The Detroit Lions hold the third pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. There’s no way they could land the best prospect in the class there right? Wrong.
With a 2019 season that quickly went from promising to bad to worse, the Detroit Lions finished play with a 3-12-1 record that landed them the third overall pick. While a bad season led them to a top-five pick, they were in the playoff hunt until quarterback Matthew Stafford went down for the second half of the season with broken bones in his back.
It’s not unreasonable to think that the Lions could rebound in a big way. They could make the playoffs with a full season of play from a healthy Stafford and key additions in free agency and the draft.
If you do a deep dive and explore the Lions’ needs in-depth, then you find a decent list of needs. However, a handful of those needs should be filled via free agency this offseason.
Some of the primary needs include an edge rusher, a cornerback, an interior offensive lineman, and a linebacker that can cover. Secondary needs are at positions such as defensive tackle, wide receiver, and safety.
The Lions could also look to add competition at other positions but those additions will likely be cheap free-agent signees or late-round draft picks. The primary and secondary needs are most likely going to be resolved through higher draft picks and/or bigger signings in free agency.
Will the many needs the Lions have it’s not realistic to think they can fill them all, but it is very possible that they could go into 2020 having only a couple needs unsatisfied. If the Lions can fill all of the primary needs and at least one of the secondary needs then they could very well get into the 2020 NFL playoffs.
In this mock draft, the Lions get lucky and Ohio State star Chase Young slips past the Washington Redskins. Choosing to fix the massive hole in their secondary, Washington takes fellow OSU star, Jeffrey Okudah. Detroit was then able to nab Young in the first round and fill in the rest of their draft class with good players who could all contribute as early as year one.