The official 2018 nfl draft thread

[SoCalLions]

I was reading an article about the Patriots and their decision to skip out on any front 7 guys in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. They obviously have similar thinking as us since both our coach and GM were bred in NE. Patriots are in the same boat as the Lions as they both need to upgrade their front sevens. If you look at picks #20 to #51, there are 23 out of 32 offensive players. They didn't think anyone was on the board worth drafting at #51 and traded for #105 and a 2019 second rounder from Chicago. They essentially drafted the same things as us in the same order. OL, RB, and DB. Neither team had a front seven prospect that they thought was a good value in the middle rounds. Caserio mentioned after they picked Dawson at #56 that they were done for the day. They didn't sound interested in any other players still on the board to see if they were interested in trading up. Both teams either didn't believe that there were any good front seven fits for their system or that the talent level at LB and DL are not good value in the middle rounds. I don't know anything about Tracy Walker. I guess we're running more nickel or they just don't think Killebrew can cut it.

 

[inkfreq]

Johnson can run the football tho. He's 10x the RB Abdullah is. Johnson is bigger, makes people miss, runs harder and actually catches the football out of the backfield. Oh, and scores TDs. What does Abdullah do again??? Lol. He does NOTHING!!!! KJ with Blount should be fun to watch this yr. But ya, he brings nothing...lol. He's the exact same RB as Abdullah lol

At this point, I honestly don't think Johnson impacts the run game any more than Abdullah. Reason being, when you're playing from behind in the 3rd quarter, you don't run the ball.

That's been a Detroit staple for years. We get behind, and we rely on Staffords arm to bring us back. We haven't done anything to improve the defense yet. Even Walker, our only defensive pick thus far, doesn't improve us because we have Quinn locked in a SS and he won't play much as a developmental rookie.

If we can't get better pressure on opposing QBs, we're going to be relying on Stafford a lot this year too, and Riddick remains our pass catching RB.

It looks to me like they want to win shootouts, and I don't think we've improved the offense enough to win shootouts yet.

 

[SoCalLions]

At this point, I honestly don't think Johnson impacts the run game any more than Abdullah. Reason being, when you're playing from behind in the 3rd quarter, you don't run the ball.

That's been a Detroit staple for years. We get behind, and we rely on Staffords arm to bring us back. We haven't done anything to improve the defense yet. Even Walker, our only defensive pick thus far, doesn't improve us because we have Quinn locked in a SS and he won't play much as a developmental rookie.

If we can't get better pressure on opposing QBs, we're going to be relying on Stafford a lot this year too, and Riddick remains our pass catching RB.

It looks to me like they want to win shootouts, and I don't think we've improved the offense enough to win shootouts yet.

I'm not disagreeing with the Abdullah/Johnson point. I still like Abdullah. Just needs to take care of the ball. I disagree with the shootouts/offense point though. I think we'll be more balanced and less predictable on offense with more diverse offensive personnel sets and an improved run game via health and Ragnow. I do agree that we need to improve the defense and I don't think we've done that thus far in the draft. I'm happy with the commitment to fix the run game though. Any team who doesn't have a QB named Rodgers or Brady needs a good OL and run game to have any chance of making the SB. Birkett tweeted that Quinn will likely address any outstanding needs in FA. It looks like we'll have to wait until the next offseason for any long-term help in the front seven.

 

[inkfreq]

I'm not disagreeing with the Abdullah/Johnson point. I still like Abdullah. Just needs to take care of the ball. I disagree with the shootouts/offense point though. I think we'll be more balanced and less predictable on offense with more diverse offensive personnel sets and an improved run game via health and Ragnow. I do agree that we need to improve the defense and I don't think we've done that thus far in the draft. I'm happy with the commitment to fix the run game though. Any team who doesn't have a QB named Rodgers or Brady needs a good OL and run game to have any chance of making the SB. Birkett tweeted that Quinn will likely address any outstanding needs in FA. It looks like we'll have to wait until the next offseason for any long-term help in the front seven.

I like Abdullah. I was the guy pleading for us to draft him. But at this point, it's not paying dividends, and a lot of that has to to do with a pass happy offense. And we have a pass happy offense because we're always playing from behind... because we have a lackluster defense.

They could have traded up and picked Barkley, and it wasn't going to fix our biggest problems... keeping guys like Rodgers and Cousins in our own division off the scoreboard a little more.

 

[kalinecountry]

DL/OLB for possible picks
James Looney
Kylie Fitts
Bilal Nichols
John Franklin-Myers
Ade Aruna
Zach Sieler
Duke Ejiofor
Okoronkwo

other positions;
Richie James
Avonte Maddox
Dane Cruikshank
Joe Ostman
Tyrell Crosby
Dejon Allen
Brad Lundblade
Brogan Roback
Nic Shimonek
Trenton Cannon

 

[kalinecountry]

http://www.detroitlionspodcast.com/...roit-lions-2018-draft-recap-days-one-and-two/
Detroit Lions 2018 Draft Recap: Days One And Two. Good read.
DLP

 

[mhughes0021]

Johnson can run the football tho. He's 10x the RB Abdullah is. Johnson is bigger, makes people miss, runs harder and actually catches the football out of the backfield. Oh, and scores TDs. What does Abdullah do again??? Lol. He does NOTHING!!!! KJ with Blount should be fun to watch this yr. But ya, he brings nothing...lol. He's the exact same RB as Abdullah lol

Abdullah did all that in college too. You don't just get to the nfl and magically suck. Cooter is still here and can't call a game...kerryon Johnson can't fix that. The oline staying healthy will help and quin added allot of depth there. Wiggins, Johnson, dahl all as depth. We might be able to run the ball a little better this year... big deal. Fixing a top 10 offense shouldn't have been more important than getting to the qbs we have in our division.

 

[mhughes0021]

Ps... there no telling Ragnow will be any better than Wesley Johnson or Wiggins in the first place... both staters on teams that ran the ball pretty effectively.

 

[mhughes0021]

Nice! Got hand. 3-4 it is.

 

[wheels002]

I like it! I hate giving up a 3rd next year but Hand at one time was the top player in high school. He almost went to Michigan so I followed him a bit.

 

[mhughes0021]

Ya sucks that all of our picks are costing 2 picks lol.

 

[kalinecountry]

https://lionswire.usatoday.com/2018...obbed-other-nfl-teams-with-every-pick-so-far/
Schefter: Lions have robbed other NFL teams with every pick so far.
LionsWire

 

[sggatecl]

https://lionswire.usatoday.com/2018...obbed-other-nfl-teams-with-every-pick-so-far/
Schefter: Lions have robbed other NFL teams with every pick so far.
LionsWire

In Quinn we trust!

But if a team’s decision-makers believe they’ve added three critical pieces to their team—and they’re right—jumping the gun to get the players they wanted is far more valuable than impressing draftniks and missing out on the players they really wanted.

You're damn right.

 

[wheels002]

Ya sucks that all of our picks are costing 2 picks lol.

Really just one. It basically cost us a 3rd next year to move up and het Johnson and draft Hand because the pick we traded the Pats for may have been the 4th round pick we gave up yesterday or it was at least close.

 

[kalinecountry]

https://nflspinzone.com/2018/04/28/detroit-lions-early-rounds-2018-nfl-draft-reaction/
Detroit Lions: Early rounds help re-shape offense in 2018 NFL Draft.
NFLSpinZone

 

[grandy]

https://lionswire.usatoday.com/2018...obbed-other-nfl-teams-with-every-pick-so-far/
Schefter: Lions have robbed other NFL teams with every pick so far.
LionsWire

This is why I don't put much stock in the "we didn't need to trade up for player X, he would've been there anyway" argument, we have no idea what's really going on behind the scenes.

 

[wheels002]

This is why I don't put much stock in the "we didn't need to trade up for player X, he would've been there anyway" argument, we have no idea what's really going on behind the scenes.

I dont worry about it either if your sold on a guy that he is far and above the best available for you then you go get him.

 

[tonyballs]

At this point, I honestly don't think Johnson impacts the run game any more than Abdullah. Reason being, when you're playing from behind in the 3rd quarter, you don't run the ball.

That's been a Detroit staple for years. We get behind, and we rely on Staffords arm to bring us back. We haven't done anything to improve the defense yet. Even Walker, our only defensive pick thus far, doesn't improve us because we have Quinn locked in a SS and he won't play much as a developmental rookie.

If we can't get better pressure on opposing QBs, we're going to be relying on Stafford a lot this year too, and Riddick remains our pass catching RB.

It looks to me like they want to win shootouts, and I don't think we've improved the offense enough to win shootouts yet.

They haven't improved the offense? They picked up Blount, drafted a stud interior OLineman, then drafted another 3-down RB. How can you say that?

 

[wheels002]

The major issue the offense had last year was the OL was banged up all year. Did we ever have our intended starting OL for even a game last year? I can remember signing a guy on Thursday and starting them on Sunday because they were out of healthy tackles.

 

[kalinecountry]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...quicksnap-grades-for-every-team-through-day-2
2018 NFL Draft: Quick-snap grades for every team through Day 2.
NFL.com