The Detroit Lions’ NFL Draft reviews are in, and they’re not great. Critics from coast to coast panned the Lions’ decision to take Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs at 12 and Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell at 18.
Who’s right, and who’s wrong? We might not know for two years. But even if the Lions erred on Day 1, there’s still plenty of time to get it right, as we explain in our Detroit Lions Day 2 NFL Draft preview.
NFL Draft Preview Day 2: Detroit Lions’ Poor Reviews
The Lions entered the NFL Draft with the league’s third-most capital (53% more than the league average, per Sharp Football). Before the draft began, they owned nine picks, including two in the first (sixth and 18th overall) and second (48th and 55th) rounds.
The only teams with more ammo were the Houston Texans and Seattle Seahawks, who both, by all accounts, had excellent nights Thursday.
The Lions, with the sixth overall selection, were in position to cash in as well. When they went on the clock, the draft’s consensus No. 3 (Jalen Carter), 5 (Bijan Robinson), 6 (Tyree Wilson), and 7 (Christian Gonzalez) prospects were still on the board.
But Detroit decided to go quantity over quality, acquiring picks 34 and 168 by moving down six spots (the Lions also threw in a fifth-round pick to make the value even up).
Passing on an elite player in a shallow draft was mistake No. 1.
Mistake No. 2?
Taking Gibbs — a borderline first-round pick — at 12. Gibbs was the No. 25 prospect on the Consensus Big Board. And running back was far from a position of need for Detroit, which is now shopping D’Andre Swift to clear out space in the room.
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But that was almost understandable compared to what Brad Holmes did next. The Lions’ GM then basically went off the board to select Campbell — the draft’s No. 44 prospect — at 18.
Put bluntly, the Lions took a player at 12 that they almost certainly could have gotten at 18 and a player at 18 that surely would have been available at 34.
“They’re football players,” Holmes explained later when asked about prioritizing low-value positions in Round 1. “… If you believe that they can have an impact for you on the football field, you go ahead and take them.”
That rationale fell on deaf ears. Analysts still ripped the Lions’ process.
Yahoo! and the Athletic gave the Lions an F. PFN was only slightly kinder. The league consensus is that Detroit blew a golden opportunity to significantly improve its roster.
Detroit Lions’ Big Opportunity in NFL Draft Day 2
Because of the savvy trades Holmes has executed in recent days and months, that opportunity isn’t completely gone.
The Lions own three of Day 2’s first 24 picks, including the third selection in Round 2.
Assuming they don’t trade back again, at least one of the following three prospects will still be available when they go on the clock: Safety Brian Branch (No. 12), cornerback Joey Porter Jr. (17), and tight end Michael Mayer (24).
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Landing one of those three, or even taking Kentucky quarterback Will Levis, would transform an ugly Day 1 into being a pretty solid weekend — particularly since the Lions would pick two more times in Round 2.
The possibility is there for the Lions to still salvage their weekend. They just need to up their game — quick.