2023 NFL Draft Weekend Thread

[thehippo73]

Here's my take on our picks.

Gibbs - Good fit. Better version of Swift.
Campbell - Bigger faster LB. Exactly what we needed
LaPorta - Upgraded receiving TE. Not a value pick.
Branch - Best Lions pick. Love our secondary now.
Hooker - I think he is Bridgewater 2.0. Great long term pick
Martin - Horrible pick. Dude is all upper body and that's terrible for a NT. He'll be cut by 2025. Terrible pick.
Sorsdal - Decent body. Will compete for a back up spot.
Green - Fast WR with good speed. I already like him better than Cephus.

My draft expectations for every draft
1st Rd - Perennial starter potential pro bowl
2nd - Solid starter pro bowl adjacent
3rd - Possible starter good rotation guy
4th -7th Depth

 

[tomdalton22]

Here's my take on our picks.

Gibbs - Good fit. Better version of Swift.
Campbell - Bigger faster LB. Exactly what we needed
LaPorta - Upgraded receiving TE. Not a value pick.
Hooker - I think he is Bridgewater 2.0. Great long term pick
Martin - Horrible pick. Dude is all upper body and that's terrible for a NT. He'll be cut by 2025. Terrible pick.
Sorsdal - Decent body. Will compete for a back up spot.
Green - Fast WR with good speed. I already like him better than Cephus.

My draft expectations for every draft
1st Rd - Perennial starter potential pro bowl
2nd - Solid starter pro bowl adjacent
3rd - Possible starter good rotation guy
4th -7th Depth

You missed the best player they drafted, Brian Branch

 

[thehippo73]

You missed the best player they drafted, Brian Branch

Fixed. Thanks.

 

[thehippo73]

I think the reason our draft has been looked down from the outside is the positional value. Our first 4 picks were the 4 lowest positional value spots. But if you look at the players, we did fine.

 

[boogerlovejoy]

I think the reason our draft has been looked down from the outside is the positional value. Our first 4 picks were the 4 lowest positional value spots. But if you look at the players, we did fine.

And some of the time that's BS too. Look at Baltimore....trading for Roquan Smith completely changed their defense. COMPLETELY. Allowed 8 PPG less with him than without. That is a significant jump. Their numbers were better across the board with him.

SF traded a haul for CMC....went 10-1 with him I believe.

MLB and RB's can have a big impact. I don't expect Jack Campbell to be Roquan Smith but he could have an impact similar to Smith's.

I think Gibbs is a slight talent upgrade over Swift, but the Lions just needed someone they can count on to be on the field and not in the training room.

Here is my GUESS as to why those 2 were drafted. They are bigger upgrades for their positions than Holmes/Campbell thought any other available players were.

 

[tomdalton22]

And some of the time that's BS too. Look at Baltimore....trading for Roquan Smith completely changed their defense. COMPLETELY. Allowed 8 PPG less with him than without. That is a significant jump. Their numbers were better across the board with him.

SF traded a haul for CMC....went 10-1 with him I believe.

MLB and RB's can have a big impact. I don't expect Jack Campbell to be Roquan Smith but he could have an impact similar to Smith's.

I think Gibbs is a slight talent upgrade over Swift, but the Lions just needed someone they can count on to be on the field and not in the training room.

Here is my GUESS as to why those 2 were drafted. They are bigger upgrades for their positions than Holmes/Campbell thought any other available players were.

you are comparing these two rookies to all pro players.

 

[LKP]

Lions allowed 20.2 PPG the final 10 games (11th best) with a rag tag secondary of Okudah/Jacobs/Hughes, missing Walker and average LBs at best in AA and rookie Rodriguez. Once Lions Dline got healthy second half (Cominsky, Paschal some, Buggs to nose, Romeo Okwara some) and they figured out the secondary without Walker a little bit (Joseph and Elliot stepping up)

Secondary has been massively overhauled for the better (Sutton, Moseley, CGJ, Branch, Walker back), LB has been upgraded (not all pro but also not all pro prices of 20 per like Roquan) but should be an upgrade. The Defensive line is good (and deep at EDGE) (and added some beef in Martin to pair with Alim/Buggs and would expect some young player progression too.

Defense has a good chance to match that 20.2 PPG again or even slightly better I would say which is borderline top 10. The defense from 2021 and first half of 2022 and Patricia era is long gone. And now Harris/Romeo/Paschal is great depth, Malcolm Rodriguez is good depth) and would say Brian Branch and Jerry Jacobs (solid and experienced), Will Harris (solid in slot, manageable at outside at 2nd CB backup, but not safety) is all good depth.

No all pros were added but many good and upgrades were added on the back end.

Offense, Gibbs and La Porta is interesting and will be needed with Jameson suspension. Chark to Marvin is a downgrade. Vaitai health is an upgrade at RG. Cohesion year 2 with Ben Johnson too so for Oline and Goff and St Brown/Reynolds/Raymond/Brock Wright/James Mitchell they know what they are doing already. I think we still have a top 5 offense though (we managed one even with Chark, Jameson, Vaitai missing alot of time last year too).

 

[boogerlovejoy]

you are comparing these two rookies to all pro players.

LOL.....you have to have a little reading comprehension. I'm commenting on the impact a MLB and dynamic RB can have on a unit regardless of if they play a "high value" position.

Didn't compare the players to one another at any time and actually mentioned I don't expect Campbell to be Roquan Smith.

Honestly, did you actually read the post?

 

[tomdalton22]

LOL.....you have to have a little reading comprehension. I'm commenting on the impact a MLB and dynamic RB can have on a unit regardless of if they play a "high value" position.

Didn't compare the players to one another at any time and actually mentioned I don't expect Campbell to be Roquan Smith.

Honestly, did you actually read the post?

yes, but why mention teams that add all pro's? An all pro at any position will be an upgrade. Adding unproven rookies could be a downgrade for all we know.

 

[LKP]

yes, but why mention teams that add all pro's? An all pro at any position will be an upgrade. Adding unproven rookies could be a downgrade for all we know.

Campbell is replacing an unproven rookie from 2022. 1st round talent vs 6th round talent and Anzalone a proven better WILL than MIKE. So 2 for 1 there. We still have Rodriguez too if Campbell proves to be not an upgrade.

Also Lions added like 4 new CBs. That is probably worth more than one all pro. Clear upgrades over Okudah, Jacobs, Harris, Hughes too. Hence Jacobs and Harris to the bench and Okudah traded and Hughes walks in FA. Sutton and Moseley when healthy are proven good. CGJ proven good. Branch an unknown but slot depth if CGJ is the slot.

Walker upgrade over Elliot for sure. Joseph better in year 2 most likely (but not always a guarantee)

Dline is proven good and deeper with health now of Harris, Romeo. Hutch and Paschal improve in year 2? Cominsky did really good things and proved to be a good starter at closed end/inside. James Houston did great things too with limited snaps (Julian O good depth behind him if he even makes the roster). Lions are deep enough to cut Julian at camp cuts.

Martin talent upgrade over Benito Jones but alot to prove. Really low bar for Martin. Benito still here too. McNeil and Buggs are good and average

Gibbs over Swift is a good debate though. Seems Gibbs can be healthier until proven otherwise and more pass catching talent and more decisive runner. We know what Swift is and now, we don't have to pay him on a 2nd contract

Montgomery over Jamaal is a good debate too.

Marvin over Chark is a downgrade. St Brown still elite. Reynolds solid, Kalif solid

11 games of Jameson still an upgrade over 5 games of rookie Jameson

La Porta/Wright/Mitchell year 2 is an upgrade over Hock half a year, unknown Wright and Mitchell rookie off the ACL

Goff year 2 of the system. Upgrade

Hooker upgrade for backup QB when healthy and still had Sudfeld

 

[boogerlovejoy]

yes, but why mention teams that add all pro's? An all pro at any position will be an upgrade. Adding unproven rookies could be a downgrade for all we know.

Fuck, man.....let me walk you through this like you're a child.

1. Teams draft players (especially in the first round) to have a big impact on the team and how they play.

2. Though MLB and RB are not considered "premium" positions in the draft, there are teams out there that really improved when they upgraded those positions.

3. The Ravens and 49ers are two of those teams.

4. If Campbell and Gibbs turn out to be good players, they can have a huge impact on their new team even though they don't play "premium" positions. Hence the Lions "bad" draft could turn out to have big impacts on the team even though the guys they drafted don't play those "value" positions.

Again. No player comparisons. It doesn't NEED to be mentioned to most people that my thoughts are assuming that Campbell and Gibbs need to be good players to have a positive impact.

Making a point to you is like throwing darts at a dartboard that is 50ft away. Every once in a while one will hit the board.......most just go sailing right by.

 

[tomdalton22]

Fuck, man.....let me walk you through this like you're a child.

1. Teams draft players (especially in the first round) to have a big impact on the team and how they play.

2. Though MLB and RB are not considered "premium" positions in the draft, there are teams out there that really improved when they upgraded those positions.

3. The Ravens and 49ers are two of those teams.

4. If Campbell and Gibbs turn out to be good players, they can have a huge impact on their new team even though they don't play "premium" positions. Hence the Lions "bad" draft could turn out to have big impacts on the team even though the guys they drafted don't play those "value" positions.

Again. No player comparisons. It doesn't NEED to be mentioned to most people that my thoughts are assuming that Campbell and Gibbs need to be good players to have a positive impact.

Making a point to you is like throwing darts at a dartboard that is 50ft away. Every once in a while one will hit the board.......most just go sailing right by.

I knew exactly what you were saying. I was just telling you that it was a stupid point to involve all pro players.

You should probably find a scenario where a team improved dramatically after they drafted a first round RB and a first round middle linebacker. Not two teams that added all pros at those positions.

The bottom line is they added two players, one was a need (MLB), and the other was just replacing somebody that wasn't able to stay healthy. The LB is probably going to upgrade the run D a little bit and the RB probably won't impact the offense very much. That's OK though. I think the DBs are going to be a little better and the D did improve during the 2nd half of the season. The team is heading in the right direction and I fully expect that they will make the playoffs this year.

 

[mhughes0021]

Thought our draft did a great job of plugging more holes.

Unfortunately were like 0/3 on drafting undersized RBs. Best abdullah and swift... all terrible production for where they were picked.

Add in leshoure and Kevin Smith and we're not very good at drafting rbs no matter their size.

Holmes fixed the line first ... now hopefully Gibbs can benefit. Smart GMing.... finally.

 

[byco42]

Thought our draft did a great job of plugging more holes.

Unfortunately were like 0/3 on drafting undersized RBs. Best abdullah and swift... all terrible production for where they were picked.

Add in leshoure and Kevin Smith and we're not very good at drafting rbs no matter their size.

Holmes fixed the line first ... now hopefully Gibbs can benefit. Smart GMing.... finally.

Lions used to be good at this:

Farr, Owens, Jones (x2), Sims, Taylor, Pietrosante, Droughns, Bussey ... am I missing anyone???

 

[Mitchrapp]

Lions used to be good at this:

Farr, Owens, Jones (x2), Sims, Taylor, Pietrosante, Droughns, Bussey ... am I missing anyone???

Ah yeah, Barry.

 

[byco42]

Ah yeah, Barry.

Right. I "forgot" Barry ... Maroney. Drafted in 1958 out of Cincinnati. But he didn't make the team and never played a down in the NFL.

 

[LKP]

Thought our draft did a great job of plugging more holes.

Unfortunately were like 0/3 on drafting undersized RBs. Best abdullah and swift... all terrible production for where they were picked.

Add in leshoure and Kevin Smith and we're not very good at drafting rbs no matter their size.

Holmes fixed the line first ... now hopefully Gibbs can benefit. Smart GMing.... finally.

4/5ths of the line was brought in by Quinn. But Sewell was a great pick and he had to see what Swift had for two cheap years and brought in Jamaal cheap too. So smart play in the rebuild. Gibbs is still cheap and really doesn't seem like much of a lost opportunity cost missing out on the players that went after Gibbs. But then again nobody whined too much about missing out on Donald (because we had Suh and Fairley and went 11-5) or OBJ (we had Calvin and Tate) until after the rookie or second year for them compared to Ebron 2014/2015. There will be hindsight but nobody saw any of those other prospects being studs, just better positional value.

But also with Gibbs, it means don't have to worry about paying Swift on 2nd contract. Same with La Porta and Hock. And same with Campbell, not overpaying Edmunds 18 per. No worries about a second RB or TE contract for quite some time. And 2024 draft and FA can be all the Dline and CBs and QBs you desire. We won't be double dipping at LB or RB in 2024. That is perceived to be set.

Hoping using the early 1st rounder pays off instead of the day 2 pick. Already big expectations like with Hock and Ebron basically. The TE, RB, LB whatever better be pretty great if you use a high to mid 1st on them.

 

[LKP]

https://www.prideofdetroit.com/2023...mpbell-19th-pick-detroit-lions-calijah-kancey

Bucs would have taken Campbell if Lions took Kancey. Guess Campbell wasn't a reach either. Gibbs would have gone top 15 too for sure. Branch a steal and Bengals love La Porta over Mayer. Zero reaches

 

[tomdalton22]

https://www.prideofdetroit.com/2023...mpbell-19th-pick-detroit-lions-calijah-kancey

Bucs would have taken Campbell if Lions took Kancey. Guess Campbell wasn't a reach either. Gibbs would have gone top 15 too for sure. Branch a steal and Bengals love La Porta over Mayer. Zero reaches

I would rather have Kancey

 

[Mitchrapp]

Just because another team would take him at 19 doesn't mean it wasn't a reach. Multiple teams thought about drafting Tebow in the first round. Still a big reach.