Detroit Lions 2020 draft prospects: A tale of three Buckeyes
An overview of the Ohio State trio of superstars available in the 2020 NFL Draft, all of whom the Detroit Lions should be taking into close consideration.
This post may be difficult to stomach for college football fans in the state of Michigan. The truth is, as a Michigan alumnus it’s not particularly easy to write either. Why sing praises to the jerks who thumped the Wolverines for a zillionth time in a row a few months back?
Well, the silver lining here is that leaving Columbus for the upcoming draft is a trio of players that could help the Detroit Lions out of the basement this year, so at least some good could come out of it yet.
No matter your bias against the Buckeyes, Chase Young, Jeff Okudah, and JK Dobbins are all ultra-talented players at different positions of need in Detroit. Getting one or possibly two of these guys in April would be a strong sign of a successful draft as the Lions attempt a quick turnaround in 2020.
Chase Young – Edge
Case for: This is fairly obvious, but I’ll spell it out anyway. Detroit’s pass rush was non-existent last year, and Young is considered the top overall prospect and close to a unanimous choice as the top pass rusher in this year’s draft class. Young had 16.5 sacks for Ohio State this year and ripped off a stretch of monster performances against Wisconsin and Penn State, with seven sacks and four forced fumbles in those two games.
Barring a trade or a dud showing at next week’s NFL Combine, most mock drafts are already considering Young a lock to go to Washington at No. 2. However, if anyone really wants Tua Tagovailoa and is concerned about the Lions taking him, it’s plausible that the trade scenario would leave Young available for the Lions one spot down.
Case against: Production in his last three games. Against Michigan, Young failed to record a single defensive statistic. The rematch against Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game was a little better (1.5 tackles for loss, but no sacks), and he made little impact in the Buckeyes’ Fiesta Bowl loss to Clemson. Some of this I’m sure can be explained away as opposing offensive lines spending an outsized amount of attention and blockers to specifically keep Young from wrecking the game.
Still, to come up almost completely empty three games in a row, the three most important games of the season, is a concern. That should give pause to any fan who thinks drafting Young would be an automatic cure to the defensive unit that failed to launch a year ago.