Detroit Lions: 2020 7-round mock draft with two trades

Last year the pass rush for the Lions was underwhelming at best and a major disappointment at worst. While general manager Bob Quinn has seemed to avoid drafting pass rushers until day three in his reign, drafting Uche would give the Lions a double threat on the edge of their defense.

In his senior season, Uche really showed out for the Michigan defense, tallying 35 total tackles, over eight sacks, forced two fumbles (recovering one), and even broke up two passes.

Over his four year career at Michigan, he had a total of 16.5 sacks, though he played sparingly his first two seasons, making just six tackles total over those seasons. Once he got a featured role, however, he showed his worth and sacked the quarterback 15.5 times over two seasons.

Uche would fit in perfectly at the JACK role in this defense and could very well end up taking over for current JACK starter Devon Kennard quicker than people might think. Uche is dangerous off the edge as he uses an excellent blend of speed and bend to blow by tackles and get to the quarterback.

Uche was coached by Lions head coach Matt Patricia at the Senior Bowl and that familiarity with him could lead to the Lions pulling the trigger on Uche in round two, knowing how well he performed under Patricia.

Uche wowed scouts all week with not only his pass-rushing but also his ability to drop back and cover receivers in the open field as well. Uche was a day three pick before the Senior Bowl, but he got his chance and is now widely considered a round two pick.

Uche performed extremely well with Patricia, as evidenced by his five pressures in just 11 pass-rushing snaps during the game. He was also PFF’s highest graded player at the Senior Bowl.

Uche fills a void the Lions have in getting to the pass rusher and would give the Lions a reliable speedy/bendy rusher off the edge that can also drop back and actually excel in coverage, something the current linebacking corps struggles greatly with.