Detroit Lions 2019 NFL Draft: 3 controversial first round picks
Detroit Lions linebackers
Devin White, ILB, LSU, 6-0, 240, 4.64
Devin White is a guy who’s also a little off of the radar for most people. To dedicated draftniks, he’s been in Round 1 discussions for a while now. LSU’s leader on defense, White is a tackling machine and has good speed for an inside player.
NFL Draft Scout’s Matt Miller, a scout, discussed White’s athleticism being similar to former teammate and Round 1 pick at running back, Leonard Fournette. As a linebacker, he compared hisskillset to Roquan Smith, Tremaine Edmunds, Myles Jack, and Jaylon Smith– without injuries.
High praise.
It’s no new news that the Lions have struggled with their linebackers consistency, especially from Jarrad Davis who is listed as the current middle linebacker. Davis was the team’s first pick two years ago out of Florida. If you paid some attention, the Lions started using him in the weakside role as the season wore on, not in the middle.
Why it wouldn’t be popular
KCW touched on a couple of things fans would have a problem with. The Lions just drafted an inside linebacker two years ago, in Round 1. Many would say that Davis hasn’t had enough time to develop there.
Others might say he’s making progress. Near the end of the season, Davis was making plays when he wasn’t asked to quarterback the team and was allowed to rush the passer and use his exceptional speed. As noted above, that wasn’t in a traditional “Mike” linebacker spot.
Next, it isn’t usually considered a great idea to take an inside linebacker as high as the number eight pick. They don’t usually have the speed, ball skills, and demand to force teams into spending a pick that high. Inside players do not require as much speed, and overall athleticism to be effective, allowing teams to wait for good, productive players there.
To quickly reiterate a previous point, many would think this a luxury pick, not a necessity. Perceived (or real) needs being passed over wouldn’t sit well with an understandably frustrated, anxious-to-win fan base.
There are other options that are controversial, under the radar, and unknown to some Detroit Lions fans; who did we miss? Let us know in the comments.
Next. Lions All-QB mock draft, 7 rounds to find the future. dark
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