Four draft crushes to help the Detroit Lions rebound in 2020
4. Bradlee Anae, Defensive End/Edge Rusher, University of Utah-
One of the biggest needs the Lions have is along the edge of their defensive line. Other than former free-agent pickup Trey Flowers, the Lions have no other reliable rushers off the edge.
Adding to that position should be on the top of their to-do list once the new league season begins. They will likely add some juice in free agency but the real additions will come in the draft.
A player that the Lions should, and probably will look into is Utah defender Bradlee Anae. Anae primarily wins with power but is also pretty quick with his first step so he can occasionally beat his opponent off the snap around the edge.
Anae picked up a total of 27.0 sacks over his college career, 25.0 of which came in his last three seasons. In 2019, he made quite the jump from eight sacks to 13.0 sacks.
When he was coached by Lions head coach Matt Patricia in the Senior Bowl this year he showed out and impressed everyone. Being that it was in front of the Lions coaching staff that he displayed just how disruptive he can be, he could eventually end up in a Lions uniform.
Just to show you how dominant he was at the Senior Bowl, Anae was the only defensive player from both rosters that was graded above an 80 by Pro Football Focus. Anae was given an 84.8 overall grade from Senior Bowl week, over five points higher than the second-highest graded defender.
NFL Network’s Lance Zierlein wrote up a scouting report on Anae, grading him with a 6.22 grade. On Zierlein’s grading scale that means he has the potential to become a starter.
Zierlein noted that among Anae’s best skills was his ability to extend his arms, set the edge, play with a turnover mindset, and his versatility to play both from a three-point stance and standing up. Those are all traits that the Lions seem to look for when choosing their pass rushers and the fact that Anae is good at all of them and should further enhance his attractiveness to the Lions.
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Anae does not seem to be getting much wide-spread love among the draft media despite his desirable traits. The consensus on him seems to be around the third to the fourth round. From where I stand, Anae is worthy of a second-round pick and it would be fun to see him in Honolulu blue come next fall.