Lions Select DE Jeremiah Ledbetter With Sixth-Round Pick
By Matt Urben
The Lions have invested heavily on defense through the first five rounds and the sixth round was no different, as they grabbed Arkansas defensive end, Jeremiah Ledbetter. It’s a little surprising that Detroit waited this long to address their defensive line, but Ledbetter was highly productive in his college career and is a great value at this spot in the draft. He was a 4th-5th round projection.
Jeremiah Ledbetter – Arkansas
Position: Defensive End
Size: 6-foot-3, 280 lbs
Why He Makes Sense For Detroit: The Lions’ pass rush has gotten somewhat stale over the past two seasons. It’s affected their entire defense, particularly the secondary last year. The Lions have been looking for a disruptive playmaker to start opposite Ziggy Ansah, but Ledbetter is more of depth pick that can line up all over.
He has a good jump off of the line of scrimmage, great lateral movement, and pretty solid technique. Scouts think he will need to bulk up in the NFL, but he was effective at his current size for the Razorbacks. Ledbetter finished his senior season with 49 tackles, 5.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for a loss.
“Ledbetter’s game is built for the interior line, but he lacks the desired mass to hold his ground against NFL power and he’s not as explosive off the snap as teams would like to play in the gaps. Ledbetter’s long arms and power at the point of attack might make him a candidate to play base end for a team looking for strength on the edge,” said Lance Zierlein in his NFL.com Draft profile of Ledbetter.
Check out highlights of Ledbetter playing against Auburn in 2016.
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