Detroit Lions 2018 NFL Draft: Grading each pick

Going into the 2018 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions didn’t figure to have a big need in their defensive secondary. In fact, many believe it was the front seven that would receive the bulk of the draft attention early.

But the Lions saw something in Louisiana-Lafayette’s Tracy Walker, selecting him with the 82nd overall pick in the third round. And that attribute was likely versatility, which makes Walker a plug-n-play anywhere in their defensive secondary. That’s an important trait to have in a defense that figures to straddle the 4-3 and 3-4.

The fact that Walker is a cousin of Lions’ Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay didn’t hurt either. The rookie enters a pretty crowded defensive back room. Projected to be a free safety, Walker presumably becomes a favorite to replace a 32-year old Glover Quin at some point.

But until then, the Lions see Walker as a valuable tool that can be used anywhere they need him to be. Certainly the expectations will be high as they used a high draft pick on him when the team had other perceived, more important needs to fill. And the fact many believed this was at least a two round overreach by the Lions results in this initial low grade.