In two of his three drafts
Sam Martin Jersey , Bob Quinn has chosen an offensive lineman early."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Detroit Lions NewsDetroit Lions
NotesDetroit Lions AnalysisDetroit Lions TransactionsDetroit Lions Game
RecapsBreaking NewsIntroducing the 2019 Detroit Lions Draft Class! ?NFL Open
ThreadsFriday open thread: Will Detroit draft another offensive lineman in the
first round?New,73commentsIn two of his three drafts, Bob Quinn has chosen an
offensive lineman early.EDTShareTweetShareShareFriday open thread: Will Detroit
draft another offensive lineman in the first round?Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY
SportsWith all the talk of cap casualties heading into this offseason, T.J. Lang
was one of the most talked-about names the Lions might cut ties with in order to
free up some additional cap space. Before the start of free agency, the Lions
did just that, releasing Lang after two seasons in Detroit and putting the team
in need of a right guard for the 2019 season.Detroit spent the beginning of free
agency bolstering their defense. Signing Trey Flowers and Justin Coleman to
lucrative deals shored up some of their most pressing needs, but after the first
two weeks of free agency, the Lions are still without a starting right guard.The
team did sign Oday Aboushi to a one-year deal, a player who has some experience
playing in Darrell Bevell’s offense, but he should be looked at as a depth
piece. Tyrell Crosby could be an option
Calvin Johnson Jersey , however he didn’t play any snaps at guard when Lang missed time last season due to a concussion and a neck injury. The Lions chose instead
to call on Kenny Wiggins, and, well, his play last year proved he shouldn’t be
part of the plan moving forward—they could save about $2.75 million if they
choose to cut him. Detroit also has Joe Dahl still on their roster, but going
into his third season without much playing time last year, it’s not likely the
Lions view Dahl as a viable solution to their hole at right guard.So, with all
that being said, today’s “Question of the Day” is: Will the Lions draft an
offensive lineman in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft?My answer: At eight?
I would certainly hope not.Earlier this week on #LionsTwitter, there was some
talk of Detroit entertaining the idea of drafting Alabama’s Jonah Williams with
the eighth overall pick. To be really clear, Detroit selecting Williams at No. 8
would be a nightmare born into reality. It’s a doomsday scenario. It’s the worst
of all possible timelines. It literally could not get worse than that. Even if
Detroit were to slip back into the teens and select Williams it would be a bad
move.With that being said
Womens Zach Zenner Jersey , it could totally happen, and it’s easy to see why. Lions GM Bob Quinn has drafted an offensive lineman in the first round in two of
his three drafts—taking Taylor Decker in 2016 and Frank Ragnow in 2018. He’s
made improving the o-line one of his greatest priorities by investing ample
draft capital as well as cap dollars in free agency. Quinn made Rick Wagner the
highest paid right tackle in NFL history back in 2017 to the tune of $47.5
million over five years and then added T.J. Lang not long after.Detroit does
need to figure out a contingency plan at right guard, both in the long term and
the short term, but there isn’t an offensive lineman in this draft worthy of
using the eighth overall pick on.Your turn. Pro Football Focus put out a list of
the highest graded player for every NFL team through nine weeks of the season.
If you somehow didn’t read the headline of this article before clicking on it,
the answer may surprise you. It’s not Kenny Golladay. It’s not Da’Shawn Hand or
Darius Slay or Kerryon Johnson.According to PFF, the highest-graded Lions
players is... A’Shawn Robinson. Here’s what PFF’s Michael Renner had to say
about it: Now there is a bit of a caveat here. Robinson’s grade of 90.1 isn’t
technically the highest on the roster. Those honors belong to Damon Harrison
Sr., who currently has a PFF grade of 91.5, but obviously that comes with an
asterisk since most of his playing time was with the Giants this
year.Regardless, having both Robinson and “Snacks” in the interior of the line
offers some hope for the Lions’ defensive line for the next few years. Kenny
Golladay came out of the 2018 offseason swinging. In the first two weeks of the
season, he pulled in 13 catches for 203 yards and a touchdown.
However
Kenny Golladay Jersey White , over the following six games, Golladay has just 20 catches for 220 yards and two touchdowns. Golladay said he would like to
see the ball more, but knows it’s on him to create his own opportunities and be
ready when they come. Matthew Stafford hadn’t heard the misinformed comments
from former NFL quarterback Rich Gannon, and didn’t have much of a response to
them on Thursday: Speaking of Stafford, he hasn’t thrown a lot of deep balls
this year, but he’s completing them at a pretty decent rate: The Lions’ 2015
draft class is almost completely depleted after only three years. Thursday we
noted that Lions legend Wally Triplett passed away this week. Friday, the Lions
posted some amazing throwback highlights from his career with Detroit in
1949-50. On a positive note, Jeff Risdon of Lions Wire handed out grades for the
Lions’ rookie class through Week 9, and the outlook is pretty positive.
(Warning: slideshow)
