One of the biggest problems with entering the NFL Draft with an obvious, glaring need is that everyone knows it. According to at least one report, the Detroit Lions may have this exact problem on Thursday as they prepare to make their selection with the 17th overall pick.
The Lions have a pretty clear need at offensive tackle after cutting Taylor Decker (upon his request) and only adding Larry Borom to replace him. While the Lions continue to publicly tout Borom as a legitimate option as a starting
right tackle, his contract details (one year, $5 million) suggest he’s closer to a swing tackle in value. Even if Borom can be a starter, his one-year deal makes offensive tackle still a significant long-term need.
NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay offers two interesting pieces of intel regarding the Lions and offensive tackles. First, he wrote, “No team has done more work on the offensive tackles” than the Lions.
But more important was what McShay said about how other teams are reacting to Detroit’s clear need—and reported interest—in the offensive tackle class. Per McShay, the Buccaneers (15th overall pick) and Jets (16th) have already fielded calls from teams that want to trade ahead of the Lions.
Here’s the full excerpt from McShay’s Draft Week intel piece.
Detroit at no. 17 has a mark on its back. No team has done more work on the offensive tackles, and everyone knows it. The Buccaneers (no. 15) and Jets (no. 16) are already fielding calls from teams interested in trading up for a tackle. Teams interested in the tackle group that are selecting behind Detroit include Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, Kansas City, New England, Cleveland, and Miami (if they don’t use their first pick on a tackle). I can’t confirm they’re all specifically making calls, but don’t be surprised if one of those teams makes an aggressive move up the board Thursday night.“
McShay isn’t alone. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport mentioned the exact same scenario during a Tuesday night episode of “The Insiders.” While Rapoport’s discussion sounds more speculative in nature than actual reporting, he basically says the same things McShay does:
“I think it’s pretty clear the Lions have a need, maybe a significant need […] for an offensive tackle and a lot of teams know this,” Rapoport said. “Now the Lions have said, ‘We may not take a tackle,’ but I think it’s fair to say teams believe they will. And you have several teams right behind the Lions—teams like the Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, and several others who have done a lot of work on the top tackles. Do they try to jump in front of the Lions to get one of the top tackles?”
If all of this is true, then Lions general manager Brad Holmes will have two options. He can get ahead of these trades and trade up himself to ensure he gets the offensive tackle he wants. Holmes has certainly shown no fear in spending extra draft capital to get the player they are most excited about. The other option would be to pivot and take another position. Holmes has repeatedly said that they won’t draft a player because of the position he plays, and if there’s a run on offensive tackles, as some predict, perhaps that means a talented player at a different position unexpectedly becomes available.
Or maybe the team that trades ahead of Detroit takes an offensive tackle the Lions didn’t want anyway. Or maybe these rumors are false. It’s NFL Draft week, and you can’t ever fully trust the rumor mill.
