beholder. If the Lions scouts have London graded as Mike Evans 2.0 as Campbell speculated, then yes, I suppose he likely is graded that much better than Burke and Bell.

I don't really get your point about good WRs vs. Pro Bowl DEs in the 30s. Of course that's true, but it's also true that it is easier to find a good DE in the 30s than a Pro Bowl WR. Your #2 pick, whether a WR, DE, or otherwise, should be better long-term than your #32 pick... Maybe we disagree, but I do think there is some truth to the notion that there is more depth to the top tier of the EDGE class this year than the WR class. Jermaine Johnson, Drake Jackson, Arnold Ebiketie, and Travon Walker could each be there at #32 and/or #34, and I think each has the potential to develop into being the best EDGE rusher from this class. It's less likely they do than Hutch, Thib, Ojabo, or Karlaftis does, but it's still possible... Personally I don't think it's as likely that someone other than Garrett Wilson, Drake London, Chris Olave, or Jameson Williams turns into the best WR from this class. I'm not holding my breath on any of them being there at 32, unless we get real lucky with Williams.

[KL2]

49 minutes ago, MichiganCardinal said:

I think it's all in the eyes of the beholder. If the Lions scouts have London graded as Mike Evans 2.0 as Campbell speculated, then yes, I suppose he likely is graded that much better than Burke and Bell.

I don't really get your point about good WRs vs. Pro Bowl DEs in the 30s. Of course that's true, but it's also true that it is easier to find a good DE in the 30s than a Pro Bowl WR. Your #2 pick, whether a WR, DE, or otherwise, should be better long-term than your #32 pick... Maybe we disagree, but I do think there is some truth to the notion that there is more depth to the top tier of the EDGE class this year than the WR class. Jermaine Johnson, Drake Jackson, Arnold Ebiketie, and Travon Walker could each be there at #32 and/or #34, and I think each has the potential to develop into being the best EDGE rusher from this class. It's less likely they do than Hutch, Thib, Ojabo, or Karlaftis does, but it's still possible... Personally I don't think it's as likely that someone other than Garrett Wilson, Drake London, Chris Olave, or Jameson Williams turns into the best WR from this class. I'm not holding my breath on any of them being there at 32, unless we get real lucky with Williams.

Sorry tiredness. Good and pro bowler were being interchanged there. There are way mroe cases of top flight WR after the first round than top flight DEs thoughout history no? That was my point, that its way easier to find a Kenny Golladay in round 3, as there have been lots of them in history, than to find a Jared Allen.

I mean the top five sack leaders last year, teh top four went in round 1. Compared to either the top receiving yards or TD leaders, where only two went in round one and two others went in round 2. 

I don't disagree that there are lots of DE in this class, I also think there's lots of good WR and the drop off from London to a Bell is small. Compared to what some believe what Tibs or Hutchinson could become compared to Ebiketie. 

If they made the case to take a LB, or another position sure. I just don't get the argument that you pass on one of the top rated players to take the same position 30 picks later for a WR that nobody thinks is a prospect on a Calvin or even the top three from last year level. 

Edited February 26, 2022 by KL2

[MichiganCardinal]

11 hours ago, KL2 said:

Sorry tiredness. Good and pro bowler were being interchanged there. There are way mroe cases of top flight WR after the first round than top flight DEs thoughout history no? That was my point, that its way easier to find a Kenny Golladay in round 3, as there have been lots of them in history, than to find a Jared Allen.

I mean the top five sack leaders last year, teh top four went in round 1. Compared to either the top receiving yards or TD leaders, where only two went in round one and two others went in round 2. 

I don't disagree that there are lots of DE in this class, I also think there's lots of good WR and the drop off from London to a Bell is small. Compared to what some believe what Tibs or Hutchinson could become compared to Ebiketie. 

If they made the case to take a LB, or another position sure. I just don't get the argument that you pass on one of the top rated players to take the same position 30 picks later for a WR that nobody thinks is a prospect on a Calvin or even the top three from last year level. 

At the end of the day I think it comes down to how Holmes and his scouting department see not only London/Wilson/Hutch/Thib, but also how they see the draft class as a whole, in efforts to maximize their value at each pick. To be overly simplistic for a second, if they grade Hutch at 93 and Johnson/Ebiketie at 88, but have Drake London at 91 and Pickens/Dotson at 80, it might make more sense to go London early and Johnson late, even if you think Hutch could develop into a better player than either.

In a similar circumstance last year, the Bengals took Chase over Sewell. Most (at least in the media) had Sewell graded higher than Chase, but the Bengals needed both OT and WR help and thought they could wait to address the O-Line in the 2nd round. They ultimately picked up Jackson Carman out of Clemson, who himself had 1st Round grades. It worked out for them last year (even though Carman hasn't been that great so far and had to switch to Guard), until the Super Bowl, where their line cost them.

If we pick up an elite WR at #2 (or early to mid 1st round) and a good edge rusher in the late 1st or early 2nd, I'm perfectly okay with that. I would expect for that 1st round WR to be really good though - clearly better than a Golladay or St. Brown.

[Cruzer1]

This is my ideal draft for the Lions...

• 
  2.
  Aidan Hutchinson

  EDGE Michigan
   
• 
  32.
  Jaquan Brisker

  S Penn State
   
• 
  35.
  Trent McDuffie

  CB Washington
  
• 
  66.
  Malik Willis

  QB Liberty
   
• 
  97.
  Christian Watson

  WR North Dakota State
   
• 
  177.
  Skyy Moore

  WR Western Michigan
   
• 
  180.
  James Mitchell

  TE Virginia Tech
   
• 
  218.
  Julius Turner

  DT Rutgers
   
• 
  232.
  Kana'i Mauga

  LB USC

[Jason_R]

19 hours ago, Cruzer1 said:

This is my ideal draft for the Lions...

• 
  2.
  Aidan Hutchinson

  EDGE Michigan
   
• 
  32.
  Jaquan Brisker

  S Penn State
   
• 
  35.
  Trent McDuffie

  CB Washington
  
• 
  66.
  Malik Willis

  QB Liberty
   
• 
  97.
  Christian Watson

  WR North Dakota State
   
• 
  177.
  Skyy Moore

  WR Western Michigan
   
• 
  180.
  James Mitchell

  TE Virginia Tech
   
• 
  218.
  Julius Turner

  DT Rutgers
   
• 
  232.
  Kana'i Mauga

  LB USC

Willis might be gone at 6. They could run this draft a thousand times and he would never fall to 66. 

[Cruzer1]

12 hours ago, Jason_R said:

Willis might be gone at 6. They could run this draft a thousand times and he would never fall to 66. 

He's not going that high.

[Cruzer1]

 

[buddha]

willis will blow people away at the combine and be taken high on athleticism alone.

the lions dont need another tiny receiver, they need an X receiver.  they already have st. brown.  i suppose if the value is there in later rounds they could take moore.

[RedRamage]

On 2/25/2022 at 1:04 PM, MichiganCardinal said:

That last line about being open for trade offers was stated publicly by Holmes, but everything above that sounds like somebody within the Lions was talking. I tend to believe it though. That's not to say that the Lions are going to take London at #2, but it could mean they are in a similar position as we were a few years ago with Okudah where it did not make sense to take Okudah at #3, but it was claimed no one wanted to move up, so they just took Okudah. 

I don't believe the Quinn regime that there were just no possibilities to move down from the #3 pick in 2020 with the goal of still picking Okudah. It might not have been a perfect trade on the chart, but someone would have given up a little to move up. The same could be the case this year. I could see us "losing" a trade by dropping to somewhere around #6 - #13 and "only" getting a 2nd or 3rd round pick back, or even less... But then picking up one of London or Wilson at that first pick, and getting what they really wanted anyway.

While this may be someone within the Lions talking, this is the time of year when you should believe 0.00% of stuff coming out of the mouths of NFL front office personnel. 

I know that that's nothing earth shattering and that the mark of a good reporter is one who can sift through all the BS and find the bits of truth.  But if the Lions were trying to drum up interest in their pick from a trade stand point, this is how you do it: By hinting that you might be taking someone that someone else really wants.  If everyone one "knowns" that you taking either Hutch or Thib then you have fewer trade partners.  The most uncertainty you can create the better shot you have of someone being nervous enough to trade up to be SURE that they'll get their man.

[Hongbit]

2 hours ago, Cruzer1 said:

 

Moore is a stud but we’ve got St. Brown.  They look like very similar players.  

Where do you see the fit with the Lions?

[RandyMarsh]

BTW even though we have the 2nd pick and 2 first rounders for the first time Im just not looking forward to the draft as much as I have the last couple years. 

Like last year there were a bunch of different scenarios that were possible and excited me. Were we gonna take the top flight pass catcher in Pitts, Chase, Smith or Waddle? Would we take Lance or Fields if they fall, would we trade down and get a bounty if one were to fall, would we go with the top defender(most thought Parsons at this time) or the thing that eventually happened with Sewell.

In the previous draft we speculated if we would go Okudah, Brown,Simmons or if we were lucky if we could get bounty from a team that wanted to trade up for Tua.

The scenarios this year just don't excite me. 

[1984Echoes]

8 hours ago, Cruzer1 said:

He's not going that high.

He's not going that low (66).

[Cruzer1]

19 hours ago, Hongbit said:

Moore is a stud but we’ve got St. Brown.  They look like very similar players.  

Where do you see the fit with the Lions?

Everywhere, like St. Brown.

[Mr.TaterSalad]

Where do we project Skyy Moore to be drafted at? As has been said, we need a big-bodied, tall guy who can operate as our #1. So I'm not taking more in either of the first two rounds. He seems like the type of prospect that you'd love to get with a late 3rd or 4th round pick. I feel like he'll be gone past the mid 3rd round though.

[buddha]

2 hours ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

Where do we project Skyy Moore to be drafted at? As has been said, we need a big-bodied, tall guy who can operate as our #1. So I'm not taking more in either of the first two rounds. He seems like the type of prospect that you'd love to get with a late 3rd or 4th round pick. I feel like he'll be gone past the mid 3rd round though.

4th round or lower, like st brown was.

lots of little slot receivers in college, not as many in the pros for a reason.

[MichiganCardinal]

19 minutes ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

Where do we project Skyy Moore to be drafted at? As has been said, we need a big-bodied, tall guy who can operate as our #1. So I'm not taking more in either of the first two rounds. He seems like the type of prospect that you'd love to get with a late 3rd or 4th round pick. I feel like he'll be gone past the mid 3rd round though.

I'm not as high on him. I think he's a 4th round pick or later, and would fit more as our #3 behind someone else and St. Brown, though I've also read that some pundits are falling in love with him. He's only 5'10", which though not necessarily a death sentence for a WR, makes it a lot harder to become a #1 guy. Guys like TY Hilton, Antonio Brown, Steve Smith, and DeSean Jackson have done it, but they each possess game-breaking speed (sub 4.40 40) that I don't think Moore has. I could be wrong, we'll find out soon enough.

I think Moore's absolute ceiling is a Golden Tate type, a really good slot receiver who excels when he does not have to be the #1 guy. If that's who he becomes, I'd be all about a 3rd or 4th round pick for him. I think it would be much more likely that he and St. Brown end up being two guys for one role, and St. Brown is likely better.

I like Wan'Dale Robinson more for that #3 WR role in the 3rd round, if he's still there. He's a guy you can put on the outside as your vertical speed threat. Jalen Tolbert would be in consideration if Robinson is gone, for the same reason.

[Mr.TaterSalad]

Charlie Campbell is reporting Drake London will not run the 40 at the combine. Either that's code word for he's injured or he's slow if it is indeed true.