Detroit Lions World – 2017 NFL Draft Day Edition
By Matt Urben
Draft day has arrived and in Detroit, that is traditionally a cause for celebration. Few teams, other than the Cleveland Browns, have such a futile history over the past fifty years. That’s why in the motor city, it’s celebrated as a new beginning and possible chance to turn things around.
Although, the Lions are in a position in which they are not all that familiar. They have a playoff team from a year ago that they have already upgraded significantly in free agency. Now, they attempt to fill holes on defense and possibly add some offensive weapons to make a real run at becoming a consistent contender.
So now that day one of the draft is finally here (8:00 PM on ESPN and NFL Network), let’s take a look at recent Lions draft coverage from around the league, as well as here at SideLion Report.
SideLion Report’s Draft Coverage
Mock Drafts: Here at SideLion Report, we held two collective mock drafts: version 1.0 and version 2.0. Al ran an additional 7-round mock for the Lions last week.
Positional Needs: Last night I broke down 5 mid-round tight end options. Ryan wrote a piece projecting a potential linebacker for every round of the draft. Plus, a few weeks back we profiled some mid-late round options at wide receiver for Detroit.
Lions Prospect Profiles: DE Derek Barnett, LB Zach Cunningham, DB Gareon Conley, LB T.J. Watt, RB Dalvin Cook, DL Malik McDowell, RB Christian McCaffrey, OL Cam Robinson.
Draft History: Ryan and I covered the best and worst of the Lions’ drafts. Read what I think are the five best draft classes of the past thirty years. Then, check out Ryan’s take on the five worst classes over that same time period. Jack looks at some notable day 3 picks.
David Njoku: Mansur gives his take on the rumors swirling that the Lions could draft Miami tight end, David Njoku. What would happen to current 1st-rounder, Eric Ebron?
National Coverage
ESPN Draft Experts: Apparently Mel Kiper and Todd McShay survived ESPN’s massive layoffs from yesterday. McShay dropped his final mock, with a surprise at number one. Michael Rothstein explains why Jarrad Davis makes sense for Detroit at 21.
Mike Mayock’s Final Mock Draft: Mayock is consistently one of the better draft analysts out there. He has the Lions taking a wide receiver in his latest mock draft.
NFL.com: Here’s a list of the top-100 prospects in this draft that was just released this morning if you’re wondering where your favorite NFL hopefuls currently sit.
Local Coverage
Detroit News: Bob Wojnowski argues the Lions need to draft for base hits and not home runs. Justin Rogers has released his mock draft version 3.0.
Free Press: Should the Lions focus on defense? Dave Birkett and Carlos Monarez give their take on the situation. Also, check out Birkett’s fifth and final mock draft.
MLive.com: Kyle Meinke published a complete list of known pre-draft visits to Detroit. See who the Lions have shown interest in, as they met with about half of their picks last season.
Pride of Detroit: Jeremy Reisman gives his draft day preview. Kent Lee Platte reports the Lions have met with LB Haason Reddick, the fan favorite out of Temple.
-Stay right here at SideLion Report for today’s NFL Draft coverage! Make sure to ‘LIKE’ us on Facebook and follow Matt on Twitter @MattUrben88.
Next: Martha Ford's Decision-Making Continues to Pay Off For Lions