SideLion Report
FanSided

Detroit Lions draft: Could a first round guard fall to 43?

By Steven Mullenax

NORMAN, OK - SEPTEMBER 014: Offensive lineman Cody Ford #74 of the Oklahoma Sooners engages the crowd before the game against the Florida Atlantic Owls at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Norman, Oklahoma. The Sooners defeated the Owls 63-14. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images)
NORMAN, OK - SEPTEMBER 014: Offensive lineman Cody Ford #74 of the Oklahoma Sooners engages the crowd before the game against the Florida Atlantic Owls at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Norman, Oklahoma. The Sooners defeated the Owls 63-14. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Detroit Lions have a need at offensive guard after the recent release and retirement of T.J. Lang. Could they find a replacement in the second round?

Since becoming the general manager of the Detroit Lions in 2016, Bob Quinn has used two of the team’s three first-round selections on offensive linemen. Those players being starting left tackle Taylor Decker and left guard Frank Ragnow. Due to the recent release and subsequent retirement of two-time Pro Bowl right guard T.J. Lang, Detroit once again enters the draft with a major need along their O-Line.

But this time around is a bit different. After posting a disappointing 6-10 record under new head coach Matt Patricia, the Lions earned themselves the eighth overall selection in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. And it seems unlikely Detroit would use a top-ten pick to address their need at offensive guard.

Instead, the Lions could hope that a first-round level talent falls to them in the second, where they own the 43rd overall selection (11th pick in the round). Just last year, Texas offensive lineman Connor Williams was touted as a possible top-15 pick. Williams ended up falling all the way down to 50th overall in the second round and started the season along the Dallas Cowboys’ offensive line.

Detroit could have similar luck this year. As many as five quarterbacks are rumored to be possible first-round selections, pushing more talented players into Day Two. Alabama’s Jonah Williams, Oklahoma’s Cody Ford, N.C. State’s Garrett Bradbury are all possible guard projections that landed on Daniel Jeremiah’s top 50 prospects list at the beginning of the year.

Walter Football has three potential guards as possible first-round selections. Those players being the aforementioned Ford, Boston College’s Chris Lindstrom, and Texas A&M’s Erik McCoy. There is also the possibility that Detroit drafts a top center instead, moving veteran Graham Glasgow to right guard. That’s where someone like Bradbury or Mississippi State’s Elgton Jenkins could make more sense.

Next. Detroit Lions 2019 NFL Draft: Full 7-round mock 5.0. dark

In their latest mock draft, MLive.com projected Chris Lindstrom to fall to the Detroit Lions in the second round. Yet, according to a four-round mock draft that appeared on NFL.com recently, Lindstrom was projected to land with the Minnesota Vikings with the 18th overall selection. It’s anyone’s guess if one of these top-tier offensive lineman fall to 43. All the Lions can do is hope.

Home/Lions Draft